NORTHERN NEW MEXICO: "THE FARAWAY"

On a photographic trip in 1968, I was exploring northern New Mexico for the purpose of getting
some great photo shots for competitions in which I was engaged. (A most scenic, interesting, and
delightful trip, particularly in October, when the air is nippy and the leaves are turning-- is to go to Taos, turn eastward and take the state highway which winds through mountainous country
and reaches Eagle Nest. From there go to Red River, Questa, back to Taos, and down to Santa Fe. There are a lot of pictures to be had in this area!)

Georgia O'Keeffe referred affectionately to the northern New Mexico country as "the faraway."
My photo club partner and I were thoroughly photographing "The Faraway" that day!

On reaching Ranchos de Taos on our return, and driving around I saw the church, St. Francis,
Ranchos de Taos. It cried out to be photographed. I twisted a red filter onto the bottom lens of my Rolleiflex camera lens--otherwise the blue light of the sky would cause the sky to "wash out"
in my picture and there would be no contrast between the light colored adobe and the sky.
Little did I know at the time that I was photographing what would later be named one of "The
Fifty Most Extraordinary Churches in the World." (Google for an interesting trip!) Since my photo was made in 1968, I have discovered this church has been a subject for Paul Strand, Ansel Adams, and others. Georgia O' Keeffe painted parts of the church: "Bell/Cross Ranchos Church,"
1930. O' Keeffe: "Anyone who doesn't feel the crosses doesn't get that country."

She also has a partial view of the back or side of the church titled "Fragment of the Ranchos de Taos Church," 1929. She said in some of her writings that she found a partial view of something often to be more powerful than the whole thing.

This is certainly borne out in the lessons we learned in photography: "Crop, crop, crop, with the lens and in the darkroom for more impact."

A strange thing I have never figured out, is why Strand, Adams, O' Keeffe and others chose the square-looking backside of the church for their pictures. I much prefer dealing with the front, though there are nice angles and shadows at the back and sides.

In "The Fifty Most Extraordinary Churches in the World," the view of St. Francis is also from the back and rather lackluster, I thought. The Library of Congress photo of 1934 is almost
identical to mine.

In another post in the future, I am enthusiastically looking forward to telling you more about this trip across northern New Mexico and showing you my "SHEEPHERDER ON HIGHWAY"
photo.
See below: "St. Francis Church, Ranchos de Taos," 1968, by Mil.

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RUPERT, THE LITTLE DEER, IS A LITTLE DEAR

Remember my recent "Tribute to Animals" post? Well, something has happened that bears out
my premise and warms our hearts again. This tiny deer, now named "Little Rupert", whose mother was fatally injured by a car, was delivered by Caesarian section at a wildlife hospital
when his mother could not be saved.

Little Rupert, at just six inches tall and weighing a little over a pound, is so small he can fit in an adult's hand. He now lives in an incubator in the intensive care unit at Tiggywinkles Wildlife Hospital in Buckinghamshire. It is a nice appropriate-sounding hospital for little deer, don't you think?

Les Stocker, the hospital's founder, said "Rupert's mother had very severe injuries. We brought him out and got him breathing, and then he went into an incubator on oxygen. He is now being fed by a tube."

Staff members believe that Rupert, now five days old, will make a full recovery. Mr. Stocky said:
"Deer are very, very, tricky, but this one has spirit. He's an extremely feisty little guy and quite pushy."

Oh, the MIRACLES OF CREATION!!

---

"PLEASE DON'T DROP MY CHANGE"

Do you ever wonder about the IQ's of fast- food drive-up managers? All they have to do to make the world a better place is to tell their window employees: "When you give change, first put the COINS in the customer's bare sticky palms, and then add the bills."

Don't you get it? Then we wouldn't have change sliding around and falling off between the car and the window. Try "wedging out" through six inches of door opening, under your mirror, bending down (at my age?), picking up the change (my picker-upper is at home) with short fingernails, and IF you miraculously recover the coins, unfolding yourself and banging your head on the mirror...while that nut behind is continuously honking!

