monticello messenger

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Brush-footed Butterflies
California Sisters seek
minerals and salts from the
dirt. Their name taken from
habits worn by nuns which
resemble the wing pattern.
Cowboys Real
and Imagined
As history exhibitions go,
this is as good as it gets. On
display at the New Mexico
History Museum in Santa
Fe until March 16, 2014.
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Page 4
New neighbors in
Cañada Alamosa
Do you have anything
to contribute?
Cowboy
Quotes
INFORMATION OF
HISTORICAL INTEREST,
ANNOUNCEMENTS,
“Always drink up
stream from the herd.”
ARTICLES, PHOTOS,
POEMS, QUOTES, ADS?
SEND THEM TO US!
Will Rogers
Cañada Recollections
[email protected]
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Fiesta de San Lorenzo
en LasPlacitas
el 10 de Agosto, 2013
Mark your calendars for August 10th and join us to celebrate the
Feast Day of San Lorenzo, the patron saint of Las Placitas. Mass
will be celebrated at 10AM with Father Marcos Reyna. A feast
will follow in Monticello Plaza. Esther Luchini, Mayordomo, will
be providing BBQ and everyone is asked to bring a potluck dish
and beverages. In years past, the San Lorenzo Fiesta was a huge
event with over 400 people attending. Last year was the first
Fiesta for many years and it is exciting to see that the tradition is
being revived. Clean-up Day, inside and out, at the Church will
be at 10am on Saturday, August 3rd, please join us. If you would
like more information or would like to help, please talk to
Kathleen Trujillo 894-7343 or Carol Baker at 743-0183.
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Commentary:
Immigration, Mobility, Xenophobia, and Bears
By Lou McCall
Old Monticello Schoolhouse Painting by Susu Knight
MONTICELLO MESSENGER
Published Monthly by the
MONTICELLO CANYON ASSOCIATION
A 501.c3 non-profit organization
LOU MCCALL
Editor-in-Chief
KRISTI MOYA
Graphic Design/Layout/Photos
PETE CRIDER
STEVE DARLAND
DENNY & TRUDY O’TOOLE
Editorial Advisory Board
DENNIE & TRUDY O’TOOLE
Upper Canyon Correspondents
MARY KATHERINE RAY
Columnist
NANCY CHAVEZ
BETTY WELTY
LINDA PADILLA
LUISA SAENZ
SUSU KNIGHT
Contributors
NOAH CRIDER
PETE CRIDER
Printing and Distribution
CAROL BAKER
Calendar Coordinator
[email protected]
HEATHER RISCHE
Subscription Manager
To receive via email:
[email protected]
Contributors and Volunteers Wanted!
Stories, articles, announcements
poetry, photography, cartoons.
Please send by the 20th of the month to:
[email protected]
Phone: 575.743.0330
Printed on 100% recycled paper
MCM Mission Statement:
to report information and relevant news to preserve
and protect the culture, history and quality of life of
our canyon community, to form alliances among
individuals, families, businesses and organizations and
to improve communication among our neighbors.
May all beings benefit.
MONTICELLO CANYON MESSENGER
There is a hot immigration debate going on now about keeping people from other
countries out of the U.S. As usual, there are two very black and white points of view.
The first is one of fear and lack; This is an exclusive club and the poor are not invited…
if more people come, they will take jobs and opportunities away from others and there
are not enough resources for everyone… immigrants will bring bad habits, such as
laziness, crime, terrorism and poor hygiene, yadda dada dada. This point of view, by
the way, is unsupported by facts or statistics.
The other is the more generous perspective; there IS enough to share, are we
not one of the richest countries in the world? There is an excess of migrant farm work
and housekeeping jobs that Americans don’t want, so let starving families from other
countries come, do the dirty work and keep los ricos clean. Everyone is happy - except
those who want to keep the newcomers out. America, the melting pot, was designed to
mix peoples and cultures and the stingiest among us want to deny that. There is
nothing uglier in American culture than homogeneity, let’s celebrate diversity!
