I Don't Think We're in New Mexico Anymore!

 

At the end of June, I went to a cousin reunion, held in Atlantic, Iowa, where our Great Grandparents settled, and where many of us grew up. It was unseasonably cool for the area for much of the trip, and it was green, green, green.

I didn't grow up in Iowa, but my father did. It was a very special place for me growing up, full of fun times with the cousins that we got to hang out with on our visits. Almost all of the still-living first cousins (grandchildren of Ralph and Cora Nichols) attended. 1st photo of the cousins only,  the 2nd photo cousins and spouses. Unfortunately Shirley had left and is missing from the (Photos by Tom).

Friday night began with dinner at Dick and Cindy's. After dinner, we sat out on the lawn and took turns standing up and catching everyone up on our lives, since many of us had not seen each other in a long time. As you can imagine, this took awhile, and we were out til well after dark. This allowed us not living in the midwest the nostalgic experience of watching fireflies lighting up the night. (Not my photo, I think either Alison or Tom's)

Satuday morning, It was brunch at Jill and Randy's house in town. We then gathered on the porch to share memories of our grandparents. Folks also passed around photos and  artifacts of our family history.

 

Jill brought out an oil painting and a needlepoint by my mother that had been gifted to her. The needlepoint is of the farmhouse where her family (which includes 8 of this large cousin cohort!) grew up.

From there, we headed over to Jill and Randy's farmland, where Randy still farms, and where their daughter Michelle is operating a highly successful candle-making business. Randy talked about the history of the farmhouse.

The farmhouse (I believe now occupied by Michelle and her family) originally belonged to our great-grandparents, Charles Fletcher and Sarah Jane Nichols. That huge cottonwood, as well as a pine that you can maybe kind of see in the background, were planted by our great grandparents.

We then headed into the candle making building, saw all the different products being produced there, and inhaled all the wonderful aromas.

 

At Bill and Linda's afterward, we got to see yet another creative family venture. Bill showed us his woodshop, where he has been building furniture. From what I understand, everything he is building is from the wood of a large tree that fell on his property. Here he shows us the baby crib he is building for a grandchild on the way.

 We then headed into Bill and Linda's home for more visiting and afternoon snacks. (Yes, we pretty much never stopped eating.) This house has a very unique history. They purchased it for $500.00 from Fairway, which was razing some houses in Atlantic to build a store. Everyone who was able pitched in to move the house to what used to be called the Tingley farm. (Close neighbors of the family). 

Dinner on Saturday was at Jane and Craig's, where my sister Danita and I stayed during the visit. This was the last official event of the reunion. The after-dinner porch chat included sharing memories of visiting each other's families when we were young, including memories of the cousins no longer with us. Some of these stories were wilder than others: I will never forget Bill's story of when he and Stuart made a torch out of Aunt Mary's broom when they were little. 

One of the most notable things about Jane and Craig's home is Jane extensive flower garden. The gazebo pictured was a shady oasis when the weather got warm.

 

 

Also in the yard is the old swing that used to be in Uncle Fletcher and Aunt Avonell's yard. I have memories of hanging out on the swing with various cousins during summer visits.

I recognized this old table in their basement. This very table featured prominently in many of the memories shared of eating at Grandma and Grandpa's house. 

On Sunday, Jane and Craig took Danita and I to the Atlantic Cemetery, where many family members are buried, including our mother and father. I didn't get a very good picture of their gravestone, unfortunately.

It was a fantastic time to renew connections, catch up, share memories, and learn more about our family history. Thanks to Alison for all the planning she put into this to make this a truly memorable weekend!

 

 

May 2026

 

I Can See Clearly Now 🎵

May's big deal was getting the scales removed from my eyes: almost literally, as I had cataract surgery in both eyes. After the surgery, the world felt new: sharp, vivid, full of contrast. Every time I stepped outside, every short walk through the neighborhood, was an experience of joy. I know the image above is just an ordinary photo of flowers, but when I took it freshly after my first surgery, they seemed like the most vibrant flowers I had ever seen. 

One of the really exciting changes seeing with new eyes is how many more birds I am seeing. Difficulty seeing contrast was making it hard for me to see birds in the trees, on the ground, even flying in the sky at a distance. It has renewed my enjoyment of birding. Though I didn't like to admit it, I hadn't been enjoying it as much for awhile. And what a good time for this change, with Spring migration going on.

Shortly after my first surgery, I had a chance to enjoy this particularly vivid bird: A Lewis Woodpecker that stopped over at Tingley Open Space for a few days.

Nearby, a Cooper's Hawk, still in Juvenile Plumage (though likely born last year), was eating fresh-caught something or other.

 

 

Though you would think that a bright red Summer Tanager male could be easy to see, they have a surprising way of blending into the forest. I am seeing them so much more frequently now. 

And certainly seeing more of the neutral-toned flycatchers, like this Ash-Throated Flycatcher and this recently arrived Western Wood-Pewee. 

I got the joy of a close view of this Black-Crowned Night Heron recently, at the edge of one of the Tingley Fishing Ponds. Fishing, of course, so in the right place. 

Baby Bird Time Begins!

The Great-Horned Owls and the Neotropic Cormorants are some of the earliest nesters, and so that is who is showcased here.

