During our stay in Morelia, the bougainvillea was riot, and the jacaranda trees dropped purple blossoms across the roads. Hummingbirds plied their trade in the patio garden, and the world was green. The temperature was 87˚ F (31˚ C) with a low of 50˚ F (10˚ C).
Toni and I arrived back from the warmth and beauty of Morelia on Tuesday. In Bernalillo, we were met by an explosion of pink and white blossoms from our plum, cherry, peach and crab apple trees: flames on the dead winter landscape, promising spring.
Of course, the blossoms were not the only thing to greet us. We were also met by the annual explosion of mustard plants, which spring out of the earth like dragon’s teeth. They look beautiful in the distance, on someone else’s land, for in a few short weeks, they turn brown and become a fire hazard. Their stems break off, forming small punji stakes that easily perforate the soles of your shoes in their search for red meat. In short, the arrival of the mustard was the call to begin nine months of nearly constant work on the garden, if in fact one can call an acre (4,047 m²) plot a garden.
Then the vagaries of New Mexican weather hit. Yesterday morning, a fast moving snow storm blew in, turning everything white, like a scene from a storybook. In 15 minutes, it had melted, and the dry earth had absorbed whatever moisture the storm had brought. Rather, the real problem was the dip in the temperatures before the storm ever arrived. Its hard freeze had probably killed all of the fruit for yet another season.
It seems that we have a warm spell which comes earlier and earlier each year. The trees blossom, and then a frost comes and kills everything. The average date of the last frost for Bernalillo is April 15th, but this year our apricot tree started blooming in early March, just before we left for Mexico. All of its blossoms are brown and dried, and I imagine that the rest of blossoms for the other fruit trees will soon join them.
This early warming is, I believe, attributable to global warming. The warming makes the trees blossom sooner. There are few pollinators around this early in the season. Moreover, it increases the exposure of the trees to hard freezes. That is to say, that there may well be fewer hard freezes lately, but a single hard freeze is enough to kill the fruit. Also, the drought and the periods of early warmth reduce the snow pack, and the snow pack feeds the Rio Grande.
Today, we are back to a more normal pattern of New Mexican weather: wind. Today we will have winds of 30 mph (50 kph) with gusts up to 50 mph (80 kph), what we call a mild day. Later on, the winds will pick up and you will be able to see small children being blown aloft, like kites with no string to guide them home.
In thinking about moving to Mexico or in staying in Bernalillo, we really appreciated how orderly the U.S. is, compared to Mexico. The driving is so much easier, as no one is passing you in the parking lots. To go from the center of Morelia to Uruapan for example, you had to get on the city’s main expressway (the periferico) to get on the highway to Uruapan. This is the intersection of two major roads, but instead of a clover leaf of on-ramps and exits, you dave to make a u-turn in the middle to the expressway at a place without any traffic lights. On the toll road, I would be driving at 110 kph (70 mph) and be passed regularly by people driving in excess of 150 kpm, while I was passing a fuel tanker on a blind curve on a two lane road. While driving is much more interesting in Mexico, driving here is almost relaxing in comparison.
Still, ease is not the only criterion to living one’s life. Sixty-three is not so old that we are forced only to think of being comfortable. We are still young enough for another adventure, and Mexico has always been a place that ignited our imaginations and intellect.
By the way, the reason that I have not written sooner is that I got sick just as we were returning from Mexico. On Wednesday, I wrote what I consider to be a humorous recounting having stomach problems on a small plane with a single bathroom. Toni says that while my story is funny, it falls into the category of TOO MUCH INFORMATION and perhaps a bit of POTTY HUMOR. She also said that if I sent it out, she would DENY EVER KNOWING ME, DENY THAT WE WERE MARRIED and SHUN ME IN PUBLIC.
