Sangre De Cristo

We turn East on Highway 503 towards the 13,000-foot, snow-capped Truchas Peaks. A peacock sentinel and several of his brethren squawk at our intrusion near their adobe-walled hacienda compound. They usher us onto the mountain route to Taos. We wind our way through high desert, mountains, Ponderosa Pine forests, small farms, and old Spanish Land Grant hamlets--Nambé, Chimayó, Córdova, and Truchas. Before long the breathtaking views of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains dominate the skyline. Nestled in green valleys numerous ancient trails and crossroads gather people into communities of artists, seekers of pastoral serenity, and those making a life off the land.

© Ilija Lukić 2014

Truchas Peaks
(Sangre de Cristo Mountains north of Santa Fe, New Mexico USA)

Happy Thanksgiving

Nightfall before Thanksgiving marks twenty days past early November’s Frosty Moon. The timid crescent of a young Moon awash in pastel sunset hues oversees the close of day. A wedge of Canada geese flushed in ebbing sunlight gossips overhead and disappears into the vail of night to the east. I pause and delight in the moment. My heart submits in humble reverence blessed by the grace of God, thankful for a year filled with love, family, friends and adventures in the natural world. Happy Thanksgiving!

© Ilija Lukić 2014

Llanero Viejo
(Self-portrait)

Frosty Scuttlebutt

Melodic flight calls and seemingly discombobulated flight patterns of Sandhill Cranes have graced Llano Estacado autumn airs for several weeks. Nearby Muleshoe National Wildlife Refuge is an overwintering haven. This morning the first wedge of branta canadensis wings their way in a southwesterly direction. They bring scuttlebutt of White Owl Woman moving south from her arctic summer abode. Tonight our unexpected guest intends to assert her dominion as she ushers in the first 20º night of the winter season. I contemplate the impending tribulations for wildlife on the Llano Estacado tablelands.

© Ilija Lukić 2014

Light Dusting

Yucca In Winter

Chien De Neige

Cooper and I roam the Llano Estacado prairie under heavy cloud cover. Early daylight trims the eastern horizon in silver hues. Light snow dances on chilled prairie airs. Solitude drapes the tablelands. Verdant summer scapes and wildflowers no longer spellbind as they relinquish command of my heart to snow-covered, golden seas of straw. The hymn "How Great Thou Art", inspired by the Swedish poem "O Store Gud" written 130 years ago by Carl Boberg is on my lips. The melody is a Swedish folk tune. While Cooper true to his new moniker of Chien De Neige explores the wilds and pauses for a brief visit with four horse pals, nature fills my soul and sets heart at ease.

Down dances wintry ballet

Serenity lulls rough-hewn lands

Playful dog makes tracks

© Ilija Lukić 2014

Chien De Neige

The Sky Opened And Gave Us Multnomah Falls

"A modern four-lane ribbon of asphalt and concrete through the fabled Columbia River Gorge threads my passage between 200-foot basalt cliffs and mighty expanses of river. Numerous waterfalls emerge from snow squalls and the low cloud cover. Some tumble into precipitous chasms. Others are silver rivulets of sky on a more subtle journey to their ocean home." (Excerpt of prose about my journey to Rainier, Oregon)

© Ilija Lukić 2014

Multnomah Falls
(Near Portland, Oregon USA)

Icy Northerlies

By high noon wind-driven snow blankets the Llano Estacado. The call of the wild proves irresistible to Cooper and me. We set out into the squalls under overcast skies. Eerie melodies of icy northerly winds across distant power lines intrude on the silent dance of snowflakes. Meanwhile, Cooper's enthusiastic prairie romp stirs a jack rabbit from cover and culminates in a short foot race. I meander until a ranch road invites thoughts of home with whispers of relief from wintry chill.

 © Ilija Lukić 2014

Road Home
(Llano Estacado east of Clovis, New Mexico USA)

Wintertide

Spirit of Winter howls grim burden,
Wintertide brushes timeworn plains,
White Owl Woman with gentle sermon
Embraces amber autumn refrains.

© Ilija Lukić 2014

Wintertide
(Yucca seed pods on Llano Estacado near Clovis, New Mexico USA)

White Owl Woman

Winter Night

As temperatures hover near the freezing mark, a brief excursion into the early-winter night adorned by full Moon and crisp starlit skies stimulates shivers and inspires awe.

Old Moon cries the blues
Wistful scents from hearth fires rise
North wind howls dusk to dawn

© Ilija Lukić 2014

Old Moon