The sunrises in T or C are another handiwork of our Creator. He just does the best job!
We usually have a lot of beautiful views from our living room window.
Some days the feeders are so crowded one can just tell they are feeders.
Even below the feeders we have an assortment of birds---
---one of our favorites is the Gambel quail---
---and in the pecan tree we have a host including a cousin to the Cardinal, a Pyrrhuloxia.
---and a curious white winged dove---
---but sometimes we get a glimpse of a Cooper's hawk having lunch in the bushes.
Our January project started with some old friends, the Conrads, and some new friends, the Newtons.
We also had a new NCCC (National Civilian Community Corps) crew come in at the beginning of the month.
One of the tasks we had to accomplish before we could do much of anything else was to pour some piers for the floor joists to bear on.
Of course with the big job of 8 cubic feet of concrete, we had to resort to hand mixing---
---and when we had the pour done one of the NCCC ladies just had to sign the wet concrete.
Then the work on the floor began and as you can plainly see it was a head scratcher.
Keeping things in a straight line was Stephens job---
---and NCCC kept busy fastening down the floor.
Since the floor was a little out of level, well maybe 2 1/2 inches is more than a little, but the crew buckled down to the job of jacking it up and securing it.
Then the job of laying floor took on an big crew.
Meanwhile the ladies spent nearly all of their time sorting and rearranging the library.
Near the end of the project we gathered together with the NCCC crew and a few others to have a cookout.
Hamburgers, hot dogs, chips and a few other delicacies filled the bill (and the stomach).
One of the emergency things which occurred during the month happened when we ask NCCC to landscape our site. One of the ties that Kate is kneeling on fell and broke off the water line to the next site.
We had to stop other things, fix the broken pipe---
---then move on with the landscaping.
Another NCCC job was to design a desert scene on this concrete retaining wall. More on this later in the February project.
One weekend we decided to get out of Dodge (aka T or C) and do some sight seeing.
Our destination was the ghost town of Chloride. On the way we passed through the town of Winston and spent time touring the Winston General Store.
Just up the road a few miles is Chloride. When the silver was coming in Chloride was a town of 3,000 inhabitants. Today there are 12. One of the people who came to Chloride was a couple who wanted to preserve some of the heritage. They have a museum---
---a school building---
---a gift shop---
---and a bank/cafe.
The museum is in the old hardware store which had been boarded up for 70 years with most of what you see here still in it---
---and this as well.
Here is a fire proof accounts ledger from the period.
The gift shop held some very beautiful art---
---and the bank/cafe had a great bowl of stew.
In the center of the street stands a lone tree. The sign in front of it says Chloride National Forest>
On our trip home we say a herd of 10 to twelve mule deer.
Then the storm clouds moved in. My (Bob) sister lost the feeling in her legs. She lives on the farm in Kansas and after some testing they discovered a tumor in her spine. They have successfully removed the tumor but she has lost the use of her right leg. The old farmhouse, over 200 years old, is not what you could call handicapped.
So, we made a quick side trip from T or C to Wathena, Kansas to make a few changes. The first was to the bathroom which was not wide enough for her wheel chair. It is now.
Going from the front hallway to the front porch there was a 6 inch step which was also hard to navigate with a wheel chair.
Now there is a 5 1/2 foot ramp to make the grade easy.
Outside of the front door there was another 3 inch drop which has been converted to a 3 foot ramp.
The door to the garage had a thresh hold which was too large a bump to cross, now it is 1/4 inch.
The hall between the kitchen and the dining room was hard to negotiate because one had to cross two thresh holds and navigate on a spongy floor. Now it is a breeze to navigate.
While we were there we saw the return of the cardinals which was a treat.
Back at T or C a new crew has moved in for February. Unfortunately we had to miss most of the first week as we were on our way back from Kansas. We did get to meet two new friends, the Turkelsons, right, and the Jelnicks, center.
The ladies worked at the school and daycare---
---and made friends with a number of the staff.
At the end of the month we have completed the framing and wiring and are ready for plumbing.
NCCC has nearly finished the concrete well and it looks wonderful.
Last weekend we had had enough and we decided to make an excursion to the Gila Cliff dwellings. At a stop at a small cafe Billie found this notice in the bathroom. Very appropriate.
We drove the winding road over the mountain and stopped in a few spots for photo ops.
At one point we walked down to a lovely stream---
---and of course we played in the water.
We also drove around a beautiful small lake.
On the walk up to the dwellings we crossed several bridges over a small creek---
---took a number of pictures from the stream side---
---and finally made the ascent to the dwellings.
The dwellings were in use from about 1270 AD to 1300 AD during a period when there was a severe drought in the area.
There are a number of walls which were built in the natural cavities in the sandstone cliffs.
It would have been a safe place since it is nearly impossible to approach without being seen.
On our way home we were blessed with this sunset.
One last critter! On a hike around Elephant Butte Lake we scared up a lone jackrabbit. What does he live on?
