By S. Derrickson Moore
dmoore@lcsun-news.com
LAS CRUCES — It used to be that this weekend marked a kind of last hurrah for fiesta animals, as we danced into our annual Fourth of July fiesta feeding frenzy and went out with a bang, followed by a long, hot jornada del muerto … a deadly dull mid-summer’s journey, or a welcome fiesta furlough, depending on your attitude.
Some look forward to a little breather — a long, languid spell until the official start of FTFS (Full-Tilt Fiesta Season) traditionally waddles in with the Great American Duck Races and then gains speed and goes full throttle, maybe with a little January breather, until the following Fourth of July.
And many of us are ready for a rest, after a weekend that celebrates everything from alleged 1947 UFO landings in Roswell to ancient Apache traditions and ceremonies in Mescalero, as well as our nation’s Independence Day. There is a Smokey Bear Stampede and Rodeo in Capitan. There are powwows and patriotic concerts, picnics, festivals at cities and small towns, concerts, fun runs and arts and crafts fairs. And fireworks … launched from venues that range from a space museum to theme parks and Rattlesnake Island in the middle of Elephant Butte Lake.
And where else in the world can you celebrate all that is wonderful about America with a spicy, creamy bowl of home-grown green chile ice cream, made in a churn powered by an antique John Deere “Hit ‘n Miss” engine? (That’s a tradition at the annual Silver City Museum Ice Cream Social from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday, if you’re in the mood for a little road trip.)
After all that, we should be ready for our annual mid-summer extended siesta.
It’s too hot to get excited about much of anything. Even laying around on the patio or having an outdoor picnic doesn’t seem like such a good idea this year. The freeze and drought of 2011 has made it next to impossible to create and maintain anything that could pass for a lush desert oasis.
Better to head inside and crank up the air or the swamp cooler and relax with a cool movie, a good book or an entertaining video game.
But kids on summer vacation get bored, and nature abhors a vacuum, so our usual midsummer fiesta hiatus is not as long as it used to be.
There have been a few new events cropping up in fill the void in recent years. New Mexico Farm & Ranch Heritage Museum lures lovers of fiestas and frozen treats to its Ice Cream Sunday, this year on July 17.
By then, we’re desperate enough for fiesta fun and cool sensations that many overheated desperadoes are willing (or maybe even eager) to risk brain freeze and enter ice cream eating competitions.
There are other ways to gather with others and have a little laid-back summer fun: Monthly Downtown Rambles on first Friday evenings, and Camino del Arte Mesquite Street strolls on second Saturdays, to visit galleries and shops and meet friends.
You can pick up some fresh produce and other gifts and treats at outdoor markets Wednesdays and Saturdays on the Downtown Mall and Fridays and Sundays on the Mesilla Plaza.
There are summer camps and crafts classes, outdoor concerts, dances and clubs, a few plays and performances. Go to a baseball game. Or make your own fun. Enjoy your unscheduled time. Imagine a duck in a superhero costume.
“Super Heroes,” by the way, is the theme for the 2011 Great American Duck Race festivities Aug. 25 through 28 in Deming.
But the races, and the onset of 2011-12 FTFS, are many weeks away. Until then, plan on some power lounging and stay cool.
S. Derrickson Moore can be reached at dmoore@lcsun-news.com; (575) 541-5450. To share comments, go to www.lcsun-news.com and click on Blogzone and Las Cruces Style.
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Home for the Fourth of July
LAS CRUCES — A recent Saturday amble around the Downtown Mall (or historic Main Street Downtown, as we are supposed to officially call it) convinced me it’s the place to start my Fourth of July weekend celebrations.
My favorite Downtown Mall block is finally nearing completion — great news after many moons, dodging barriers and rerouting walks to get to favorite designations like the Branigan Cultural Center, the Las Cruces Museum of Art, Coas My Bookstore, Blue Gate and Main Street galleries, Black Box and Las Cruces Community theaters and assorted other galleries, shops and restaurants.
The fences — most of them — are down, and a line of brave little trees are up.
“I’ve already seen Flo outside, sitting in the shade of the new trees and making some sketches,” quipped Jim Turrentine of Main Street Gallery/The Big Picture.
He was referring to his next-door mall neighbor, Flo Hosa Dougherty, who hosted recent exhibits of artwork created from the wood of the late, great Chinese pistaches that once provided verdant, leafy canopies for her Blue Gate Gallery.
Word on the mall is that the Las Cruces Farmers & Crafts Market vendors could be back on their original block by October, or even September, if all goes well.
The market has blossomed and burgeoned in its relocated territory, with a reported 230 vendors, so they’ll still be offering their wares on the Rio Grande Theatre block, as well.
In the meantime, the color schemes have been discussed, the paint chips are chosen and volunteer crews are planning to spruce up old mall buildings, one by one.
I heard about the New Mexico MainStreet Program’s “Façade Squad” from Laura Kindseth, executive director of Downtown Las Cruces Partnership.
“It’s a new program designed to attract and inspire private property owners in downtown districts to renovate and rehabilitate the front and street-side façades of their buildings. The program employs professional architectural and design assistance provided by New Mexico MainStreet Program and the state’s Economic Development Department and the Friends of New Mexico MainStreet. The idea is to organize resources, materials, volunteers and local property and business owners to execute a façade improvement project efficiently and cost-effectively over one or more days,” Kindseth said.
She showed me the color scheme: a collection of warm, earthy, adobe-inspired hues.
A volunteer posse has already been busy prepping the first buildings in the project (Coas Bookstore and the Camuñez building next to the Rio Grande Theatre will be among the pioneers) and painting is supposed to start today.
If you’d like to help on future Main Street painting projects, contact Kindseth at (575) 525-1955 or e-mail director@dlcp.org.
Since the Fourth of July has conveniently landed on a Monday this year, we’ll have a nice long holiday weekend to explore our territory.