So what are your options?

(1) Well, the ingenious window-guys are crazy about the "helpy-selfy" plan, which we just discussed. "The bad news is--you'll have to get it yourself; but guess what the good news is? Lucky you, a bonus-- the last guy didn't get his. In fact it has been piling up all morning." This actually happened to my wife last Monday.

(2) They could apologize and say, "Here is your 35 cents." But now they say it is deducted from their paychecks.

(3) You could drive off forgetting it, the graceful and irky thing to do. Now that won't work. I am a child of The Great Depression. I remember, until I could no longer bend over, I would pick up a penny. (Have you seen hard times?) There was a most-excellent documentary 25-30 years ago, put out by the U. of Colorado I believe, titled "You Are What You Were When." If you can find, watch it.

(4) You COULD drive forward, get out, and walk back and bend over under IMPATIENT HONKER'S window (he has pulled forward) and deal with his epithets and his mirror while he casts aspersions on your ancestry. Not.

So....life goes on...they keep putting coins on the slick bills...they keep sliding off...managers sit in their chambers, smoking cigars...

You are saying, "Now Mil, don't tell me you frequent those places?" Okay, you got me, but only when it is "my turn to cook."

By Mil
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COCK-AND-BULL STORY: A TRIBUTE TO ANIMALS

A rooster has taken up residence at Bob Turner's Ford Country. See Leslie Linthicum's most excellent and well-done Albquerque Journal article of September 8, front page.

Apparently the bird recently showed up at the auto business establishment, looking beat up, sans feathers, and generally in bad shape. Speculation has run so far as-- maybe he is a retired "rooster pugilist" (or whatever). The sympathetic employees won his trust and friendship by "egging him on" with apples, bananas and (healthful) grains. He now roosts nightly in a nearby pine tree--good plan-- and trusts his new-found friends enough to come down mornings and figuratively shoot the bull with them and have alittle...er..roostership. Ok, fellowship. Then he preens his new weight gain and improved looks a good bit in the glass store-front window.

This warms our hearts in the nicest way. This story and other recent animal events set me to thinking about the importance of these fellow travelers with us on the journey of life.

Looking back on U.S. history and maybe also the world, don't you think we have made strides in the past 50-100 years in our care and consideration of animals?

They play a big part in our lives. How poor we would be and how boring it would be to have no fellow creatures in the world. How about children, with their live pets, stuffed toys, and rabbit house shoes. Then there are the guide dogs. There are guard dogs, sniffers, trackers, mascots; there are tteam names. Biggest of all are the pets for the old and all of us.

Relating to my suggestion that we are making progress in our sympathetic and merciful treatment of these "friends," did you see the story recently of the whale in mid-ocean slowly suffocating due to entanglement in a vast fishing net. These everyday garden-variety fishermen took turns cutting the net, while the whale seemed to sense they were helping. On regaining his freedom and recovering he literally swam near the boat and jumped six or eight times, blowing, as if in gratitude to the men and in joy for life.

These kinds of things are happening all the time these days: (1) stranded whales on beaches being helped; (2) oil spill birds and creatures cleaned, nursed, and released (3) burned and injured forest fire deer and bears treated(4) pest bears anesthetized and transferred (5) injured or abused animals brought in to vet all time (6) Adopt-a-Pet programs (7) advocacy for humane treatment of food animals (8) stricter laws against animal abuse than we have ever had (9) extensive use of veterinarians (10) pet medical insurance

I have known of instances where folks spent a considerable sum in trying to cure and save their pets.
If you don't feel that you are particularly concerned about what happens, for example, to homeless/abandoned dogs, just look into their lonely, hurting, puzzled eyes. Maybe they are wondering "Why am I here?"

There is so much more which could be said, but in closing, let me remind us of something I
figured out many years ago: Anytime we have CONTROL over a family member, loved one,
employee, or an animal---THEY ARE OUR SACRED TRUST.

By Mil

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