Another consideration is just because we were here first doesn’t mean we own
the place. In America, everyone, except the Native peoples, are immigrants, so what
right do we have to close the door after us? A metaphor for this is happening right here
in our canyon. Take for example bears. They were here first and you don’t see them
trying to pass legislation to keep ranchers out. With the continued appearance of bears
in the canyon (and mountain lions) there also seems to be two points of view. One, this
is my property and stay the #E!% out and don’t eat my apples (or kill my livestock).
The opposite point of view is one held by the First Peoples, which is one of respect for
all their relations and the interdependence of all life. The original Americans, who you
think would be griping the loudest about immigration, are eerily silent on the matter.
This is a wild land and we are the invaders. The territoriality between bears and
humans is understandable. Just as Mexican immigrants go North in search of a better
life, so too, have bears found this beautiful canyon in search for a place to feed their
cubs. Wildfire and floods have displaced wildlife all over the West. Let’s think about
this canyon where we live and why we are all here.
Native Americans and other tribal cultures have their mythology about
different animals. When people meet an animal, either in the wild or in their dreams,
the animal serves as messenger. For example, when a Native person sees Deer, it is a
message from the Great Spirit to be gentle and swift. Everyone has a totem, it
represents an archetype and characteristics that we can learn from and integrate.
Depending on your nature your totem can be Eagle, Butterfly, Rabbit or Puppy Dog.
Bear medicine has a lot to offer and is a powerful totem. If Bear is your totem, you can
emulate the strengths and the nature of Bear, your power animal. For those who live
where bears visit, there is a reason why Bear enters your life. Think about the power of
Bear and what the animal stands for. Bear emphasizes the importance of solitude, quiet
time and rest. Maybe Bear is telling you to relax or take a vacation.
Bears hibernate for half the year. They are both nocturnal and diurnal, so they
are, according to Native mythology, connected to both Sun and Moon, or power and
intuition. They are balanced in that way and show us how we can balance. Bear is also
quick to anger, so if Bear comes to your life or your dreams, it could be a reminder to
learn patience and let the anger pass. Bears symbolize motherhood and natural
strength; they have a reputation for being fierce defenders of their young. The first
thing we learn about bears is don’t get between Mama Bear and Baby Bear.
There were many bear sightings on farms and ranches up the canyon; two Papa
Bears were killed, making mischief, destroying property and threatening life and limb.
It was sad that it worked out that way. They left behind two Mama Bears and two Baby
Bears, living in orchards and sleeping on private property. After the rains began, they
wandered off and as far as I know, have not been seen since. Why did they come to
our community and what were they telling us?
If you have an interest in animal totems, there are extensive resources that you can learn
from. If you see an animal or have a dream about one, look it up! My favorite place to go is
www.alltotems.com
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Leditors to the Editor
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Cañada Alamosa
Recollections . . .
You all have produced an excellent
publication!!! I always print it out and
enjoy all the content! Good job!
Betty Welty
Hi,
Wonderful newsletter! Thank you for
your article on our water problems here
and the mention of t-shirts.
Carol Pittman
Stories from Nancy Chavez as told to Kristi Moya
“My grandmother would remember her two little sisters every year when it would begin
to monsoon and tell us the story. I think it was her way to keep us safe when the flood
season began. Like the myth of La Llarona, she would scare us so we wouldn’t play in
the arroyos and acequias.
Why?
Taken at the Box, submitted by Betty Welty
On a sunny day the family had gathered at my great grandmother’s house to celebrate a
birthday. The children were playing in the fields below the casa, the adults just above
us on the porch. Suddenly, a huge wall of water came down the arroyo and took my
grandmother’s little sisters. Great grandfather clung to a tree trying to get to the
children and his clothes were torn off. The girls were washed away to the Rio Grande
and eventually found in Garfield. This was during the floods of 1907. When my
grandfather saw that a storm was coming he would always take us to higher ground. I
love to see the water run that is so necessary for our survival but for me it’s still
touched with the poignant memory of my grandmother’s words.”
RAIN. LLUVIA. We rejoice for the relief from relentless heat and dust but we must
remember it’s still a force of nature. The rains wash down the cow dung from the hills and
ravines. The first waves can carry baby Rattlesnakes in the dirty foam along with rocks and
branches. Like everything in the wild, the raw beauty must be regarded with acute awareness.
