April in Utah – April 2020

Mid April brings cool temperatures, highs sometimes only in the 40’s. Most of my projects and Clifford’s are indoor activities. This is a good time for reorganizing closets and cupboards in Cougar, editing, blog writing, and reading. With Clifford’s help I submit four photos to the Community Beautification Project.

A chilly April day

One of my sisters sent me a book, The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory. Very interesting insight into the reign of infamous King Henry VIII.

Reading

In spite of the chilly days, as I keep an eye on all the flower beds, I am happy to see the potential for blossoms this spring.

Blossom potential

Clifford is occupied with his ham radio, passing traffic (ham radio messages), and music, playing dulcimer and writing his own compositions using music software.

Although most small businesses are closed, on our daily walkabouts, we discover that the greenhouse is open, which I am glad to see. The “essential businesses” are mostly where we go anyway, so we notice very little difference in our weekly errands, other than the Plexiglas barriers in some places and many people wearing masks. We follow the news on Covid19 and inform ourselves through watching a number of videos related to the topic. There is certainly more going on than what the mainstream news reports, and even that is very contradictory.

Abajo Mountain

It is only toward the end of April that temperatures reach the upper 60’s and lower 70’s and we are finally able to make another outing on Abajo Mountain. The pond created by snow melt is a good place for us to stop. We set up table and chairs for our picnic and music, and I enjoy taking photos of reflections on the pond in spite of the clouds and gusty breeze.

Relflections on snow-melt pond
Picnic on Abajo
Reflections on a pond

Percha Dam – April 2019

Friday April 12: It is calm this morning at City of Rocks New Mexico State Park where we have been camped for over two weeks, our leaving having been delayed by extremely high winds in New Mexico. Since we have a ways to go today to get to our next destination, we skip part of the normal leaving routine, taking time only to finish packing and to make a thermos of tea for the road. We are on our way by 9:15, almost a record for us.

We arrive at Perch Dam State Park about 11:30 and there are only a couple of electric sites left. The first one is too tight for us, but the second one is fine. The sites here are quite close together, but all are pull-throughs around a loop with a view outward rather than toward a neighbor. We have a nice big tree by our shelter and are grateful for electricity.

Cougar at Percha Dam New Mexico State Park
Artistic view of trees at our campsite

Saturday April 13: It is sunny this morning as we make a trip to the nearby village of Arrey, picking up our general delivery mail and sending a birthday card to my daughter Merri.

Back at camp, I work on a CI fundraising campaign, take care of email, start the next CI newsletter, edit photos, and write/post another blog. Being here with electricity and decent cell service means we can take care of things that have been brewing on a back burner.

In the afternoon, we see increasing wind and big storm clouds building up. It looks like it could dump a ton of rain or hail, but all we get is wind and blowing dust.

Storm clouds moving in
Looks like heavy rain or hail about to dump on us

By evening, the storm has passed on.

Setting of the sun at the close of the day

Sunday April 14: As I do a morning walkabout, I see that the campground has been improved and is looking quite park-like. I call Merri for her birthday and send a photo of flowers by text.

The campground looking park-like

We make a trip to Truth or Consequences, the nearest town big enough to get supplies. Back at camp, we take advantage of the power and cell service here by working on a variety of projects: more CI business, another blog posted, and so on. Clifford is quite focused on the talk he will be giving in Santa Fe, as it is only a couple weeks away.

Wind and scummy skies continue throughout the day, so not many photos are taken.

Monday April 15: Today is mostly centered around domestic chores of cleaning and food preparation, as well as working on the CI newsletter. We make ANOTHER trip to T or C, as Clifford needs something that he didn’t know he needed yesterday when we were there, so we also pick up door mats to cut down on the dirt being tracked in.

Kitchen corner is home for herbs, sprouts, kombucha, and tea tins

Not a very interesting day photo-wise.

Tuesday April 16: I walk to the Rio Grande first thing this morning to take photos of reflections on the river. I can only imagine what this river was like before dams and irrigating stole its essence.

Rio Grand was once a great river
Reflections

Today’s focus is the newsletter; I also send a few text with photos and post another blog. Clifford works on his talk. In the evening after dinner I play viola awhile. Although the days here are not too exciting, it is a productive time.