A World On A String

[Jericho Mile]

^ The Odessa f2 or Casey Jones f2 got a bigger screen. Definitely taking hold.

^ The Hell Mox sprouts are still under the weather. Literally and figuratively. Something is chewing on 2 of them and they look locked out…but I’m helping them with the medium. Mixed in some Happy Frog days ago. If they survive the wind and the chewing (not ants…probably small grasshoppers I see starting to hop around) I believe they’ll make it.

Another day of this wind event and cooler temps. Be 70 today but when the winds kick back in it’ll feel like 55.

Tomorrow should begin the next phase of the seasons. Heating up. Pre monsoon build ups come after a couple weeks of heat.

Hopefully these sprouts can see it

^ Meanwhile at the barrio garden…we are finally…seeing a zucchini sprout. Birds or a skunk got us for our first round of planting. This one is from the 2nd sowing. Never had to wait so long on a zucchini sprouting.

Anyway I have to leave this ranch garden and go back to the barrio and raise the chicken wire screening. My sunflower sprouts are about to bump it. I have to keep it on….there is a herd of Mule deer coming in at night and in the mornings…pillaging anything they can get calories from. I watch them eat my neighbor’s bird seed…and catch them around my garden. Just this morning I busted them in the yard.

Pain in the asses

 

[Jericho Mile]

^ The barrio footprint this morning. I took the protective screen off yesterday. Was going to raise it…but it’s just a lot of work for something that will need to come off anyway. I can’t stress out on Mule deer eating my plants. They didn’t last night or last season….so I gamble.

The winds hammered the hell out of these plants. I lost some sunflower sprouts. Thinned out the cucumber myself.

I raked out excessive amounts of medium that I don’t need on this bed. I’m keeping it…and all its worms…to mix with the Happy Frog for the ranch garden. I’m keeping it wet for now.

Man…these gardens feel like they have been dragging out for months. From the continuous building of them…to plant massacres…through the winds…throwing seed…watching the ratio of nature

Only gardeners can fully understand the amount of work and drama. It truly is a voyage every time. I wouldn’t call it relaxing.

 

[Jericho Mile]

^ Talked to work. Waiting to see if they call back in the next hour. I might or might not have an assignment. So….

breaking out some Sister 11 in case I don’t have an assignment and can go run for the rest of the day. I have always thought of Sisters 11 and 9 as the putrid fruit expressions.

I could definitely do my job high you know….but I play it straight on government time. I’m one of those people who thinks nothing of driving some big ass truck high though. I know that’s wrong but it’s true.

 

[right]

Here's the track I love to run on Jericho.

These, youngsters must think I am one far out old man.

 

[Jericho Mile]

Here's the track I love to run on Jericho.
View attachment 19204771

These, youngsters must think I am one far out old man.

That’s cool! Running on a track is cool. There’s something about going around in circles on even ground. Hypnotic.

Good on you for getting out there!

 

[Jericho Mile]

^ Went up to “The Lord’s Greenhouse” above the monastery. The monks really get out there and bust out the work. I saw one this past winter swamping for a sawyer cutting down trees. This monk was wearing saw chaps over his robe. No shit.

Around 11 miles of grinding hill for a couple thousand feet of elevation gain over single track and dirt road. Beautiful day. Only game I saw was 3 Coues (white tails). They looked healthy. I was looking for bear sign but didn’t see any. Didn’t see any people either.

 

[Lester Beans]

Beautiful pics!

I would have loved to see that Monk lol

 

[Jericho Mile]

Beautiful pics!

I would have loved to see that Monk lol

It must be miserable wearing those things. And the haircuts.

A lot of the younger ones seem like they came from farms. Iowa or Idaho. Big white boys. They drive around in an early 80’s beast of a Suburban and other assorted 4X4 vehicles. You think monks are unarmed? Not these.

So they are selling coffee beans out of the monastery. People visit up there and listen to them do their chants. While everyone was losing money during Covid….the monastery was expanding on its construction and lands. People have donated land to them. It’s a beautiful place.

I technically trespass through their property all the time. They have their own trail network. I was actually shown it by one of the brothers. Well built. Well maintained.

Anyway…they raise some livestock…have a sick greenhouse…and are farming potatoes (the Idaho farm boys connection) are in good with the Forest Service.

Sometimes I joke that they are a White Militia. It’s very white up there. The nuns in training are kept isolated in their own monastery (there are actually two monasteries on that property. I do not know why)….and there are trail cams hidden on the grounds/trails. I find them and wave

It’s hard to hide stuff from a person on the ground. I find it. I have a knack for seeing things that are “off” in the forest.

 

[Jericho Mile]

Attempting to get to the airport for an assignment back up to the Greer Fire. Head on vehicle traffic collision involving an RV has the 180 blocked in both directions.

And I will have to come back up this way to get where I’m going. My day got longer.

The Road is a seriously dangerous place to be. I do not ever forget This world is on a string.

 

[Jericho Mile]

^ My chariot of the day. Everything is automatic these days. No clutch or split shifting anymore. Rental truck. Not a government truck. Depends on the assignment. This is all pavement today. Sometimes I have to off-road these 26’ box trucks up Forest Service roads. Sometimes backing them out of situations for a long ways.

^ Greer Fire Camp. Winding down already. I’m backhauling today. Camp is obviously on the rodeo grounds.

^ The Fort Apache Crew loading my truck as I type this. Hopefully it meets the weight limits. You have to trust other people to set you up straight. I have some serious mountain roads to drive over for the next 150+ miles.

* That crash this morning was a fatality. I saw the car that did the head on with the RV. No way.

 

[Jericho Mile]

^ Back to the airport. I came in heavy…cleared 3 different mountain passes…dropping 2000-3000’ on the downs at 6% grade…in and out of 35 mph horseshoe turns towards the bottom switchbacks.