Mama and Baby Bear . . . Mama Osa and Osita
Before Sharpies.
Submitted by Kristi Moya
MONTICELLO CANYON MESSENGER
Perched in an Alamo Arbol, waiting for us to leave so they can go back to munching Brett and
Pete’s apples. Now that we have rain, they will return to their haven in the mountains.
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August 2013
Nature’s Neighbors
Painted Lady;
As in all
Brush-footed
Butterflies,
only 2 legs
are obvious
on each side.
Photos & commentary by Mary Katherine Ray
Beautiful Brush-footed Butterflies
Butterfly watching is becoming a new past time as birdwatchers have learned that in the heat of the day when birds begin to rest
butterflies will begin to forage. Some of the most boldly patterned and beloved species like Monarchs and Painted Ladies belong
to the family called Brush-footed butterflies. If you look closely you will see only 4 legs. How can that be when we all know that
all insects have six legs? The two front legs are highly reduced and often not even visible as small brush covered appendages that
the butterfly uses to taste their food.
Brush-footed butterflies, like all their kin, can only eat liquid food as winged adults using their spiral proboscis like a straw. This
is quite a change from their caterpillar life in which they chew through plant food with abandon. Adults feed on flower nectar
but can also be found ‘puddling’ which is the term when they congregate in damp places to suction up mineral salts. This can be
a puddle of rainwater, damp dirt in the road or even animal urine and droppings. Many butterflies only live for a few weeks as
adults having the main purpose of breeding and avoiding being eaten. To this end some brush-footed butterflies like Monarchs
have evolved to be toxic to would-be predators, which in turn have learned to avoid them. Some have adopted striking patterns
to mimic their toxic cousins even though they themselves are not harmful to eat.
Butterflies actually have transparent wings. The bold patterns arise from thousands of tiny scales on the wing- not unlike the
feathers in birds. These are easily rubbed off and as the butterfly ages, these bald spots become visible. All butterflies are
recognizable from moths by their club-ended antennae. Butterflies can be large or small. Next time you are out butterfly
watching, be sure to count their feet.
The Queen butterfly is
related to the Monarch
and is not just a mimic
but also actually toxic
to predators.
MONTICELLO CANYON MESSENGER
The Variegated Fritillary
is very common across
New Mexico and
widespread across the
western hemisphere.
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August 2013
COWBOYS REAL AND IMAGINED
An Exhibition Review by Denny O’Toole, Upper Canyon Correspondent
Ranching and farming got
started in Cañada Alamosa
in the 1850s, when the first
Hispanic settlers arrived.
They brought both horses
and cattle with them. Their
way of life has both changed
and persisted—through
droughts, floods, and harsh
winters, through world wars
and economic upheavals,
through sweeping social
change—right up to today.
Another way of saying
this is that cowboys and
cowboying have a long
history in our canyon and a
very long history in New
Mexico. The first vaqueros
(from which we get the
word buckaroo) and
ranches appear in the early
1600s, soon after Juan de
Oñate and his crowd of
soldiers and settlers pushed
into the northern part of
Nuevo Mexico.
This is where the story
begins. The best place to get
the full story, though, is not
in some book, not at the
movies or on television, and
certainly not in this review.
It’s in Santa Fe at the New
Mexico History Museum,
where the exhibition is on
display until March 16, 2014.
As history exhibitions go,
Cowboys Real and Imagined is
as good as it gets. Laid out
in a circular floor plan,
with a center space
anchored by an old chuck
wagon from the Bell Ranch
in northeastern New
Mexico. There are various
listening stations around its
circumference featuring
cowboy poetry and cowboy
songs, as well as viewing
stations with film clips of
rodeo and ranch life.
Visitors walk clockwise in a
chronological sequence
starting with the Old
Spanish days and ending
with a pick-up truck,
livestock trailer, and saddles
from recent times.
The whole show is easy
to access and enjoy because
of the effective lighting, the
availability of places to sit,
the well written labels, the
use of a variety of media to
tell the complex, unfolding
story, and the careful
placement of objects so you
can get close enough to
inspect them but not so
MONTICELLO CANYON MESSENGER
close as to harm them. The
major section labels are in
both Spanish and English.