I’m going to start at home with the Ramble monthly tour of galleries, shops and museums from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday on the Downtown Mall. It’s a nice chance to preview our up-and-coming block in a festive setting.
I think it’s looking good. Let me know what you think.
• • •
Meanwhile, back at home on the high desert range, I’d like to thank all of you who took the time to call and e-mail with your own stories about close encounters of the bat kind.
I suspected the daily patio doorstep deposits of black pellets and moth wings were just that, and you confirmed it.
I heard about various methods to discourage bats, from wires and bits of flapping fabric to electronic devices and attempts to lure the homesteaders to bat houses in more desirable locations.
In the end, I’d decided daily cleanups were easiest, especially since I found the bats a lot better than the usual annual moth invasions, inside and out, which the bat feasts seemed to have eliminated this year.
But the bat evidence vanished about the time I posted my desperado critter column on my blog. (Bats must be online rather than print fans, or maybe they’re the original sonar tweet maestros.) Or maybe they ran out of moths and flew off to the next fast food joint.
It’s a great weekend for humans, too, to hang out at home or head out to explore someplace new.
Happy Fourth of July weekend.
S. Derrickson Moore can be reached at dmoore@lcsun-news.com; (575) 541-5450. To share comments, go to www.lcsun-news.com and click on Blogzone and Las Cruces Style.
My favorite Downtown Mall block is finally nearing completion — great news after many moons, dodging barriers and rerouting walks to get to favorite designations like the Branigan Cultural Center, the Las Cruces Museum of Art, Coas My Bookstore, Blue Gate and Main Street galleries, Black Box and Las Cruces Community theaters and assorted other galleries, shops and restaurants.
The fences — most of them — are down, and a line of brave little trees are up.
“I’ve already seen Flo outside, sitting in the shade of the new trees and making some sketches,” quipped Jim Turrentine of Main Street Gallery/The Big Picture.
He was referring to his next-door mall neighbor, Flo Hosa Dougherty, who hosted recent exhibits of artwork created from the wood of the late, great Chinese pistaches that once provided verdant, leafy canopies for her Blue Gate Gallery.
Word on the mall is that the Las Cruces Farmers & Crafts Market vendors could be back on their original block by October, or even September, if all goes well.
The market has blossomed and burgeoned in its relocated territory, with a reported 230 vendors, so they’ll still be offering their wares on the Rio Grande Theatre block, as well.
In the meantime, the color schemes have been discussed, the paint chips are chosen and volunteer crews are planning to spruce up old mall buildings, one by one.
I heard about the New Mexico MainStreet Program’s “Façade Squad” from Laura Kindseth, executive director of Downtown Las Cruces Partnership.
“It’s a new program designed to attract and inspire private property owners in downtown districts to renovate and rehabilitate the front and street-side façades of their buildings. The program employs professional architectural and design assistance provided by New Mexico MainStreet Program and the state’s Economic Development Department and the Friends of New Mexico MainStreet. The idea is to organize resources, materials, volunteers and local property and business owners to execute a façade improvement project efficiently and cost-effectively over one or more days,” Kindseth said.
She showed me the color scheme: a collection of warm, earthy, adobe-inspired hues.
A volunteer posse has already been busy prepping the first buildings in the project (Coas Bookstore and the Camuñez building next to the Rio Grande Theatre will be among the pioneers) and painting is supposed to start today.
If you’d like to help on future Main Street painting projects, contact Kindseth at (575) 525-1955 or e-mail director@dlcp.org.
Since the Fourth of July has conveniently landed on a Monday this year, we’ll have a nice long holiday weekend to explore our territory.
I’m going to start at home with the Ramble monthly tour of galleries, shops and museums from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday on the Downtown Mall. It’s a nice chance to preview our up-and-coming block in a festive setting.
I think it’s looking good. Let me know what you think.
• • •
Meanwhile, back at home on the high desert range, I’d like to thank all of you who took the time to call and e-mail with your own stories about close encounters of the bat kind.
I suspected the daily patio doorstep deposits of black pellets and moth wings were just that, and you confirmed it.
I heard about various methods to discourage bats, from wires and bits of flapping fabric to electronic devices and attempts to lure the homesteaders to bat houses in more desirable locations.
In the end, I’d decided daily cleanups were easiest, especially since I found the bats a lot better than the usual annual moth invasions, inside and out, which the bat feasts seemed to have eliminated this year.
But the bat evidence vanished about the time I posted my desperado critter column on my blog. (Bats must be online rather than print fans, or maybe they’re the original sonar tweet maestros.) Or maybe they ran out of moths and flew off to the next fast food joint.
It’s a great weekend for humans, too, to hang out at home or head out to explore someplace new.
Happy Fourth of July weekend.
S. Derrickson Moore can be reached at dmoore@lcsun-news.com; (575) 541-5450. To share comments, go to www.lcsun-news.com and click on Blogzone and Las Cruces Style.
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Creative ways to please dads on their day
By S. Derrickson Moore
dmoore@lcsun-news.com
LAS CRUCES — Ready for Father’s Day?
For some reason, most of us find that it’s harder to come up with great gift ideas for dad than for mom.
Some studies I’ve seen say it’s because it’s still primarily a man’s world; men generally make more money than women, and so most guys are more likely to buy what they want most for themselves.
I’m not sure that’s still true, and even if it is, it’s a cop-out to give up and say you can’t find anything appropriate for the dad who has everything already.
After many years on the planet, I’ve learned that most dads would rather do things with you than get gifts, and the world is full of imaginative adventures you can share.
While browsing through Pulse and SunLife calendars, I noticed this weekend was packed with intriguing opportunities for outings with your dad.
If my father was still on the planet (and wherever you are, Pop, I hope you’ve found a great afterlife river loaded with Brookies and rainbow trout), I think I’d start the day with the Father’s Day Chuck Wagon Breakfast at Fort Selden. It runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. today, so even if dad wants to sleep in, you’ll still be able to make it. Maybe you could serve him a continental breakfast in bed — his favorite pastry, coffee and fruit juice — and plan on brunch at the fort, where the menu includes scrambled eggs, biscuits and gravy, sourdough flapjacks, coffee and hot chocolate.
