Blog draft may 13 26

Rocks

And more rocks. Travelling to the southwestern United States, you see more rock. Different types. So many colors. And textures beyond imagination. Tall and short, wide and narrow, square and spindly, crooked and straight, rocks in the southwest are the story.

You know you have arrived when most of the grass has disappeared and the plains sprout mountains and mesas. Hills? Not so much. Mountains yes. Buttes, too with flattop mesas above.

Along the sides of mountains and mesas are rocks. Some have small holes in them, carved by birds for nests and homes. Other holes are larger for creatures who can climb rocks with claws to carry them. They nest as well deep into the rock walls. Later humans would build cliff dwellings away from wind and damaging rain. Entire communities would take residence high above the canyon floor for protection from animals and human predators.

Rocks as scenery. Rocks as residence.

And the color of the rock walls may have been the spur to add paint to walls thousands of years later. Decoration on the walls was natural. Carvings of animals and people living in community are present throughout the southwest. Petroglyphs is what we call them now, but then? Wall art! Sconces came later but then they burned oils. We added electricity but still copied them.

Among the rocks and caves was agriculture. Early crops of corn were planted for food and grain stuffs. Native Indians invented so much that we came to know much later. We do it all on a grander scale, but then we don’t have to nomadically move to follow seasons. We adjust our thermostats for that.

Sitting and viewing the southwestern reality we can begin to feel what early mankind did to survive. We see their art and know their culture partially. So much more can be intuited. And they did this in incredible heat and severe cold of seasons marching through time.

It’s not just the rocks we see or feel. It is the humanity that came before us that we feel.

Know the southwest and sense the foundation of America in a very new way.

May 13, 2026

Remember the Epstein Files

 

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Intimacy

As we mature, we become deeply involved in relationships. Some of this is basic family relations – siblings, parental – and the like. Next is friends who enter our homes and we theirs. Neighbors, classmates, mutual hobbyists and so forth. Then we develop friendships that go much deeper. We comfort one another when we are hurting physically or emotionally. We discuss the matters of life and learn much more about ourselves and each other. We can even anticipate how others will react to various situations and stimuli. Good friendships do not spread to everyone we know. No, good friendships are special, close and deeply personal. We focus attention and brainpower on these few friends. Some special relationships focus on specific topics of interest and importance. Yes, we have specialized friendships. Most common. But one day, we get to know one person very well. An emotional connection forms with deep roots. A need to know the person more fully expands in personal ways. We sense this b...
Read more

Bits & Pieces

Pie: Apple pie more specifically. With Thanksgiving just passed, many of us enjoyed a good apple pie. Sure, there was pumpkin to accompany the turkey, but in our family multiple pies are offered in the holidays. Apple is surely one. Pecan, pumpkin and others, too. But I almost always choose apple. When I was in college, I was asked what kind of pie did I eat most often. In front of my mom, I answered apple, because I was always looking for a pie as good as mom’s own. Of course my mother was pleased, but it was a true statement just the same. When I was married, Ann’s pie was darned good. Her mother’s recipe. But we fiddled with the recipe until it took on its own generational name, and boy, was it good! Today I still order apple pie for dessert because I am always looking for a great pie to challenge our family recipes. I rarely do find such a prize. Do others do the same? Do you search for a great pie of choice, continually? If you do, what’s your story? Why do you do this? ...
Read more

Remembering Tom Sherlock

Tom Sherlock died on Wednesday, April 3rd. He was 65 years old and did not survive a heart surgery. That was his unexpected end and sad enough. But there is more to his story. Tom joined Dan Schuyler and George Safford to create what became the Village Chronicles, a weekly newspaper serving Warrenville, Illinois. That paper expanded to serve Winfield and then West Chicago. The paper published for eight years and built a good reputation for itself. Tom served the paper in several ways. He was our information technology guru, provided hardware and software to support the paper's operations. He was our sole bookkeeper, accountant and financial manager. He designed our distribution process and provided office space for meetings and layout and typesetting. His efforts supported the work of 32 volunteers who wrote and reported on the communities we served.  The newspaper broke even financially most of the time, but it was a struggle. Tom managed to find money to keep the newspaper afloat...
Read more