Cars, Cats, & Canyons

Well, apparently it isn't Cerrillos Rd. that's the most dangerous through-way in Santa Fe. It's the parking lot of Whole Foods: wanderers, double-parkers, blind reversers, and general mayhem. It's a wonder I made it home with my meager (yet $$$) groceries.

We have stepped up the cat-exposure to Folly & Twist. Now there is a dog/baby gate across the Little Bedroom where the cats reign. We feed the dogs in the hallway outside and keep the door open whenever we're home. Tom especially is So Curious. He loves to steal up to the gate, look at a dog and hiss, then run away. It's a total game. Ducky is, of course, smarter and more circumspect, so she waits atop a bed to see what happens to Tom, the point man. Folly & Twist really are just interested—no drama, thank goodness. Maybe in a month or so we can ditch the baby/dog gate and see how used to each other they are. Looks good so far.

Last weekend we went on Saturday NW from here to Bandelier National Park, where there are fantastic cliff dwellings extant from the Anasazi settlement there of 800 or so years ago. We took a Lovely Picnic but ate in the car because of the snow and cold. The walk along the cliffs was precipitous at times but so engaging. The settlement is in a long deep canyon with a year-round creek running through it. Really a perfect place. Marg had been there with the 6th grade recently, so she stood in for the local guide and taught me how to survive on pine needles (and how to tell them from fir), which are apparently both sustenance and a dental cleaner. Clever nature.