Caprock

Inspirational song: Flatland Boogie (Charlie Robison)

Do other people collect rocks on all of their cross-country drives? Is it just us? We have been gathering watermelon-sized rocks everywhere we have gone for the last couple decades, and now that I have declared this The Forever House, they are being placed in the landscaping, where they were always intended to reside. Some rocks I can recognize in an instant, and remember where they were from and why they have moved with us for all these years. There are several surviving Lovelady rocks--rich, reddish-brown sedimentary beauties, covered in pale green lichens, selected from the hill where my family had a vacation cabin for a century (now sold). There are big, gray gneiss monsters and modest white quartz chunks from the mining claim where we have been building our own cabin near Central City. And this week, we were reintroduced to boxy hunks of the limestone Caprock in New Mexico, acquired somewhere in the lonely stretch between Tucumcari and Springer, and previously used to ring a doomed stand of aspens we tried to make survive in Clovis. The trees died the first year we left, as a monumental drought set in and our renters wouldn't throw expensive water at them. The rocks stayed in place for 8 more years, until this week, when they came back to stay with us. I missed them.

Since our daughter met her husband in New Mexico, and he is really into geology, we knew it would be nice to hand over a few of the Caprock rocks. They wanted some large rocks in their back yard, and at least one of the latest set fits that bill. We drove over this afternoon, intending to drop a trio off and get a baby cuddle before heading to the hardware store. We didn't communicate properly when we were due to arrive. We pulled up right as a big thunderstorm cell opened up, and went running into the house to find...no one home. Our daughter and the baby had gone for a walk, and were at that moment taking shelter from the storm at a ball park dugout. We used their gardening wagon to wheel the rocks up to the porch, and then set off (diaper bag in hand) to meet up at the park with the girls.

I ought to have taken pictures of how strong that baby neck is now. Dino is six weeks old today, and has discovered how awesome it is to sit up straight and look around (sort of--focusing is still a challenge). As usual, her grandpa and I battled a little over who got to hold her more (he usually wins, because she adores him). And after a brief visit, mother and daughter walked back home and we went on to the big box hardware store. The rest of the evening has been just peaceful and relaxing for me and all frustrating work on the garden irrigation system for the man. So, a typical summer night.