But history exhibitions, in
the last analysis, succeed or
fail according to the quality
of the objects selected for
display. By this measure,
Cowboys Real and Imagined
hits it out of the park.
Here are a few that caught
my eye, objects that
instructed and delighted
(circa) from the 1600s; a
horseman’s full outfit, with
serape, from the 1820s; a
quilt made from Bull
Durham tobacco sacks from
the 1890s; a Colt Model
1851 Navy revolver and a
Winchester Model 1873
rifle; an original, one-of-akind reproduction tintype
of the one and only
photograph, a tintype, of
William H. Bonney, better
continued on page six
me; a Spanish soldier’s
knee-length
leather jacket
Todays Cowboys
in Cañada Alamosa.
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What Price Immigration
Reform?
Would you like to become a member of
Southwest Environmental Center?
Call 575-522-5552 or contact:
Southwest Environmental Center
275 N. Downtown Mall
Las Cruces, NM 88001, U.S.
[email protected]
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MONTICELLO CANYON MESSENGER
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Cowboy
Quotes
Reprinted from Wild Mesquite Weekly News,
7/10
Jaguars, wolves, ocelots, pronghorn and
many other wildlife species will pay a heavy
price for the immigration “reform” passed
by the Senate recently. What started as an
effort to fix a broken system has been
transformed into a $46 billion border
security frenzy that will lead to an
unprecedented militarization of the border
region. The bill requires that 700 miles of
iron curtain-type fencing be installed along
the border with Mexico--a distance equal
to the length of the entire Mexican border
with California, Arizona and New Mexico
combined. It expands the authority of the
Secretary of Homeland Security to ignore
environmental (and many other) laws,
mandates that roadless areas such as the
Gila Wilderness be opened up to “routine
motorized patrols,” and more than
doubles the number of armed agents on
the border. Hopefully, the House will not
follow suit and this terrible legislation will
die a quiet death. Read more about the
bill and what you can do here:
http://www.wildmesquite.org
T
“Don’t
squat
on your
spurs.”
Cowboys . . .
Will Rogers
continued from page five
known as Billy the Kid; the tripod,
camera, and photographs of Ella Wormser,
who photographed cowboys, corrals,
chutes, and trains at the rail head in
Deming around 1895; a rolled out bedroll
that was in use on the Bell Ranch in the
1920s; photographs of the 1899 Rough
Riders’ reunion in Las Vegas and the first
annual rodeo in that same New Mexico
community in 1915; and a display of the
all red, hat to boots outfit of diminutive
Fern Sawyer, noted cowgirl and rancher
from Lea County, from the 1950s -‘60s.
Two works of TorC artist Delmas Howe
can be seen in the section on rodeos in
New Mexico. Also of local interest are
photographs of cowboys and cattle drives
set in Magdalena, Pie Town and Wagon
Mound in the 1930s and ‘40s. There were
cattle drives from the Dusty area to
Magdalena on into the 1940s.
The mystique of the cowboy, the
product of the romanticizing of what was
in fact a hard, dangerous, and poorly paid
way of life, is well told in sections on the
western novel, the art of Frederic
Remington, Charles Russell and Tom Lea,
Hollywood movies, dude ranches,
Madison Avenue, and national politics.
When you visit, you’ll find things that
interest you particularly (and that I didn’t
mention), and likely come away with a
deepened sense of who these cowboys and
cattlemen were, how their business and
way of life changed over time, and of their
significance for us all.
The New Mexico History Museum is at
113 Lincoln Avenue, just off the Plaza in
Santa Fe. Its hours are 10:00 to 5:00 daily
until the last Sunday of the Balloon
Festival in October. After, it is open
Tuesday through Sunday and closed
Mondays, with the same hours of
operation. Call 505.476.5200 or go to:
www.nmhistorymuseum.org
“If you
climb in
the saddle
be ready
for the
ride.”
“The bigger a
man’s gun the
smaller his
doodlewick.”
Calamity Jane
No rancher has the right to sell, or
own, what God meant to be free. The
Range must always remain open.