If you’ve never been to the fort, it’s worth a trek around the ruins and may prompt a discussion of your own family history. It’s just 13 miles north of Las Cruces. Take I-25 north to exit 19 and head west to the monument entrance. It’s free for all fathers and for New Mexico residents and $3 for others, so you can splurge a little more on another gift for dad.
If su padre is a mariachi fan, you could pack up a picnic and end the day at an outdoor concert, part of the city’s Music in the Park series, at 7 p.m. at Klein Park, 155 N. Mesquite St. The concert features Mariachi Feminil Flores Mexicans and Mariachi Real de Chihuahua, and it’s free, too.
If you still want to add a present or two to your gift of quality time together, a little creativity goes a long way.
Bring along your camera and shoot still photos or video of the day’s adventure and present him with memories in a photo album or digital frame.
If he lives far away, and you’ve been lax on your techno skills, this is a great day to brush up on Skype and arrange for some cyber facetime, or call him and promise to set things up so you can enjoy more online communication on a regular basis in the future.
If he’s a sports fan, consider tickets to a game featuring his favorite team, with a promise to take him there and treat him to lunch or dinner, too.
Equipment, accessories or clothing for his favorite sport are always appreciated, too, along with DVDs, books or supplies related to his favorite hobby.
Try to avoid the cliché tie. But if you must, get creative and don’t be afraid to go a little wild. Give him the New Mexico State tie, a bolo. Surprise him with a bowtie, or something one-of-a-kind, like a hand-painted tie featuring horses or desert scenes. If he lives here, he’ll be in line with local style. And if he’s far away, it will give him a good excuse to put it on and brag about his children or grandchildren who sent him that wild and crazy tie.
A hug and “I love you” are the gifts dads will remember and cherish most, along with a poem, a card, a drawing, a song or a letter that expresses what he means to you and maybe sharing a few of your happiest memories of experiences together.
When it comes to parenthood appreciation, as with parenthood itself, creativity counts and love is most important of all.
Happy Father’s Day to dads everywhere. We love you.
S. Derrickson Moore can be reached at (575) 541-5450
dmoore@lcsun-news.com
LAS CRUCES — Ready for Father’s Day?
For some reason, most of us find that it’s harder to come up with great gift ideas for dad than for mom.
Some studies I’ve seen say it’s because it’s still primarily a man’s world; men generally make more money than women, and so most guys are more likely to buy what they want most for themselves.
I’m not sure that’s still true, and even if it is, it’s a cop-out to give up and say you can’t find anything appropriate for the dad who has everything already.
After many years on the planet, I’ve learned that most dads would rather do things with you than get gifts, and the world is full of imaginative adventures you can share.
While browsing through Pulse and SunLife calendars, I noticed this weekend was packed with intriguing opportunities for outings with your dad.
If my father was still on the planet (and wherever you are, Pop, I hope you’ve found a great afterlife river loaded with Brookies and rainbow trout), I think I’d start the day with the Father’s Day Chuck Wagon Breakfast at Fort Selden. It runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. today, so even if dad wants to sleep in, you’ll still be able to make it. Maybe you could serve him a continental breakfast in bed — his favorite pastry, coffee and fruit juice — and plan on brunch at the fort, where the menu includes scrambled eggs, biscuits and gravy, sourdough flapjacks, coffee and hot chocolate.
If you’ve never been to the fort, it’s worth a trek around the ruins and may prompt a discussion of your own family history. It’s just 13 miles north of Las Cruces. Take I-25 north to exit 19 and head west to the monument entrance. It’s free for all fathers and for New Mexico residents and $3 for others, so you can splurge a little more on another gift for dad.
If su padre is a mariachi fan, you could pack up a picnic and end the day at an outdoor concert, part of the city’s Music in the Park series, at 7 p.m. at Klein Park, 155 N. Mesquite St. The concert features Mariachi Feminil Flores Mexicans and Mariachi Real de Chihuahua, and it’s free, too.
If you still want to add a present or two to your gift of quality time together, a little creativity goes a long way.
Bring along your camera and shoot still photos or video of the day’s adventure and present him with memories in a photo album or digital frame.
If he lives far away, and you’ve been lax on your techno skills, this is a great day to brush up on Skype and arrange for some cyber facetime, or call him and promise to set things up so you can enjoy more online communication on a regular basis in the future.
If he’s a sports fan, consider tickets to a game featuring his favorite team, with a promise to take him there and treat him to lunch or dinner, too.
Equipment, accessories or clothing for his favorite sport are always appreciated, too, along with DVDs, books or supplies related to his favorite hobby.
Try to avoid the cliché tie. But if you must, get creative and don’t be afraid to go a little wild. Give him the New Mexico State tie, a bolo. Surprise him with a bowtie, or something one-of-a-kind, like a hand-painted tie featuring horses or desert scenes. If he lives here, he’ll be in line with local style. And if he’s far away, it will give him a good excuse to put it on and brag about his children or grandchildren who sent him that wild and crazy tie.
A hug and “I love you” are the gifts dads will remember and cherish most, along with a poem, a card, a drawing, a song or a letter that expresses what he means to you and maybe sharing a few of your happiest memories of experiences together.
When it comes to parenthood appreciation, as with parenthood itself, creativity counts and love is most important of all.
Happy Father’s Day to dads everywhere. We love you.
S. Derrickson Moore can be reached at (575) 541-5450
Creative ways to please dads on their day
By S. Derrickson Moore
dmoore@lcsun-news.com
LAS CRUCES — Ready for Father’s Day?
For some reason, most of us find that it’s harder to come up with great gift ideas for dad than for mom.
Some studies I’ve seen say it’s because it’s still primarily a man’s world; men generally make more money than women, and so most guys are more likely to buy what they want most for themselves.
