Thursday May 15, 2008....Green is good

I've been away for awhile. Down in the desert Southwest. It was sunny and dry, but cool to moderate temperatures. New Mexico is mostly high desert with mountains scattered about. It took awhile to adjust to the higher elevation. Rio Rancho, on the northern side of Albuquerque is about 6,000 feet above sea level. It's a growing community along the Rio Grande between Albuquerque and Santa Fe. A very nice community, if you like sun and dry. I grew up in Missouri where it's moist and green and lush this time of the year. Since I got back, I've had to mow the grass several times and it still keeps growing. We've had a lot of rain so far this year. Down in Rio Rancho, they had rain in February and a few sprinkles since. Nobody has grass, it's mostly desert plants and landscaping of rocks and bushes. Those kinds of yards take very little maintenance and no mowing. But everything down there is brown and dry except for trees and bushes. It's not lush and moist like Missouri. I guess you have to adjust to the different climates. In the desert they don't get much snow in the winter and most of the days are sunny, but when the winds come, there is little to stop them and they can really blow down there. We have tornadoes here in Missouri, but they are seldom and scattered. In New Mexico they have high winds and dust across wid fronts that will blow over trucks and close the interstates. I guess you have to adjust to the climate. We lowlanders who live at 800 feet have a hard time adjusting to the higher elevations. It takes awhile for your internal system to adapt to the thinner dryer air.

I guess it's all in what you get used to. If you were born and raised on the plains of Kansas, like my dad, you miss the wide open spaces. I like the green forests and luch green lawns of Missouri and the changing of the seasons. I'm glad that people like where they are, that way we don't all end up bunched together in one spot. Rio Rancho is a nice place to visit. Missouri is a nice place to live.