The wind blew away the color this morning
Silver: “Hey, Loki! Loki, Loki, Loki, Loki, Loki, Loki! Hey, Loki! Hey, Loki! Hey, Loki! Hey, Loki! Loki, Loki, Loki, Loki, Loki, Loki!”
Glenda, Spunk, Silver, and Loki waiting for Gwendolyn.
Gwendolyn: “Okay! Here I am! The Jugger Not Band meeting can begin!”
“Well? Well?”
“Calling a Jugger Not Band meeting to order is like herding cats!”
Sasha sacked out
Sandias and Rio Grande at noon
Glenda
Marble the camo kitting dirtbagging. Click on her photos to enlarge.
Sasha enjoying a pleasant afternoon
Wind blew the color away at dawn
What’s a matter you, Paparazzo? Where’s the stinking cheeeezzzz, already?
Silver: “So, Loki? Do you think the stupid Paparazzo put the cheez in this thing?” Loki: “I don’t see no stinking Cheez dish or smell no stinking Cheez! But I suppose there could be Cheez in that there thingamagig. But I’m tellin’ you Sliver, Cheez or no Cheez, I smell a stinking rat of a Paparazzo!”
Silver: “So that is what I was smelling? Un RATTO puzzolente di paparazzo!! He’s probably hiding the Cheez for himself”
Mable: “Hey, puzzolente ratto di paparazzo! How do I open this thing and get to the Cheez?”
Sasha: “Who cares about stinky old Cheez when you can be on the cutting edge?”
A colorful sunset defied the wind.
Dawn
“Loki, it’s lookin’ into your quiet eyes – silent tears
Silent as the night you deserted me…”
“Have you been listening to Golden Earring again, Silver?” “Yeah! What about it, Loki?”
“You’re a creep! You’re a weirdo! What the hell are you doing here singing Golden Earring songs to me?”
Hmmm! What’s this dingle dongle dangling down before me?
GRRrrrrr!
And yet another cheese standoff.
Snowy Egret
Chewed on by a porcupine.
Canadian Geese @ dusk
Dawn
I had a Cat 7 (seven cats piled on me) at 3:00 in the morning. Loki is under the covers, lying across my hips. That’s where he likes to sleep on me. See the Kitty Key for an accounting of cats.
Wile E. Coyote hanging out with us on the levee.
Cranes at dusk
Daddy Owl and Mama Owl were hanging out together.
Another great cheese stand-off.
The Tangle Heart Tree and Wile E on the levee.
Not much color on the Sandias tonight.
Afrerglow at dusk
Loki
That is the question!
Sasha
Loki
Spunk
Glenda
Jupiter shining through the clouds last night. I have no idea what the alien mushroom is.
Lacy trees under cloudy sky
First view of the pTerodactyl in the tree this morning.
pTerodactyl in deep thought
Sasha wearing Spunk’s ears
Morning moon
Frost-edged cottonwood leaf
Sandhill cranes foraging in a field.
Sandias with snow
Sandias behind dead trees
Spunk the “Box Hugger” protesting my breaking down boxes for recycling.
Spunk Art
Catnip & Cheese
Silver indulging in fresh catnip. All of the cats hold the catnip in one paw like Silver.
Lacy sunset
Fast-moving clouds swallowed the moon.
When it comes to fingernails, Oriana nails it.
Spunk: “Whoa! Those Keratins are like totally Alpha! Are those nails like Sick, or What? They reek of total destruction, and what destruction I could wreak with those nails! I want nails like that.”
The artwork that Oriana paints on her nails is impressive. She works in the tiniest details. Oriana is our data analyst. She is also working on a degree in business.
Sasha: “AAAAaaaaahhhhh! Keep those nails away from me!”
Corrales flood control channel this afternoon.
When I first started riding in July, the flood control channel was dry, and I could ride across the arroyo where the water ends, 300 yards from where I took this photo. At first, the flood control channel filled with water from rain collected on the west mesa up to 20 miles west of Corrales. That was the beginning of the second week of September. Since the beginning of October, the flood control channel has been filled with water. However, we have had zero rain in Corrales in October and little rain in Rio Rancho west of Corrales. I finally came to the realization that the water in the flood control channel is the treated wastewater from Rio Rancho backing up into the channel. I have not investigated why the water is backing up into the flood control channel now when the channel was dry in July, August, and the first week of September.
The treated wastewater from Rio Rancho is released into the mouth of the flood control channel near the levy and flows into the Rio Grande, as does the runoff collected by the flood control channel. Rio Rancho is the third largest city in New Mexico, with 109,060 people in 2023.
Cyclists, runners, and hikers who want to cross the flood control channel to continue north or south on the levee or the Bosque trail either have to ford the water or walk, run, or ride 200 yards into the flood control channel to get around the water.
The outlet for Rio Rancho’s treated wastewater.
Treated wastewater flowing toward the mouth of the flood control channel. The water smells like chlorine and detergents. I was surprised to see people fishing there the other day.
Different views of the treated wastewater outlet.
Erosion east of the current outlet. The erosion may be from before they reworked the area. The photo on the right is looking west from the eroded area.
The photo on the left was taken on 9/9/2023. The photo on the right was taken on 10/28/2023. You can see how much farther the water extends into the channel in the photo on the right.
Sasha and Glenda hovering over the heater.
It’s cold this week. The cats are clamoring for the space heaters we use to warm the spaces close to us. The cats were all piled up on me at 3:50 AM this morning. I had a cold ride this afternoon with the temps in the low 40s.
Cats from head to toe: Sasha on my chest in the foreground. Gwendolyn’s ears are on the right in the foreground. She was under the covers, resting her head on my shoulder. After Sasha is Marble, Spunk, Silver, and then Glenda is at the end of the bed, curled up on my feet. Loki was on Laurie out of the picture.
Off Center & Not Even 