Eselpee moves to Carlsbad NM

August and I moved to Carlsbad on Sunday and I started work on Monday. It was sooooo coooool that it took me less than 10 minutes to unload the car and move in. The house is modest, but was remodeled in a grandiose way by a novice.

It has nice slick floors (easy to clean, thank heavens!) with wood in the living room and bedroom, tile in bathroom, and slate in kitchen. It has separate shower and bath, and the bath has Jacuzzi jets and steps. The washer and dryer are amazing, but the kitchen sucks. The backyard is grassy and fenced in.

Sunday August and I walked around the ‘hood. We live on La Huerta, which means the orchard. I have a pecan tree in the backyard and most of the roads are named for tree fruits. The Mimbres neighbor, Joanne, who kept me in peaches grew up here. I guess that’s where she learned her skills (see photo of orchard at end of my street at the top). I have a big pecan tree in the backyard.

We also met some of our neighbors. The German Shepherds and Bichon live next door.

And the Poodle, Shiatsus, and Chihuahuas (one would not get in the photo) are on the other side of the German Shepherds.

 

A little further down was this guy.

He was relatively small, just a baby. He lives with a small, sturdy Morgan gilding who he will eventually dwarf. August did not do well on this walk due to getting many stickers in his feet, so I found a new place. This is the Pecos river, which runs through Carlsbad.

I read a book with Pecos Bill tall stories as a kid; he was like Paul Bunyon. Pecos Bill likely dug the Carlsbad Caverns singlehandedly in an afternoon then plowed the titular furrow (Pecos River) that would be named for him before dinner.

This Riverwalk gives us three 2 – 2.5 mile stickerless walks: the East & West sidewalks and South loop. On South loop, we found the large, grassy dog park and hung out there a bit with a variety of pooches. The first walk, East sidewalk, was a power struggle about how many times we should stop to mark ….everything.

So I got a retractable leash. August took just a few minutes to learn the spatial limits of it so he could lift his leg frequently by walking ahead to start and finishing before I got too far ahead. It’s like a dance. He looks uncomfortable in the photo because he had to stay while I back away from him. Not a happy concept.

Work is good. I am just doing evaluations right now, which I like. People seem nice enough, but they think I work too hard. I was trying to meet federally mandated IEP deadlines. They said not to worry, the feds wouldn’t know we missed them until next year. So I leave on time and don’t bring work home. Strange. My boss says this will change, she’s got plenty for me to do.

The cons of living here are mind boggling. The local public radio station plays the usual All Things Considered programs in the morning and evening, but otherwise offers the vintage elevator music that coined the phrase, Muzac (not to be confused with modern shopping music produced by a company named Muzac). This is elevator music from the 60s, the style used for the occasional comic effect in movies. What does this bode for the best educated, most sophisticated citizens of this fine city?? Then there is the grocery store and restaurants. Yikes!

I will race around next week moving my tax home from Mimbres to Phoenix and getting Marley to Kingman, then return to start exploring the greater Carlsbad natural wonders.

Stay tuned!