To all the fathers, old and new, I salute you.

This morning,  as I scrambled my eggs and poured my juice, I thought about my father, Walter Ray Mikesell. He physically is not with us anymore, but I do feel his presence, especially when a particularly funny pun comes to mind. I miss him - or rather I miss the opportunity to listen to him. I still talk to him and I wonder what he would think about his rebel daughter now. 

Some say that Father's Day is just a Hallmark holiday. I guess if you think you have to buy a card or a gift to celebrate your father, it might be just a commercial holiday.  However, I choose to just celebrate in my mind and now with you, dear reader. Dads come in all shapes and sizes, humors and wits. I think I came to know my dad best when I saw him as a real human being, not just an icon. He was larger than life when I was growing up and sometimes his goals for me seemed unreachable. I know now that he wanted for me the things that he himself wanted to attain in his own life. I know this as a daughter and also because I am a parent.

When we were kids, we submitted a paragraph to the local newspaper, "Why I like my Dad." My paragraph was sort of practical and pretty much summed up his tutoring me in Math and explanations of how things worked. But the one that wrote the best line was Jim, my brother, who wrote, " I like my Dad because he likes me too."

I wonder what Walter would think thought about this place that Tom and I have chosen to live? Would he embrace my sense of adventure or would he just shake his head in bewilderment? I choose to believe that he would be a little bit envious of our choice to live here. I think Dad and I are alike in that way. Dad and I had a conversation just before he and Mom went to China back in the 80s. I asked him if he were excited with anticipation of discovering a new land. His response was that he found it difficult to imagine traveling to such a far away land and found the thought somewhat surreal. I understand that now.

To all you children, young and old, whether your father is with you or not, whisper words of love to him. Make peace, and understand that as we honor our fathers, we honor ourselves.

First Days

After having "lived" in Mountainair, NM for a week now, I want to share some of my experiences and impressions of life here. First and foremost, the people are absolutely lovely. I have met only very nice, genuine, and welcoming people.

This town is located almost in the "belly button" of New Mexico. Mountainair is about 6495 ft. above sea level.  This  is high mesa land. Mountainair used to be known as the pinto bean capital of the world. Unfortunately, drought changed that and now it is mostly  ranch land.   Mountainair is nestled between the Manzano Mountains and the Sacramento Mountains and is surrounded by mesas.  Just east of here, one can see a huge wind farm on one of the mesas.

I am here in Mountainair for the summer while our house is being built in the Deer Canyon. Preserve just outside of town. I drove down here with my dog, Harley Jo - a very sweet 5 yr old Rottie/Shepherd mix. Tom led the way in his car towing a trailer. It was a long ride- three days. But once we arrived, we settled in rather quickly.  There are a few adjustments - like shopping. There are a few shops in town - and for the most part, with a little planning, one could do most of the shopping here.

The nearest large town is Belen - about 40 minutes away. Santa Fe is about 2 hours north and Albuquerque is about 90 minutes north west of here.

It has been rather warm 85-95 F. during the day, but the nights give a wonderfully cool reprieve. The air is very dry – around  5% humidity. New Mexico has been suffering through some of the worst wild fires in a long time - so the air is smokey. Although there have been a few fires near here, in Punta de Agua and just outside of Tajique, so far, we have had no major fires.

I will update this blog periodically so you, my friends, can get an inside look into this enchanting place.