Studio39Designs

 

Back Roads around Carrizozo

After we saw the cemetery on our drive, we then made our way to the small town of White Oaks, and beyond.  I have to admit, there wasn’t much to see in White Oaks, but I did have some excitement further on down the road!

Blue Seat

In White Oaks, parked in front of a door locked with a padlock, sat a bike with a blue seat and flowers in the basket.  It looked as if the owner of the bike had stopped in the shop for a moment, except he/she stopped right in front of the door, and the door was locked.  There was no one about that I could see, so I have no idea what the true story is about the bike.  The building it’s in front of appears to be deserted, without even a name on the building.  Still, I found the blue seat eye catching and wanted to capture this with my camera.  I converted it to a painting in my processing.

Young Bull

Down the road a bit, we came across some steer in a fenced in meadow.  The steer were quite curious about us, and I had to stop and take a few shots of them as well.  I really like this one – this guy is a young bull (as you can tell from his little horns), and I love how mussed up his coat looks.  My logical guess is that his winter coat is coming in, but the whimsical side of me likes to think he was just getting into things like little boys tend to do!  Even the look in his eyes holds that sort of  “I didn’t do anything” gaze.

Home in the Meadow

Further on down the road, there was this small deserted cabin just sitting out in a fenced in meadow.  I loved the way the clouds just sort of wisped over it, and I had to capture it.  I converted this to a painting as well – so peaceful!  You’d never guess what excitement I had getting this image!

Oops!  Sorry!

I always wondered how long it would take me to do something like this and now I know - about 6 1/2 years! When I saw the scene above, I got out of the Jeep and walked closer to the barbed wire fence that surrounded the field where it was. I was looking down to find a good spot to step up onto a bit of a rise at the side of the road and thought I saw the perfect spot. So, I stepped up and suddenly heard some very angry hissing! I yelped (Jeff's word) and leaped back so quickly that I was already about 3-4 feet away by the time my mind registered it was a snake! I looked around for where the hissing sound was coming from, and saw this guy. Jeff couldn't figure out what I was doing because after I yelped, he heard me telling something that I was sorry! LOL! Now, I always wear leather hiking boots that come up over my ankle when we do the back road exploring just because I never know what we'll come across. If this guy had actually struck out at me and bit me, if he aimed low enough, the boot would have protected me. However, even if I had gotten bit, this guy is a bull snake. The bite would have hurt, but wouldn't have been poisonous - whew! Still, it did get my heart really pumping for a bit! And, I still don't know how I missed this guy since I had been looking in the area where he was.....talk about being unobservant! I still don't know whether or not he accepted my apology, tho.......!

Enjoy!