TNBC

Christmas Eve Dawn

It’s the night before Christmas
And all through the house
The cats are all quiet and lying about
Dreaming of catnip and catching a mouse
While Blue waits for the rat in the fridge to thaw out
The birds are all ready to roost for the night
To wait for the fat guy with a beard that’s all white
Then they all looked at me round-eyed and distraught
“You’re fat with white hair and a white beard, are you not?”
I’m fat, my beard’s white, that I cannot deny
But I’m not him, I assure you, and I’ll tell you why
He’s jolly, wears red, and carries a sack
I’m a curmudgeon and cranky, and I always wear black
But before you all get your tails in a twitch
Besides old Santa, there’s La Befana, the witch
So, one or the other or both they may call
Offering peace and prosperity for one and for all

Christmas Eve Sunrise

Sheep, Glenda & Silver dreaming of catnip and catching a mouse. Well, maybe not the Sheep.

Marble: “Bah humbug! Wipe that smile off your silly face, Santa!”

Marble: “Talk to the Christmas paw!”

Silver: “Crown me the Cat of Cats!”

Silver’s bow
Silver’s bow
It’s Christmas time for the kitties
Ding-a-ling
He’s Kitty King
Tomorrow will be Christmas Day

Gwendolyn: “Hey, stupid Paparazzo! You’re not the only cranky curmudgeon wearing all black!”

Moonrise over Resa’s tree on Chrismas Eve.

Roundabout

Sunrise

I made a roundabout between Corrales and Rio Rancho while running errands in the late afternoon.

View of the Sandias from the border between Corrales and Rio Rancho.

Looking south from the border.

A partial rainbow was a pleasant surprise.

The base of the Monzanos covered with snow.

Black lace trees at sunset

Sunset

More Gray

Moon got caught in black lace trees trying to shine through the clouds last night.

Dawn was quite colorful.

Sunrise was drab

Cottonball clouds at 9:00

Thick clouds at noon

Cranes at 3:00

Gray sunset at 5:00

No moon is seen through thick clouds over black lace trees tonight.

Gray Day

Gray Dawn

Gray morning

Cranes fly over under skies

Daddy Owl hanging at dusk on the nest I hung on Susan’s Tree.

Daddy Owl loves the pedestal of bark I built onto the nest. It’s a good perch to hoot on.

Gray sunset

Hooteluja!

Dawn

Sunset on Sandias

While taking the above photo of the Sandias in red, I heard a buzzing noise. I turned to see what it was and three paragliders were flying my way.

Moon and contrail at dusk

While I was photographing the moon and contrail, I heard an owl hooting close by. I investigated further and there was an owl perched on the edge of the nest I hung in Susan’s tree in August 2022. Hooteluja! Hooteluja! Hooooteluuuja!

It was dark, and I had to use 15x digital zoom on my phone’s camera, so I couldn’t tell if it was daddy owl. It could be one for the owlets from a few years ago out house shopping. Whichever owl it is, it’s a good sign to see an owl perched on the edge of the nest.

dusk

Afterglow

A Wrinkle In Time

Dawn

Resa’s Tree at Sunrise with greens, golds, and browns.

We encountered Sir Smokey Kitty in the Castle of Gwendolyn the Faire. Her castle is truly over the hills and far away from where we live.

In the 14th century, Gwendolyn the Faire would have invited up to 10,000 people to her banquets. The Erbolate (Herbed Eggs) required around 11,000 eggs to prepare. In these time-warped days where medieval traditions fall out of the wrinkles, Gwendolyn the Faire only had to feed 30 medievalists. It was still quite a feat, and the preparation of the courses was masterful.

Bottles from medieval wine, ale, and mead. The menu. The cookbook used for the medieval courses.

Goblets waiting and whining for wine. The food was excellent and consumed with pleasure. A mix of modern and medieval.

Resa’s Tree with cranes at sunset.

Cranes glow at sunset.