BBQ Bill Shankelbean,
1855
PAGE SIX
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August 2013
eat wild
Quelites - Lambsquarters
Verdolages - Purslane
Traditionally, Quelites were enjoyed as a
This succulent almost clover-like herb has
beloved delicacy throughout Mexico and
richly aromatic dark green leaves with
Neuvo Mexico. Most people these days
reddish-tinted, juicy stems. Delightfully
think of Lamb’s Quarters, or wild spinach
crunchy and fresh tasting, the entire plant
as a weed, but this nutritious edible weed
can be used, the stems being the most
is making a comeback. One mature stalk,
succulent. Raw stems have a mild, slightly
when watered, can grow to a height of 6
sour and uniquely tangy flavor.
feet and can provide a whole winter’s
Traditionally thought of as an appetite
supply of frozen spinach. Let some go to
enhancer, raw Verdolages is equisite in
seed and you will have a huge crop next
fresh salads, paired with chopped onion,
year. Eat it fresh in salads throughout the
cherry tomatoes, olive oil and a good
summer and fall, especially the local
balsamic, or an exceptionally good Aceto
variety with the magenta centers, which
Balsamico of Monticello. Sauté in olive oil
add a colorful splash against a background
and garlic, pair with mashed South 40
of green salad. Cooked, it can be
Farms potatoes. Excellent when used in
substituted in any spinach recipe. From
soups or stews. Briefly steam and toss with
the Kitchen of Linda Padilla: Crumble up
butter and pasta and a pinch of red
bacon in a skillet and add red onion.
pepper. May be dried and pickled for later use.
When the onion is done add a lot of
Quelites and cook until tender, yumm!
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SUNDAY
4
TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY
MONDAY
5
6
Meditation
Church 5pm
7
New Moon
Fire Meeting
Business Mtg.
Cuchillo Station
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
1
2
3
8
9
10
T or C Farmers
Mkt 8:30-11:30
San Lorenzo Fiesta in
Placitas (see pg 1)
T or C Farmers Mkt
8:30-11:30
Art Hop - TorC
11
18
12
Mass 10am
Plaza Coffee
11am
13
School Starts
1 thru 6 and 9th
grades
Meditation 5pm
Church
19
20
Book Mobile PO
1:30-2:30
14
1st Qtr
School Starts
All Grades
15
21
22
3rd Qtr 29
Full Moon
Fire Meeting
Work Mtg.
Cuchillo Station
16
26
27
28
Would you like to
subscribe?
Contact our Subscription
Coordinator, Heather
@
[email protected]
23
24
Would you like to place an
ad?
Contact our Graphic
Designer, Kristi
@
30
31
Meditation 5pm
Church
Support
Monticello
Farmers
or
743-0183
T or C Farmers
Mkt 8:30-11:30
Meditation 5pm
Church
25
17
Do you have an event for
our calendar?
Contact our Calendar
Coordinator, Carol
@
[email protected]
T or C Farmers
Mkt 8:30-11:30
Recycle Drive
T or C 10-2
or
743-0330
[email protected]
or
894-3723
Spuds
@
Sierra County
Farmer’s Market
Every Saturday May 25th - October
8:30-11:30am
BUY Local!
Eggs, Produce, Baked Goods
Arts & Crafts
Enjoy Free Live Music
TorC At Ralph Edwards Park. Free Parking
EBT and Debit Cards accepted
Brought to you by The Bountiful Alliance
For info call Colleen: 894-9375
Thank you!
GRACIAS!
MONTICELLO CANYON MESSENGER
For sale
8 Varieties
from South 40 Farms
call Claudia - 743-2059
Owen Schwab, from Placitas is a 2013
Graduate from Hot Springs High School in
TorC. He recently received a Scholarship from
Sierra Electric Foundation. He will be
attending UNM to pursue a degree in
marketing with a minor in public relations.
Congratulations, Owen!
FOR SALE: REBOUNDER, MINI-TRAMPOLINE,
GREAT SHAPE, WITH COVER. $250 NEW,
ASKING $120. SHELBY SCHUE 740-2435
Monticello Notary
By Appointment - Caroline George 743-0369
PAGE EIGHT