there is no time here
in the volcano valley
uneasy stillness
Uneasy Stillness
Trees In The Meadow
reaching to the sky
water courses through the grass
peace in the valley
Forgotten
in willowing grass
hidden stones on unnamed graves
ghosts howl in the wind
Billy
he said I changed him
maybe not for the better
still running away
The Unknowable Alternate Outcome
This isn’t a post about drinks.
Two weeks ago today, I was driving home from the store and a teenage girl rear-ended me at a traffic light. She wasn’t wearing a seatbelt and neither was her 14 year old brother. His head broke the windshield.
Future New Mexicans
Our time here in Maryland grows short. Big transactions are taking place and in a few months our new house (from Clayton Homes) will be delivered to this land near the Manzano Mountains in New Mexico.
It is what keeps me going day after day.
I grew up on this land and it’s time to go home and be near my family.
I can’t wait to visit all the local wineries and be able to buy wine at Costco and Trader Joe’s (can’t do that in Maryland). Did you know there is a winery in Albuquerque that has both red and green chili wine?
Most importantly, Xavier and I want an actual home that is not an apartment. We want to have our own space, our own yard, a workshop; our very own hippie homestead with wind turbines, solar panels, and rain collection barrels. (And Wi-Fi… don’t forget the Wi-Fi)
But we want a certain type of lifestyle too. We want to fly light.
That means living with low overhead. Buying a home that is easily affordable instead of barely affordable. We’re minimalist in that regard. We want to spend our money on adventures and experiences instead of on unnecessarily inflated bills.
At first we had planned to buy a tiny house but that proved to be impractical for a whole host of technical reasons, like zoning laws say for instance. As it turned out, it made a whole lot more sense to buy a manufactured home. It’s still small but not so tiny that it has a weed sprayer shower or an electric hotplate for a stove plus I won’t have to be hoisting my dog up a ladder every night when we go to bed.
I really didn’t want to hoist my dog up a ladder.
Anyway, New Mexico awaits, the wheels in the sky are turning and all we have to do is stay the course.
September
October
November
So long Maryland and hello New Mexico!
Rock Creek Through Frederick Part 3
Wine Review: 2014 Essential Red, Bogle Vineyards
Xavier and I have been watching a lot of Supernatural lately. It’s what we do.
To celebrate Friday night I picked up this bottle of Bogle Essential Red. At $14.99, it cost a little bit more than I usually spend but it is immediately evident where that extra $4.00 went.
Essential Red tastes expensive.
A step above what we’re used to.
Whatever they do, they do it well. This wine is fer-damn delicious.
A blend of Old Vine Zinfandel, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petite Sirah, extra Miracle Gro, and some kind of witchcraft, Essential Red combines the best qualities of all the varietals to create a masterpiece.
Velevet, leather, tobacco, chocolate, cedar, juniper and, you know, grapes.
Actually, it’s just grapes. The other stuff is all in your head.
But damn, it’s fine.
The bottle survived three episodes of Supernatural and a romantic cuddle on the patio.
Whatever wine you were planning to buy for tonight, put it down and go pickup a bottle of Bogle Essential Red instead.
Wine Review: Old Vine Zinfandel, Bota Box
It feels like fall in Maryland tonight and, to be honest, I’m not a fan. Summer is my season. That being said, the impending autumn brings with it significant and exciting changes. By the time the snow gets here, I’ll once again be a homeowner in New Mexico. So, you know, maybe fall isn’t so bad after all.
Admittedly, a glass of red wine is nice on a chilly evening. Or a hot evening. Or pretty much any type of evening. Hell, it’s doesn’t even have to be evening. Whenever is fine.
Anyway…
For the most part, I’ve been pleasantly surprised by my explorations into the world of boxed wine. Bota Box did well with this Old Vine Zinfandel. We liked it. A lot.
Xavier has become fixated on the show, Supernatural, and since it is now in it’s 12th season of production that means there are eleven seasons available on NetFlix.
Wine disappears at an approximate rate of two boxes per season so, consumption being what it is, it will be necessary to find many more boxes to try before we get to the end of the show.
This is a dark and jammy Zinfandel. A lovely glass of plum, licorice, sage, and a whole lot of oak. I do love me some oakified wine.
Xavier, who is especially enamored with the Old Vine Zin, claims that this one has an upward inflection at the end and that drinking it is like conversing with a Valley Girl.
You know?
Because all statements end with question marks?
He’s funny like that.
I say it tastes like a whole lot of empty box because it disappeared posthaste. No red wine headache either, always an endearing quality.
Rock Creek Through Frederick Part 2
Trust The Devil You Know 