 

 Great-Horned Owls 

Feeding Time at the Cormorant Roost 

 

The Nest Next Door

The Pigeons are nesting in the crook of a pine across from my balcony again. All day long, through heat, wind and rain, the female steadfastly broods her eggs. The male takes over at night, and I believe I've seen him there at dusk. I've watched the female hang tight while buffeted by heavy winds, and last week I watched her remaining still while being pelted by rain. (Though it may be hard to tell, that is what is happening here in the second photo.)

During that same rain, a wet and bedraggled White-Winged Dove braved the elements to visit the feeder area next door.

Painting with New Eyes

As I went through the two surgeries and adjusting to the new circumstances of my vision (good distance and poor close vision), I enjoyed watercolor painting under varied conditions.

 

Condition #1-No Corrective Lens

I painted this two days after my first surgery, with clear vision in my right eye, very blurry vision in my left, and very bad close vision. I worked from a poster on my wall of David Hockney's Mt. Fuji and Flowers. I did not use readers to help with the close vision, wanting to see how I could do without the correction.

 

Condition #2-With Reading Glasses

Because I was painting this one from a photo reference on my iPhone, I could use the reading glasses to look at both the subject and my painting.

 

 

Condition #3: Alternating Between No Correction and Reading Glasses

With my sketchers group at Cimino Compound, I made the first attempt at the most challenging condition: Looking over my reading glasses at a distant subject, then back to my painting through the reading glasses (keeping the glasses on the tip of my nose). What a coordination challenge it was, especially because in my mind, glasses are still to be used for distant vision.

 

 

Style Experiments

I'll show two more paintings from the end of May, where I was trying out some different styles. In the first, I first sketched an outline in black ink before adding watercolor. In the second, I went directly to watercolor without any preliminary sketching.

  

That's it for now. We'll see what adventures unfold in June!
 

 

 

April 2026

Cattle Egrets-Los Poblanos Open Space

Bird activity starts to get exciting in April, with shorebirds and other migrants moving through, rare songbirds popping up here and there, year-round residents already into their nesting activities, and summer residents returning from points south. 

Migrating Shorebirds-Los Poblanos Open Space 

April is when shorebirds start to migrate through. Their stopover spot must meet certain conditions, including shallow water, or waters with a nice open shore. The dry conditions here in Albuquerque limit the availability of good stopover spots, but when these conditions appear, word gets out quickly. When Los Poblano Open Space flooded their fields at the beginning of April, a variety of shorebirds and other avian species were quick to take advantage.

Top to bottom: Blue-Winged Teal, Franklin's Gull, Long-Billed Curlew, Solitary Sandpiper, White-Faced Ibis, Yellow-Headed Blackbird.  

 

While out at Los Poblanos Open Space for the birds, I also got to see my first ever Roseate Skimmer, a very colorful dragonfly, in the community garden.

 Rare and Out-of-Place Songbirds

April also saw an uptick in rare warblers and other songbirds, birds out of their usual range, that perhaps took a wrong turn somewhere in their migration. The UNM campus has been host to three rare warblers: A Hooded Warbler, a Northern Parula, and a Prothonotory Warbler. Right in our neighborhood, a friend found an Eastern Phoebe earlier in April, and an Eastern Kingbird was hanging out awhile at Los Poblanos Open  Space.

Here are the ones that I was able to photograph, top to bottom: Prothonotory Warber, Northern Parula, Eastern Phoebe, Eastern Kingbird.

 

Summer Arrivals and Nesting Season

Finally, April is when nesting season begins in earnest. New summer arrivals and year-round residents alike can be found at different stages of their breeding and nesting cycles. 

The Ash-Throated Flycatchers have just arrived recently, but this one is already using a nesting box on the Candelaria Wetlands, and appeared to be staying near to guard it.

 

The Swainson's Hawk pair that routinely nest on the Candelaria Nature Preserve returned right on schedule. Shortly after their arrival, our survey team found them hanging out together near their nest of the last few years.. 

 

Great Horned-Owls start nesting early, and this nest on Albuquerque's westside already has a pair of owlets that may be ready to leave the nest soon.

April Paintings

I didn't add too many paintings to my watercolor journal this month, but here are a few.

 

 R.I.P Lolly 4/28/26

I don't normally post very much personal stuff here, but this month is an exception. For me, April was all about dealing with my sweet 17 yo kitty's last days with cancer.

I got Lolly 9 years ago from Animal Humane, and she has been my constant home companion ever since. Her calm sweet presence supported me through the Covid stay-at-home and through two periods of recovery from bone fractures. 

 

In her last couple of weeks, Lolly's favorite thing to do was to lie in the sun on our balcony. 

Things took a turn for the worse last Satuday. That evening I was hanging a fitted sheet out on the balcony to complete drying. Before I could get the bottom half off the balcony floor, Lolly climbed in, requisitioning a corner of the sheet for a hammock. This "hammock" became her refuge in those last painful days until I could get the vet out to euthanize her. Lolly was never a cat to seek out enclosed spaces (not even boxes!) so it was clear to me that she was hiding out because she was in pain. By the time my wonderfully compassionate vet came over, I had no doubt that she was ready to go.

 

What I've been noticing in the days since she's been gone is how I associate just about everything I do at home with Lolly, even things that have nothing to do with her. I was cleaning today and realized what it was: I no longer have a supervisor! Whether it was Tai Chi, cleaning,unloading groceries, preparing food, or even just doing the NYT online games, those eyes were always there, watching, monitoring, supervising. I'm glad she's not suffering anymore, but I so miss my soft snuggly supervisor!