I’m not sure that’s still true, and even if it is, it’s a cop-out to give up and say you can’t find anything appropriate for the dad who has everything already.
After many years on the planet, I’ve learned that most dads would rather do things with you than get gifts, and the world is full of imaginative adventures you can share.
While browsing through Pulse and SunLife calendars, I noticed this weekend was packed with intriguing opportunities for outings with your dad.
If my father was still on the planet (and wherever you are, Pop, I hope you’ve found a great afterlife river loaded with Brookies and rainbow trout), I think I’d start the day with the Father’s Day Chuck Wagon Breakfast at Fort Selden. It runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. today, so even if dad wants to sleep in, you’ll still be able to make it. Maybe you could serve him a continental breakfast in bed — his favorite pastry, coffee and fruit juice — and plan on brunch at the fort, where the menu includes scrambled eggs, biscuits and gravy, sourdough flapjacks, coffee and hot chocolate.
If you’ve never been to the fort, it’s worth a trek around the ruins and may prompt a discussion of your own family history. It’s just 13 miles north of Las Cruces. Take I-25 north to exit 19 and head west to the monument entrance. It’s free for all fathers and for New Mexico residents and $3 for others, so you can splurge a little more on another gift for dad.
If su padre is a mariachi fan, you could pack up a picnic and end the day at an outdoor concert, part of the city’s Music in the Park series, at 7 p.m. at Klein Park, 155 N. Mesquite St. The concert features Mariachi Feminil Flores Mexicans and Mariachi Real de Chihuahua, and it’s free, too.
If you still want to add a present or two to your gift of quality time together, a little creativity goes a long way.
Bring along your camera and shoot still photos or video of the day’s adventure and present him with memories in a photo album or digital frame.
If he lives far away, and you’ve been lax on your techno skills, this is a great day to brush up on Skype and arrange for some cyber facetime, or call him and promise to set things up so you can enjoy more online communication on a regular basis in the future.
If he’s a sports fan, consider tickets to a game featuring his favorite team, with a promise to take him there and treat him to lunch or dinner, too.
Equipment, accessories or clothing for his favorite sport are always appreciated, too, along with DVDs, books or supplies related to his favorite hobby.
Try to avoid the cliché tie. But if you must, get creative and don’t be afraid to go a little wild. Give him the New Mexico State tie, a bolo. Surprise him with a bowtie, or something one-of-a-kind, like a hand-painted tie featuring horses or desert scenes. If he lives here, he’ll be in line with local style. And if he’s far away, it will give him a good excuse to put it on and brag about his children or grandchildren who sent him that wild and crazy tie.
A hug and “I love you” are the gifts dads will remember and cherish most, along with a poem, a card, a drawing, a song or a letter that expresses what he means to you and maybe sharing a few of your happiest memories of experiences together.
When it comes to parenthood appreciation, as with parenthood itself, creativity counts and love is most important of all.
Happy Father’s Day to dads everywhere. We love you.
S. Derrickson Moore can be reached at (575) 541-5450
dmoore@lcsun-news.com
LAS CRUCES — Ready for Father’s Day?
For some reason, most of us find that it’s harder to come up with great gift ideas for dad than for mom.
Some studies I’ve seen say it’s because it’s still primarily a man’s world; men generally make more money than women, and so most guys are more likely to buy what they want most for themselves.
I’m not sure that’s still true, and even if it is, it’s a cop-out to give up and say you can’t find anything appropriate for the dad who has everything already.
After many years on the planet, I’ve learned that most dads would rather do things with you than get gifts, and the world is full of imaginative adventures you can share.
While browsing through Pulse and SunLife calendars, I noticed this weekend was packed with intriguing opportunities for outings with your dad.
If my father was still on the planet (and wherever you are, Pop, I hope you’ve found a great afterlife river loaded with Brookies and rainbow trout), I think I’d start the day with the Father’s Day Chuck Wagon Breakfast at Fort Selden. It runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. today, so even if dad wants to sleep in, you’ll still be able to make it. Maybe you could serve him a continental breakfast in bed — his favorite pastry, coffee and fruit juice — and plan on brunch at the fort, where the menu includes scrambled eggs, biscuits and gravy, sourdough flapjacks, coffee and hot chocolate.
If you’ve never been to the fort, it’s worth a trek around the ruins and may prompt a discussion of your own family history. It’s just 13 miles north of Las Cruces. Take I-25 north to exit 19 and head west to the monument entrance. It’s free for all fathers and for New Mexico residents and $3 for others, so you can splurge a little more on another gift for dad.
If su padre is a mariachi fan, you could pack up a picnic and end the day at an outdoor concert, part of the city’s Music in the Park series, at 7 p.m. at Klein Park, 155 N. Mesquite St. The concert features Mariachi Feminil Flores Mexicans and Mariachi Real de Chihuahua, and it’s free, too.
If you still want to add a present or two to your gift of quality time together, a little creativity goes a long way.
Bring along your camera and shoot still photos or video of the day’s adventure and present him with memories in a photo album or digital frame.
If he lives far away, and you’ve been lax on your techno skills, this is a great day to brush up on Skype and arrange for some cyber facetime, or call him and promise to set things up so you can enjoy more online communication on a regular basis in the future.
If he’s a sports fan, consider tickets to a game featuring his favorite team, with a promise to take him there and treat him to lunch or dinner, too.
Equipment, accessories or clothing for his favorite sport are always appreciated, too, along with DVDs, books or supplies related to his favorite hobby.
Try to avoid the cliché tie. But if you must, get creative and don’t be afraid to go a little wild. Give him the New Mexico State tie, a bolo. Surprise him with a bowtie, or something one-of-a-kind, like a hand-painted tie featuring horses or desert scenes. If he lives here, he’ll be in line with local style. And if he’s far away, it will give him a good excuse to put it on and brag about his children or grandchildren who sent him that wild and crazy tie.
