Abundance

I currently live on the south side of Mt. Blanca right under Little Bear Peak (I live with a white dog named Little Bear also which is nice). The land is completely covered with pinon and juniper trees. Almost every single one of those pinon trees is completely laden with pinon nuts. Both me and the 4 dogs are obsessed with "picking pinon" which means crab crawling around under pine trees putting the nuts in the bag. There is some swearing involved when hands come in contact with either globs of pine sap (which doesn't come off no matter what and renders anything it touches sticky for a long time) or cactus. But the bags of nuts are worth it. Once roasted they're especially tasty.

I'm trying to remember how much abundance is in my life lately. When work is hard or things just don't seem to be rolling smoothly it can be tough, but the pinon harvest--that is definitely abundance. There must be unmeasurable tons of pinon on that hillside. I don't think I could possibly even harvest the amount just on my 5 acres of land which is only partially treed. Amazing.

Taos Wool Festival

I spent last weekend and part of last week in New Mexico. It was the Taos Wool Festival Saturday and Sunday and I greatly enjoyed seeing all the great yarn, animals, and talking to the people who love fiber. I managed to get out of there Sunday having only bought two skeins of yarn--a silk/wool blend that should be lovely for something knitted. There were many booths, a little weaving, and all kinds of animals including alpaca and lots of angora bunnies. There were people spinning and knitting all over the place. And the festival was busy even though it was cold and overcast for New Mexico in October.

I also visited my friend Emily and her family in Dixon, NM. Her husband is a farmer and his specialty is chili. He was working on hanging these ristras all across the front of their house.

I spent Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday taking a tapestry weaving class from James Koehler in Taos. James is always ready to challenge me and this class was no exception. I enjoyed learning some new gradation and hatching techniques as well as being part of a group of tapestry weavers for a few days. It was a quick class, but I did manage to start a small tapestry. While I was there I stayed at the Columbine Inn in the Taos Ski Valley. I highly recommend the place! It was quiet (off season) and beautiful. I was able to hike right from the hotel. I did have to scrape ice off my car in the mornings and there was snow on Wheeler peak. The colors are changing fast and winter is on her way.