[at-l] Hummingbird in New Mexico

[athummingbird at dnet.net (Linda Benschop)]

It is hard to believe that we have been driving through an ocean.  But this 
area in Western Texas and Southeastern New Mexico was actually once the 
primean sea.  Right now we are camped in Carlsbad, New Mexico and surrounded 
by desert.  The amazing thing is that this entire are was once under water 
so we  looking at structures that are so unusual.  We are making a DVD of 
our trip and taking lots of pictures that we will be sharing soon with 
anyone who is interested. The colors of the mountains here are brilliant and 
smooth, very unlike anything I have ever encountered before.   I would have 
to write a book to tell you of such beauty, but then words alone could not 
describe it.

This morning we got up very early.  It is two hours earlier here so it is a 
bit of an adjustment.  I always got up at 6 a.m. at home so now my body is 
automatically waking up at 4 a.m.  I have always been a morning person!  It 
is a wonderful time in the desert as the birds start to sing and the land is 
teaming with life.  Instead of getting up and on the computer as I used to 
that early, I just stay in bed and listen and absorb it all.  It is such a 
peaceful time and I feel like the birds are singing me a private concert.

We have decided to stay at this campground for a week as my husband managed 
to get a gig here on Thursday and, if that goes well, will have another one 
later.  If that just pays for the campsite we are happy.  Our needs are 
small.  We don't care about the material things as we have scaled back so 
much.  We just need to survive and we are truly enjoying this lifestyle.  It 
was a big step, and frightening at first.  But it was the right one for us. 
We are both so happy and content.  (Being in love helps when you are living 
in 21 feet...LOL!)

Jan makes coffee and, before 6, we are outside and just listening and 
watching the birds.  It amazes us how many different kinds there are. 
(Thanks, Paul......for helping us find that great deal on a bird watching 
book.  We just found a "great tailed grackle".)  This morning we  are 
watching quail and wrens and sparrows and all kinds of other birds.  I 
always thought that watching birds was for geeks and boring.  But not here! 
There is so much life here, such variety.  I hear the sounds of  doves and 
owls, woodpeckers.  All my senses are so alive!

When we look around us and see the remains of the primean sea, and think 
about how many centuries ago this land has been here ,and the forces it took 
to move the land, I feel like just a speck....so insignifigant.  Yet, it 
also makes me feel so spiritual.  It is hard to explain unless you are here. 
But this journey is not just an "outside" one.  I feel like everything in my 
life is coming together and I am complete.

I still have my worries....my "what if's".....but some how....as I watch and 
listen to the morning sounds and the let all those feelings soak in....I 
have a feeling that it will all be okay.  I have a sense of peace, of the 
ability to let go and know that I am where I need to be at the moment.  I 
blow kisses in the wind to my children and grandchildren and, somehow, I 
feel them blow kisses back to me.  There is a sense of "oneness" with the 
earth and I am in the moment.  All I need is right now, this second, this 
breath, this breeze.

If I were to die today, it would be with a smile on my face.

Blessings, Hummingbird



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