It’s a cloudy day at WSNM. This many clouds at one time have not been seen here before. Usually we have perfectly clear blue skies. Something must be changing; hope it means warmer weather is here to stay. It was 7 degrees for a low on Friday morning. And here we thought we were escaping winter conditions and temps in the north for an idyllic, warm retreat in the south. I forgot what I learned in 8^th grade geography class: it gets cold in the desert at night. So much for my education.

We’re really embarrassed when we think about our time at PEFO and leaving early because it was too cold. I thought coming south in New Mexico would warm things up. Not! The days can get into the 60’s and if the sun is out temps get above freezing by 8:30 in the morning, but watch out for the nights. We are also better prepared than we were in PEFO. At PEFO we were still living under the delusion that AZ and NM are in southern US and therefore must be warmer and a fairly decent place in the winter. Anyway, we now have supplemental propane so that when we need a refill we don’t have to move our rig. (At PEFO it would have been a 50+mile round trip to get propane.) We also have a heater and remote temperature gauge in our outside compartment that contains our pump. There was one time when the pump froze and I was starting to take a shower. Not even ice cubes were getting through. But now we are set. At least we can stay liquid and function when temps go into the single digits. I don’t care to test our system any farther.

 Here I am either making a point about something or pronouncing the benediction. Shannon and I both have done our Sunset Stroll talks twice. The first time she got momentarily lost and led the group through an area that we caution people to stay out of because it is sensitive. She did manage to arrive on top of the dune where she had originally planned to be at the end of her talk, and everyone, with great relief, could see their cars. For my second talk, it was cold. It was only in the 40’s and there was a stiff wind blowing. Unfortunately 4 hardy souls showed up, and so the show had to go on. Sometimes when it gets cold, my lips don’t follow the commands of my brain and synch with my tongue and voice box. It sounds like I’m gargling with salt water while reading aloud from Waiting for Godot. It must have been why I didn’t get a lot of questions. And, people didn’t stay around very long watching the sunset. It was 36 degrees when I got back to the car. Ah, the challenges of out-of-doors, live performances.

 We are getting into the routine of being here at WSNM. We work Monday through Thursday and each of us puts in about 25 hours. Since we only need to put in 16 hours each and the coordinator will schedule us for as many hours as she can get out of us, we are starting to make some other time management decisions during times that are called “Projects.” Since we have no real duties during project time, we feel more free about taking some time to get better acquainted with Tuzie and get caught up around the homestead. We are traveling on our day or days off trying to experience as much of the area as possible. That will be for future posts. In the meantime we are here enjoying the sunrises, the sunsets, the full moon rising, and the warm, sunny days