A hug and “I love you” are the gifts dads will remember and cherish most, along with a poem, a card, a drawing, a song or a letter that expresses what he means to you and maybe sharing a few of your happiest memories of experiences together.
When it comes to parenthood appreciation, as with parenthood itself, creativity counts and love is most important of all.
Happy Father’s Day to dads everywhere. We love you.
S. Derrickson Moore can be reached at (575) 541-5450
Friday, June 10, 2011
Life with garden desperados
By S. Derrickson Moore
dmoore@lcsun-news.com
LAS CRUCES — There can be an upside and a downside to a prolonged drought.
The downside is that it can be very tough to get anything to grow.
The upside is that there are fewer weeds to leave you with chronic obsessive-gardening backaches, and so far, at least, fewer noxious flora and fauna to prick, bite and/or poison you.
This year, what the freeze and the drought didn’t get seems to be fodder for UDCs (Unidentified Desperate Critters).
Something keeps gnawing off large chunks of my only surviving cactus, a prickly pear that apparently is not quite prickly enough.
Another UDC (or maybe the same one, moving into to the back yard) munched all the buds off my new gardenia plant just as it was about to bloom and seems to have killed it off.
Some UDCs which I have tried, but never managed, to catch in the act, swoop in every night and leave a fresh crop of tiny black pellets in the corner of my patio doorway every morning, sometimes with a deposit of moth wings. (Any ideas on possible suspects, experienced Southwest nature experts?)
Families of quail and the occasional pigeon stage periodic invasions. I don’t know if they’re eating bugs or plants, but nothing other than the pines, cedars and the few agave survivors seem to go unsampled.
Not that I begrudge them what they can forage. I throw treats over the wall for the neighborhood roadrunner, who does a good job of wrangling desert rattlesnakes out of the suburban courtyards and deserves extra treats, I feel.
I try to keep up with demands for fresh kegs of hummingbird nectar at the Humm-diner.
And I worry that the regular wind drifts of dried leaves from my neighbors’ dead (but still, reportedly, deadly) oleander bushes will poison whatever new growth I can coax along, and some neighborhood pets and wild UDCs trying to survive.
I commiserate with my loved ones in other parts of the country, recovering from recent encounters with poison ivy and was going to admonish myself that it could be much worse, until I did a little online research that revealed we have poison ivy in New Mexico, too.
I grew up hearing tales about the summer when my dad went skinny-dipping and, to get dry, rolled in what turned out to a big patch of poison ivy.
After violently allergic full-body reactions, he was confined to bed for most of the summer. He was still in his mid-teens then, and got very, very bored. He learned cribbage and canasta and bridge and even allowed his sister to teach him to knit. He read the entire encyclopedia. Since he had a photographic memory, it all made for some entertaining dad moments when he grew up and had adventurous kids and dogs.
My mom, on the other hand, was immune to poison ivy and could gather and arrange big bunches of the shiny leaves in attractive flower arrangements with no ill effects.
So far, I haven’t encountered any poison ivy in the Land of Enchantment myself, but I have friends who have been hospitalized after backyard encounters with noxious vegetation here.
I’ve suffered a few slings and arrows and spikes from a cactus or two, but I figure anything tough enough to survive in high desert country has a right to bear arms and defend itself.
I try to remember to wear heavy duty gloves, even if I’m just deadheading petunias or grooming the brown needles from the green dreadlocks of the pine grove. And I’ve been on the planet long enough to know you should never turn your back on the ocean during hurricane season, or on an ocotillo in a windstorm.
After months of drought, the UDC list seems to be moving up the food chain and scattered suburban sightings of bobcats, mountain lions and bears no longer seem surprising.
I think about how we human critters would feel if the green chile crop fails. And I sympathize with drought-ravaged desperadoes everywhere and pray we all get through this tough year together.
S. Derrickson Moore can be reached at (575) 541-5450
dmoore@lcsun-news.com
LAS CRUCES — There can be an upside and a downside to a prolonged drought.
The downside is that it can be very tough to get anything to grow.
The upside is that there are fewer weeds to leave you with chronic obsessive-gardening backaches, and so far, at least, fewer noxious flora and fauna to prick, bite and/or poison you.
This year, what the freeze and the drought didn’t get seems to be fodder for UDCs (Unidentified Desperate Critters).
Something keeps gnawing off large chunks of my only surviving cactus, a prickly pear that apparently is not quite prickly enough.
Another UDC (or maybe the same one, moving into to the back yard) munched all the buds off my new gardenia plant just as it was about to bloom and seems to have killed it off.
Some UDCs which I have tried, but never managed, to catch in the act, swoop in every night and leave a fresh crop of tiny black pellets in the corner of my patio doorway every morning, sometimes with a deposit of moth wings. (Any ideas on possible suspects, experienced Southwest nature experts?)
Families of quail and the occasional pigeon stage periodic invasions. I don’t know if they’re eating bugs or plants, but nothing other than the pines, cedars and the few agave survivors seem to go unsampled.
Not that I begrudge them what they can forage. I throw treats over the wall for the neighborhood roadrunner, who does a good job of wrangling desert rattlesnakes out of the suburban courtyards and deserves extra treats, I feel.
I try to keep up with demands for fresh kegs of hummingbird nectar at the Humm-diner.
And I worry that the regular wind drifts of dried leaves from my neighbors’ dead (but still, reportedly, deadly) oleander bushes will poison whatever new growth I can coax along, and some neighborhood pets and wild UDCs trying to survive.
I commiserate with my loved ones in other parts of the country, recovering from recent encounters with poison ivy and was going to admonish myself that it could be much worse, until I did a little online research that revealed we have poison ivy in New Mexico, too.
I grew up hearing tales about the summer when my dad went skinny-dipping and, to get dry, rolled in what turned out to a big patch of poison ivy.
