The mountains of New Mexico are different than any other place in the West I have lived. In Idaho, Utah, and Colorado (the other three states I have called home at some point in life) spring can be unpredictable, wintery, wet, and nasty! You can get a nice day of sunshine, followed by a day of snow and rain. New Mexico is different. It is really dry, warm, and frequently windy in the spring months. Most of the moisture comes in the summer months during the monsoon season. I love the monsoon season. It is nice and sunny all day, then thunderclouds build in the mountains in the afternoon, and you get a spectacular rain storm. Then it all clears out for a gorgeous evening. The vegetation is green here in the summer, where in the spring everything is brown and dry.
This morning I woke up to the smell of a forest fire. Someone had a campfire get out of control. We live only about a mile from the National Forest, and this is one of our worries. I grew up in the foothills of Idaho, and during fires, we had to evacuate our horses from our pasture more than once. Seeing land burn and threaten your home and animals is scary. Thankfully today's fire is under control, and not in our immediate area. Hopefully people around here will be really careful. All of the smoke in the air today will make running and riding a little more strenuous. But at least our beautiful piece of land is safe.
