Wednesday, September 30, 2015

After Work Hike

After my stint working for the BioPark I have been frantically trying to  get the courtyard situated before winter sets in. All of a sudden stuff has started to turn colors and the day to night temperature shift has been from upper 80s to 50s! I have made the realization that all the little seedlings I have been carting water out to are going to be eaten by jackrabbits and rabbits and mice once it is cold so....we haven't really done much out and about stuff! I have been encircling my seedlings with chicken and rabbit wire. Then the pond project started. Yard stuff is settling down and the weather is just about perfect now so I can join Jeff after work for 3 or 4 mile hikes while there is still light to do it! This hike is about 10 minutes from the house. There is one patch of really red soil with lots of trails. We just park and walk.

We started the hike about 5:30 which is what I call the "beautiful light time." The light here is amazing. The landscape turns all shades of pastel from lavender to pink to peach to deep red and orange. There is always light even in the winter which is perfect for someone like me who needs it. Anyway, here are some photos of what is basically our backyard...the base of the Sandia Mountains. We live at about 5,600 feet.




These blocks down below are really huge. We hiked down around them and then climbed up to leave a different way. Straight out is Albuquerque.


It got a little dark on our way out. As the sun set we trotted back to the cars, took off shoes and did the super long 8 minutes back to the house! Sooo nice to have nice hiking so close.