After violently allergic full-body reactions, he was confined to bed for most of the summer. He was still in his mid-teens then, and got very, very bored. He learned cribbage and canasta and bridge and even allowed his sister to teach him to knit. He read the entire encyclopedia. Since he had a photographic memory, it all made for some entertaining dad moments when he grew up and had adventurous kids and dogs.
My mom, on the other hand, was immune to poison ivy and could gather and arrange big bunches of the shiny leaves in attractive flower arrangements with no ill effects.
So far, I haven’t encountered any poison ivy in the Land of Enchantment myself, but I have friends who have been hospitalized after backyard encounters with noxious vegetation here.
I’ve suffered a few slings and arrows and spikes from a cactus or two, but I figure anything tough enough to survive in high desert country has a right to bear arms and defend itself.
I try to remember to wear heavy duty gloves, even if I’m just deadheading petunias or grooming the brown needles from the green dreadlocks of the pine grove. And I’ve been on the planet long enough to know you should never turn your back on the ocean during hurricane season, or on an ocotillo in a windstorm.
After months of drought, the UDC list seems to be moving up the food chain and scattered suburban sightings of bobcats, mountain lions and bears no longer seem surprising.
I think about how we human critters would feel if the green chile crop fails. And I sympathize with drought-ravaged desperadoes everywhere and pray we all get through this tough year together.
S. Derrickson Moore can be reached at (575) 541-5450
How would you spend the last day on Earth?
By S. Derrickson Moore
dmoore@lcsun-news.com
LAS CRUCES — As we now know, the world did not end last month.
But I’d like to thank Harold Camping, who’s now moved his end-game call to October, and his Family Radio multi-media campaign for giving us all something to think about and supplying a possible answer to a question I’ve been pondering for decades: Would today’s mass media cover the second coming of Christ?
Years ago, I was on a university panel in which veteran journalists pondered such questions, and I’ll never forget the comments of political reporter Sander Vanocur, whose resumé includes stints with the New York Times, NBC News, PBS and the Washington Post.
Here’s how, he suggested, contemporary journalists might cover another famous Biblical event: “Moses came down from Mt. Sinai carrying what he described as ‘Ten Commandments from God.’ Here is our correspondent with a summary of the most important four commandments.”
We all laughed and agreed that most of the editors we knew could not resist the urge to edit anyone; not even God.
But we also agreed that mainstream media would probably ignore the story, all together. That may have changed at a time when anyone can start his or her own worldwide information — or disinformation — campaign via the Internet and assorted social media. And anything can become international and deadly news in a tinderbox era when any religious claim, or even the threat of burning a religious treatise, can lead to terrorist reprisals, uprisings or all-out war.
Personally, I always welcome a good theological debate and I enjoyed the chance to contemplate with friends and colleagues this potentially revealing and enlightening question: What would you do if you knew the world would end in 24 hours?
I was surprised by my own conclusions: I’d do pretty much what I do every day.
Prayer would be a major priority among my friends who believe in God. Most of us pray daily anyway, but there could certainly be cause for some special conversations, maybe to ask for forgiveness, for more time, for ourselves or the world in general, or for a quick and painless transition.
But it would probably be prudent to limit it to a soul-felt “thank you” and a classic that covers all the basics, like The Lord’s Prayer, the choice of Jesus, who demonstrated He knew what He was doing when it comes to major transitional states.
I thought briefly about seeing if there was anything I could do to mitigate environmental damage, about cleaning up a little, at home and the office, and maybe organizing my books and papers and writing a final column about how some of us spent our last day. But if the premise is that the world and everything on it will be destroyed, why bother?
A last earthly romantic evening with your soulmate, maybe? A walk with family and friends? A dance? A tune?
Mundane desires don’t seem that important. Some of us would crack open that bottle of wine or eat that Belgian chocolate, but I’d just as soon give it to someone else who might enjoy it, content to test my son’s afterlife theory: “Heaven is a place where chocolate chip cookies aren’t fattening and no one has to make a living with their art.”
I could cash in my 401-K and fly anywhere and buy luxury items for myself and my loved ones. But I couldn’t think of anything we would want more than hugs and facetime.
I don’t fear death, but I’d look around and see what I could do to help make people who are scared and alone feel more loved and comfortable.
Many of the people I love the most live thousands of miles away. But I would definitely not want to spend my final hours here in airports or on planes, and probably most pilots and airport personnel would feel the same way and would want to be home with their loved ones, too.
I think my loved ones know how I feel about them. Most of my adult life, I’ve ended our conversations with “I love you,” but I don’t think it’s something you can O.D. on. I’d make at least one last round to tell them all that I love and have faith in each and every one of them, and God, and why. I might tell them what they’ve meant to me and share a favorite memory or two.
There would be no LOL texts or tweets, though. I’d do it in person, by phone or via Skype.
It wouldn’t take too long; I’d pray that, God willing, we’d all be able to continue our conversations the next day in the afterlife.
I wouldn’t say goodbye. I’d use more appropriate Spanish terms: Hasta la vista. And adios. A Dios. To God.
But of course, there is little in nature or the Bible to indicate that the whole world would end crisply, cleanly, with a bang or a whimper. More likely there would be a long series of messes and opportunities.
And maybe, if we plugged away each day, cleaning up the messes and seizing the opportunities, we could leave a world in better shape for the earthly journeys of generations to come.
S. Derrickson Moore can be reached at dmoore@lcsun-news.com; (575) 541-5450. To share comments, go to www.lcsun-news.com and click on Blogzone and Las Cruces Style.
dmoore@lcsun-news.com
LAS CRUCES — As we now know, the world did not end last month.
But I’d like to thank Harold Camping, who’s now moved his end-game call to October, and his Family Radio multi-media campaign for giving us all something to think about and supplying a possible answer to a question I’ve been pondering for decades: Would today’s mass media cover the second coming of Christ?
Years ago, I was on a university panel in which veteran journalists pondered such questions, and I’ll never forget the comments of political reporter Sander Vanocur, whose resumé includes stints with the New York Times, NBC News, PBS and the Washington Post.
