Flexibility - that's they key to stress-free living in the midst of changes.

Saturday, June 6, 2009

Changes ? What changed?
Lots!

Early Tuesday; probably 7:30 a.m.
Daughter Sue and Dave called to let me know they would be vacating my Rio Rancho home sooner than expected. This means I can sell my New Mexico home sooner than expected.

My brain kicked in to see if/how/when I can have some time this summer to get my house on the market. Various options and solutions floated through my head. I was committed here at PVSP until the end of July.

At 9:30 a.m. I walked down to the park office to take care of a couple of things. Park Manager Victor Trujillo said he had changed the June schedule. The park is involved with a program called (I think) "New Mexico Works" and they had let Victor know that they could send another person to work at the park. Then Victor showed me the new schedule. With the addition of the new person, I was not on the schedule.

Normally I would have been frosted – I had set aside two months and traveled 260 miles to volunteer here, and then to find out that I was not needed after just two weeks. Instead it’s OK because this would free me up to go to Rio Rancho and get my house on the market! It is a solution that had never even entered my head.

Isn't it amazing how quickly it all worked out!? So I'll leave this coming Wednesday morning.

In the meantime, in the words of Eleanor Roosevelt, “I can do just as I like with this whole day!” Or in my case, seven whole days. [quote taken from Eleanor Roosevelt’s My Day; Pharos Books, 1989]

More birds

I’m not always in the right place at the right time. I looked out my motorhome window and saw mom and pop Gambel’s quail bringing their chicks to the water pan at my site. Drats, why aren’t I outside so I can get a picture (the tree between Jeremiah and the water blocks my view). I did take a photo, looking through the screen on my door, of them approaching. Unfortunately the quail blend in with the sandy soil. (Remember, you can double-click on photos to enlarge them.)

When I saw White-winged dove enjoying the irrigation water, I took this picture. It reminds me of my childhood days when we played in the irrigation water! Not the sprinkler, but the water that had traveled through a network of canals and ditches, most likely gathering microscopic germs, bacteria, and other ‘dangerous’ stuff. Between irrigation water, scorpions, unfriendly spiders, yards and fields full of goatheads (stickers), it is amazing that the Anderson kids survived what folks now-a-days would consider extreme perils!

The Lesser Goldfinch finally found my thistle feeder. Here’s a photo of one of the males.

Sandy Williams, the head of New Mexico Bird Records Committee I wrote about last week, told me to expect to see Swainson’s Hawks here at PVSP. I didn’t think about it until I saw something ‘large’ sitting on a power pole at the southern end of the camping area. The first time I saw it, I only took my binoculars, thinking that it would probably fly off before I could get close enough to get a photo. And besides, I wasn’t sure just what bird it was. Amazingly it stayed on the pole. It was on the same pole a day later and this time I had my camera. Looking at the bird, I studied the various identifiers – beak, feather patterning, coloring, etc. I got several photos of it on the pole, and then waited…and waited…until it decided to fly away. Then back at Jeremiah I looked it up in my field guide; it was a Swainson's Hawk.

A huge feral cat

I had been on the lookout for a ‘large, dark animal’. I had a glimpse of it, but it was sundown and I could not tell what it was. Finally I saw it in daylight and got this photo. I estimate it stands nearly 1 ½ feet high.

Temporary end to days of leisure

Ranger John called on Friday morning, “could I staff the visitor center today?” The new-hire had failed to show up. And she didn’t show up today (Saturday), so I worked another 8-hour shift. Visitor center guests are few and far between, and I had a chance to continue learning my new photo editing software.

Summer sunset at PVSP

Since this will be my last post from Pancho Villa State Park, I'll add tonight's glorious sunset - God's awesome way to end a day.

This week’s post ends with another Eleanor Roosevelt quote:

”I’m not so sure that it isn’t the better part of wisdom to make up your mind to live as happily and as fully as you can. Seize on everything that comes your way which makes life more interesting, or agreeable. Meet whatever circumstances arise … with a smile.”