Used the transmission to slow down…as much as…I could. There was no engine brake…man my brakes were smelling at times. First time ever driving this particular truck. Even the same models have differences. Learn on the fly.

After the 2nd pass I pulled over and let the brakes cool down. So glad I had the road to myself. Didn’t have to focus on anyone else’s driving.

Truck could only do 35 mph pulling up the grades. It was slow slow…going up…and holding back the momentum of the weight going down. That run…loaded like that…takes a lot of focus.

I’m unwinding now…then going to sleep. I might have to do it again tomorrow.

 

[Jericho Mile]

^ Washed my one and only shirt I wear for work. Everyone should be aware…the original Smokey Bear was from New Mexico. Lincoln National Forest. I have no issues representing Smokey. Some of the best people I have ever worked with are/were Forest Service Fire people. A lot of dedicated people help keep our public lands open.

^ Spent about a 1/2 hour at the ranch.

* There’s new fires going around…Oracle, AZ….Coronado National Forest. Talked to work…those are our fires. Orders will start coming in. 3 guys ahead of me in the rotation but it’s rotating faster…so hopefully…soon enough I should be called to go there or somewhere else.

In the meantime I’m out the door and into the hills to run

 

[Jericho Mile]

^ Uphill grind vision. Sweat is really just tears of pain

^ The clouds and sky have a bit of something in them. A tinge of rose color in the clouds. Winds were steady around 10 mph…no humidity…got a bloody nose…around 85 degrees. Didn’t feel hot. Warm.

^ Found some pottery sherds while I was enjoying the peak. All in the same 12” X 12” area. Little cluster. I didn’t look hard.

 

[mike-or-ozzy]

View attachment 19205845

^ Washed my one and only shirt I wear for work. Everyone should be aware…the original Smokey Bear was from New Mexico. Lincoln National Forest. I have no issues representing Smokey. Some of the best people I have ever worked with are/were Forest Service Fire people. A lot of dedicated people help keep our public lands open.


View attachment 19205846

^ Spent about a 1/2 hour at the ranch.

* There’s new fires going around…Oracle, AZ….Coronado National Forest. Talked to work…those are our fires. Orders will start coming in. 3 guys ahead of me in the rotation but it’s rotating faster…so hopefully…soon enough I should be called to go there or somewhere else.

In the meantime I’m out the door and into the hills to run

Do you get paid by the hour, miles or otherwise?

 

[right]

View attachment 19205999

^ Uphill grind vision. Sweat is really just tears of pain

View attachment 19206000

^ The clouds and sky have a bit of something in them. A tinge of rose color in the clouds. Winds were steady around 10 mph…no humidity…got a bloody nose…around 85 degrees. Didn’t feel hot. Warm.

View attachment 19206001

^ Found some pottery sherds while I was enjoying the peak. All in the same 12” X 12” area. Little cluster. I didn’t look hard.

I found some really cool anasaze pottery on pastora peek in the carezo Mt range four corners area.
NICE find

 

[Jericho Mile]

Do you get paid by the hour, miles or otherwise?

By the hour. I always want assignments that are not local. The farther away the better.

 

[Jericho Mile]

I found some really cool anasaze pottery on pastora peek in the carezo Mt range four corners area.
NICE find

That’s cool. I like it up that way. Hopefully I’ll get up there for work shortly. I’ve driven through some wild monsoonal cloudbursts dropping gear in that section. I enjoy getting up to the Navajo Nation…all that stuff. Surreal assignments I’ve had.

 

[right]

I lived out there for a while on the rez in 4 corners .
Worked at the ute Mt cassino.
I hope you get out there.
Not wanting it to burn though.
Hope you are enjoying your job
Exciting work.

 

[Jericho Mile]

Had to drive for .gov down to El Paso and back. Dropped off a truck that has mechanical issues and drove back a different one that had just gotten repaired.

And we had truck blow out a dually around Tucson this afternoon and another had its entire computer system shut down over in Wilcox, AZ this morning. It’s one of those days. Loads are sitting on the side of the roads. The stress level has risen across the board.

Me? I just had to deal with a bunch of maniacs on holiday roads. I swear. El Paso was a mess…Cruces too…Interstate 10 you shitting me?? Absolute madness. Truckers trucking….road construction narrowed lanes…everybody thinking they need to be there NOW!!! State Cops in NM…patrolling in their gestapo style uniforms…

^ Coming into Cruces from the west. Looks tame.

^ Cheating the Interstate 10 by slipping around through Anthony, NM/TX…nice little trick that works better some days than others.

^ I do enjoy a good truck stop. When you’re driving a bigger vehicle with two fuel cells…plus a DEF cell…truck stops are your best friend. It’s a subculture. You can get about anything you need to keep going over the road.

I’d never want to be a trucker…but I do respect what they do…and some of those tractors are just so sick.

^ No dogs or agents checking vehicles today. GO sign

Ok…I’m probably not going to be sitting long. The rotation is spinning now. I don’t think I’ll make it through the weekend without getting called to go somewhere. Arizona is the hotspot right now. More money to be made over that way.

You have to be a mercenary to do this job. It’s all about busting out the work. Whatever role…whatever need be done. Just get it done. Get back. Go again. Don’t create problems. Solve them.

 

[Jericho Mile]

^ Sketched out the shape of the barrio garden yesterday. Cucumbers….they climb to the sky. There will be a lot of support trellis added as they climb.

I tossed in some cantaloupe seeds too…not that I have much success with those…ripening them in this climate not so good. But they grow like cucumbers. The seeds are from the compost cantaloupe I grew last season. I managed one good ripe melon.

State of Mind. I hope this summer goes well into some craziness. Fires and Monsoons. Gardens and Running.

By far Summertime Rules !