Here’s how, he suggested, contemporary journalists might cover another famous Biblical event: “Moses came down from Mt. Sinai carrying what he described as ‘Ten Commandments from God.’ Here is our correspondent with a summary of the most important four commandments.”
We all laughed and agreed that most of the editors we knew could not resist the urge to edit anyone; not even God.
But we also agreed that mainstream media would probably ignore the story, all together. That may have changed at a time when anyone can start his or her own worldwide information — or disinformation — campaign via the Internet and assorted social media. And anything can become international and deadly news in a tinderbox era when any religious claim, or even the threat of burning a religious treatise, can lead to terrorist reprisals, uprisings or all-out war.
Personally, I always welcome a good theological debate and I enjoyed the chance to contemplate with friends and colleagues this potentially revealing and enlightening question: What would you do if you knew the world would end in 24 hours?
I was surprised by my own conclusions: I’d do pretty much what I do every day.
Prayer would be a major priority among my friends who believe in God. Most of us pray daily anyway, but there could certainly be cause for some special conversations, maybe to ask for forgiveness, for more time, for ourselves or the world in general, or for a quick and painless transition.
But it would probably be prudent to limit it to a soul-felt “thank you” and a classic that covers all the basics, like The Lord’s Prayer, the choice of Jesus, who demonstrated He knew what He was doing when it comes to major transitional states.
I thought briefly about seeing if there was anything I could do to mitigate environmental damage, about cleaning up a little, at home and the office, and maybe organizing my books and papers and writing a final column about how some of us spent our last day. But if the premise is that the world and everything on it will be destroyed, why bother?
A last earthly romantic evening with your soulmate, maybe? A walk with family and friends? A dance? A tune?
Mundane desires don’t seem that important. Some of us would crack open that bottle of wine or eat that Belgian chocolate, but I’d just as soon give it to someone else who might enjoy it, content to test my son’s afterlife theory: “Heaven is a place where chocolate chip cookies aren’t fattening and no one has to make a living with their art.”
I could cash in my 401-K and fly anywhere and buy luxury items for myself and my loved ones. But I couldn’t think of anything we would want more than hugs and facetime.
I don’t fear death, but I’d look around and see what I could do to help make people who are scared and alone feel more loved and comfortable.
Many of the people I love the most live thousands of miles away. But I would definitely not want to spend my final hours here in airports or on planes, and probably most pilots and airport personnel would feel the same way and would want to be home with their loved ones, too.
I think my loved ones know how I feel about them. Most of my adult life, I’ve ended our conversations with “I love you,” but I don’t think it’s something you can O.D. on. I’d make at least one last round to tell them all that I love and have faith in each and every one of them, and God, and why. I might tell them what they’ve meant to me and share a favorite memory or two.
There would be no LOL texts or tweets, though. I’d do it in person, by phone or via Skype.
It wouldn’t take too long; I’d pray that, God willing, we’d all be able to continue our conversations the next day in the afterlife.
I wouldn’t say goodbye. I’d use more appropriate Spanish terms: Hasta la vista. And adios. A Dios. To God.
But of course, there is little in nature or the Bible to indicate that the whole world would end crisply, cleanly, with a bang or a whimper. More likely there would be a long series of messes and opportunities.
And maybe, if we plugged away each day, cleaning up the messes and seizing the opportunities, we could leave a world in better shape for the earthly journeys of generations to come.
S. Derrickson Moore can be reached at dmoore@lcsun-news.com; (575) 541-5450. To share comments, go to www.lcsun-news.com and click on Blogzone and Las Cruces Style.
Creative memorials in the Land of Enchantment
By S. Derrickson Moore
dmoore@lcsun-news.com
LAS CRUCES — A cozy group of stuffed animals lovingly nestled on a child’s grave. Crosses, creatively handcrafted out of everything from yucca branches to PVC pipe and weathered wood.
Colorful wreaths made out of red, white and blue silk flowers, positioned carefully on the grave of a soldier who died in World War II. A photograph and a frilly dress commemorating the tragically short life of a pretty young woman who was murdered in Juarez.
A descanso with flowers on the side of a busy street, where a promising teenager lost his life to a reckless driver. Ashes, scattered with a handful of rose petals, and prayers and a song for a dear friend, echoing on the banks of the Rio Grande.
An unexpected glimpse of pueblo mourners on horseback, gathered in a sacred circle in the mountains of ancient Acoma.
That’s just a small sampling of tender displays that have moved me while encountering memorial tributes here.
A sage once told me that the best way to get to know the corazon y alma (heart and soul) of a community is to walk through its cemeteries.
So that’s what I did, when I first moved to Las Cruces in the 1990s. I visited final resting grounds from Mesilla to the foothills of the Organs and the village of Tortugas.
I traced the history of famous figures and families who have buried their loved ones here for many generations, at the Masonic Cemetery on South Compress Road and San Albino Cemetery in Mesilla.
I visited artist John Meig’s backyard burial site for a beloved adopted son in San Patricio, a little community outside Ruidoso.
I found some of the most creative expressions of love and caring in the very heart of downtown Las Cruces, at St. Joseph Cemetery on Las Cruces Ave., near what native Las Crucens still call the “new” St. Genevieve’s Church.
The graves often tell a poignant tale themselves: dates on a gravestone testify about lives cut short ... in battle, in childbirth, in childhood. There are loving words, sometimes photos of the beloved, and statues of saints and angels.
Occasionally, you’ll find elaborate family compounds, sometimes with fences and landscaping; hardscaped perpetual monuments in the eternal mode of the great pyramids.
But it’s the more ephemeral tributes that speak to me: cards, notes, letters and fresh flowers, a small toy. Things that can travel with the wind, or meld into the earth with the coming of summer rains.
Things like the tiny origami birds in the Peace Crane Wall, the project of a Las Cruces couple, Tim Reed and Vickie Aldrich.
