New Mexico

I am in my new home in New Mexico, and in the tree in the backyard there is a small flock of house sparrows, just like in my house in Kingsland. I feed them from a dish on the brick wall around our property--in this area of New Mexico, everyone has brick walls around their properties instead of fences.

The parking lots are filled with grackles chattering endlessly as they do in Texas. They come to our house, too. Sometimes I see them hopping about on the brick walls, eating from the food dish.

The day we arrived, as we were unpacking, I heard a crow calling from far away. I stood in the driveway, waiting. It came closer and eventually flew over our house then flew in a circle around the rooftop, calling out once more before flying to the neighbor's roof where it landed, watching me work.

The view from my back porch is breathtaking. Every night, at sunset, for five or ten minutes, the mountains turn pink or red, depending on the season. This is one of my favorite memories of my earlier life here with my children when they were babies--standing on our back porch, my children in my arms as we watched the mountains turn pink.

We also stood in the yard and watched the hot air balloons pass overhead. This is where the balloons float by during the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta, and the balloons fly over all year long when the weather is good.

Yesterday, I was typing in my room when I heard what sounded like a giant breathing, and I knew it was the balloons. I ran outside with the dogs and we watched together, staring up at the sky as six balloons floated over the house.

Tonight it was raining, and there was a sunset in front of the mountains, but they still turned pink. It looked like Christmas.