They were inspired by a memorial thousands of miles away. In 1955, moved by a Japanese legend of a recovery inspired by the creation of 1,000 paper cranes, people throughout Japan folded cranes for Sadako Sasaki, who was a toddler in a home about a mile from ground zero when the first atom bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. Radiation and ensuing leukemia killed her on the threshold of her teens.
The Children’s Peace Monument in Hiroshima’s Peace Memorial Park features a statue of Sadako holding a golden crane, and an inscription: “This is our cry. This is our prayer. Peace in the world.”
Tim and Vickie decided to create a monument with an origami crane and a brief biography and photo, if available, of every U.S. service man and woman who dies in the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
I first met them when we were a few years into what has become the longest continued conflict in our nation’s history.
Since then, Vickie has taken the ever-growing memorial on a 2008 trip to Washington, D.C., and there have been displays of all or parts of the memorial at sites ranging from Día de los Muertos observances on the Mesilla Plaza to the Las Cruces Veterans Park.
“There were over 5,000 cranes when we updated it last year. We last set it up on April 9 near Johnson Park, by the Branigan Library,” she said.
Tim once told me he made it a point to really pay attention to each life sacrificed, as he folded every crane and searched online for photos and information about each person. And sometimes, even —or especially — after years of folding cranes, he cries, while memorializing people he has never met.
The truest, most enduring memorials live in our hearts and minds and souls, I believe.
But there is much to be said, too, for finite expressions in our material world which can inspire us to ponder the lives we live now and the ways we will be remembered.
And experiencing the creative, thoughtful, tenderly sacred ways we memorialize in the Land of Enchantment can make you feel good about living here and better, I think, about eventually heading for the hereafter yourself.
S. Derrickson Moore can be reached at dmoore@lcsun-news.com; (575) 541-5450. To share comments, go to www.lcsun-news.com and click on Blogzone and Las Cruces Style.
dmoore@lcsun-news.com
LAS CRUCES — A cozy group of stuffed animals lovingly nestled on a child’s grave. Crosses, creatively handcrafted out of everything from yucca branches to PVC pipe and weathered wood.
Colorful wreaths made out of red, white and blue silk flowers, positioned carefully on the grave of a soldier who died in World War II. A photograph and a frilly dress commemorating the tragically short life of a pretty young woman who was murdered in Juarez.
A descanso with flowers on the side of a busy street, where a promising teenager lost his life to a reckless driver. Ashes, scattered with a handful of rose petals, and prayers and a song for a dear friend, echoing on the banks of the Rio Grande.
An unexpected glimpse of pueblo mourners on horseback, gathered in a sacred circle in the mountains of ancient Acoma.
That’s just a small sampling of tender displays that have moved me while encountering memorial tributes here.
A sage once told me that the best way to get to know the corazon y alma (heart and soul) of a community is to walk through its cemeteries.
So that’s what I did, when I first moved to Las Cruces in the 1990s. I visited final resting grounds from Mesilla to the foothills of the Organs and the village of Tortugas.
I traced the history of famous figures and families who have buried their loved ones here for many generations, at the Masonic Cemetery on South Compress Road and San Albino Cemetery in Mesilla.
I visited artist John Meig’s backyard burial site for a beloved adopted son in San Patricio, a little community outside Ruidoso.
I found some of the most creative expressions of love and caring in the very heart of downtown Las Cruces, at St. Joseph Cemetery on Las Cruces Ave., near what native Las Crucens still call the “new” St. Genevieve’s Church.
The graves often tell a poignant tale themselves: dates on a gravestone testify about lives cut short ... in battle, in childbirth, in childhood. There are loving words, sometimes photos of the beloved, and statues of saints and angels.
Occasionally, you’ll find elaborate family compounds, sometimes with fences and landscaping; hardscaped perpetual monuments in the eternal mode of the great pyramids.
But it’s the more ephemeral tributes that speak to me: cards, notes, letters and fresh flowers, a small toy. Things that can travel with the wind, or meld into the earth with the coming of summer rains.
Things like the tiny origami birds in the Peace Crane Wall, the project of a Las Cruces couple, Tim Reed and Vickie Aldrich.
They were inspired by a memorial thousands of miles away. In 1955, moved by a Japanese legend of a recovery inspired by the creation of 1,000 paper cranes, people throughout Japan folded cranes for Sadako Sasaki, who was a toddler in a home about a mile from ground zero when the first atom bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. Radiation and ensuing leukemia killed her on the threshold of her teens.
The Children’s Peace Monument in Hiroshima’s Peace Memorial Park features a statue of Sadako holding a golden crane, and an inscription: “This is our cry. This is our prayer. Peace in the world.”
Tim and Vickie decided to create a monument with an origami crane and a brief biography and photo, if available, of every U.S. service man and woman who dies in the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
I first met them when we were a few years into what has become the longest continued conflict in our nation’s history.
Since then, Vickie has taken the ever-growing memorial on a 2008 trip to Washington, D.C., and there have been displays of all or parts of the memorial at sites ranging from Día de los Muertos observances on the Mesilla Plaza to the Las Cruces Veterans Park.
“There were over 5,000 cranes when we updated it last year. We last set it up on April 9 near Johnson Park, by the Branigan Library,” she said.
Tim once told me he made it a point to really pay attention to each life sacrificed, as he folded every crane and searched online for photos and information about each person. And sometimes, even —or especially — after years of folding cranes, he cries, while memorializing people he has never met.
The truest, most enduring memorials live in our hearts and minds and souls, I believe.
But there is much to be said, too, for finite expressions in our material world which can inspire us to ponder the lives we live now and the ways we will be remembered.
And experiencing the creative, thoughtful, tenderly sacred ways we memorialize in the Land of Enchantment can make you feel good about living here and better, I think, about eventually heading for the hereafter yourself.
S. Derrickson Moore can be reached at dmoore@lcsun-news.com; (575) 541-5450. To share comments, go to www.lcsun-news.com and click on Blogzone and Las Cruces Style.
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