"Birds: Spiritual Messengers of the Skies"

"Birds are cherished among many cultures worldwide. The presence and well-being of birds reflects the health of the environment; they share every ecosystem with us, playing the role of hunter and prey, pollinators, scavengers, and dispersers of seeds. Feeding the spirit, they signify strength, courage and freedom. As our companions—birds inspire us to think beyond our own confinement and limitations. With some 10,000 species of birds in the world, they are among the best adapted animals on Earth, dating back to the time of the dinosaurs."

(source: New Mexico Audubon Society) 

Birds are beautiful, and I love to see them in the woods and fields where they live. Our trip west during most of last month mainly was a birding trip, though we always try to add in some art. Our trip to the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture in Santa Fe was a double bonus because the Center for New Mexico Archaeology, which is part of the museum, featured the role of birds in native art and culture. The two photos above show some of the bird pottery that was in this very enlightening exhibit.

"This yearlong exhibit, 'Birds: Spiritual Messengers of the Skies' discusses the importance of birds to Native American culture both in the past and present, including the importance of birds as a resource for tools, feathers and food. The study of birds in archaeology is also included in this exhibit." (source: New Mexico Audubon Society) 

I was fascinated by many of the facts presented in the exhibition, which had many examples of historic art works that included bird imagery. Real birds such as ducks, hummingbirds, owls, and songbirds are depicted in both prehistoric and contemporary pottery designs, as well as legendary birds like the thunderbird. I learned that the tribes of the region, prior to European contact, kept two domesticated birds: turkeys, which were native to most of Central and North America, and macaws, which were native to areas much further south, but were traded among all the tribes of the region. I think the second image above shows two macaws.

While we were in Santa Fe, we visited our favorite Indian art store, Andrea Fisher Fine Pottery. I found many bird-themed pots on the Andrea Fisher website, and on other commercial websites selling Indian pottery. Other Indian art forms, such as jewelry and weavings, also depict birds, but I've selected some images that show specific birds that we also enjoyed seeing during our birding expeditions.

A roadrunner on a pot by Seferina Bell of the Zia Pueblo.

Maybe an Eagle by Glendora Daubs of the Jemez Pueblo (1983).

An owl family by Loren Wallowing Bull of the Jemez Pueblo (2022).

Three quail by Carolyn Concho of Acoma Pueblo (2022)

A turkey by Sofia Medina and Lois Medina, Zia Pueblo (2022).

From the 1980s: a hummingbird by Dolorita Pino of the Zia Pueblo (source).

Potters at the Zia Pueblo produced bird-themed jars as early as 1820.
This one is from around 1870. (source)

Thunderbird pot, artist not named, Hopi Pueblo.

The Museum of Indian Arts and Culture, Santa Fe. (source)

Blog post © 2022 mae sander, 

images as credited.

Home Again!

We are back home in Ann Arbor after our 3-week road trip. I’m happy with these little
storytellers that I bought at our favorite Indian Art store in Santa Fe.
The artist is Mary Lucero from the Jemez Pueblo.

New magnets for the fridge!

Blossoming season is getting started here.

Our at-home breakfast drinks: coffee and juice, shared with Elizabeth’s blog party.

 Photos © 2022 mae sander.

End of the Road

Just in time for the end of our trip west: a google doodle celebrating Route 66. 

April 30, 1926, was the date when "US 66" was proposed as the ID for the developing route from Chicago to Los Angeles. "The iconic highway," says Google, was "known for its retro diners, quirky motels, eclectic art installations and extraordinary landscapes." 

Google says: "Today's video—set to the classic music track 'Route 66' by Bobby Troup—celebrates the cultural significance of one of America’s first national highways, and how it became a symbol of a changing nation."

This week we drove along the New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Missouri parts of the route. Of course we took the wide and speedy modern Interstates that replaced old Route 66 by the mid-1980s. On previous trips west, we've driven virtually the entire route of the old "Mother Highway." 

The old Chain of Rocks bridge near St. Louis, replaced in 1970 by the more modern bridge that we 
crossed when driving on Highway 270 into Illinois. (Image: Wikipedia)

Saturday morning, we drove from St. Louis across the Mississippi River at a location called "Chain of Rocks," which was in fact on the original Route 66, and which I remember well from my childhood in St. Louis. Although the quirky diners and motels are pretty much a thing of the past, the landscapes are just as extraordinary as ever!

Patagonia Kitchen

My temporary kitchen for 5 days in Patagonia, Arizona. I cooked or prepared quite a few meals here.
Since I’ve been away from my home kitchen almost all month, this will be my entry for Sherry’s Blog Event.

Brought from Trader Joe’s in Ann Arbor: 
shelf-stable gnocchi with a jar of basil pesto.
New-to-me products which I might use again.

It was good, and we saved the rest for lunch.

Salad with leftover gnocchi with pesto and lots of vegetables.
The apartment kitchen lacked a serving bowl so I used a cooking pot.

Not much in the refrigerator, but it was good to have some choices. And great to have a full-size fridge.

In the freezer: ice cream, P.F.Chang’s chicken, ice cans for the picnic cooler.
Our host supplied a large can of coffee for the Mr.Coffee machine.

Breakfast: cereal, milk, juice, fruit, coffee.

From Safeway: P.F.Chang’s chicken in Korean BBQ sauce.
Another new choice. I would use it again in a temporary kitchen.

I didn’t have standard side dishes for Korean barbecue chicken so we ate it with white bread and fruit salad.
For other dinners and lunches we ate sandwiches -- but photos of them would be boring. 
Cooking with limited ingredients in a temporary kitchen is an adventure!

Kitchen on the Road

Hotel kitchens on the road: tiny fridge, microwave, coffee maker.
This is very convenient, as we have an icebox with food for lunch each day.
It saves a lot of time, especially when the only place to stop is a roadside rest area!

Blog post © 2022 mae sander

Shared with Sherry’s In My Kitchen blog event.

Road Trip: New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri

Outside the car windows we have seen many wind farms in several states.
I enjoy seeing evidence of what makes our nation productive. I did not take photos of the
many trains, often 2 miles in length with containers, with tank cars, and with other cargo.

Along the route are many cattle ranches, which are pretty to look at.
There are also feedlots, which are not pretty — you can smell them for miles!

Cline’s Corners is a very old roadside stop in NM.
You can have your fortune told by a local alien.

… or by a very old style stereotyped “Indian.”
Can you believe this still exists?
In 2014 the “Medicine Man” was here,
and I couldn’t believe it then.

Oklahoma welcome center —
lots of info about old Route 66, which was parallel to Interstates 40 and 44.

At the welcome center they even gave us this
large brochure about Route 66.

The Will Rogers Archway is a rest stop built over the roadway in Oklahoma.
More Route 66 memorabilia is in the gift shop — there’s also a McDonald’s.

A statue of local hero Will Rogers (1879-1935)

The view from the archway.

Oklahoma’s stretch of old Route 66 offers a large number of tourist attractions. The original Route 66 was designed in 1926 to encourage road travel by the growing number of American families with automobiles. Route 66 began in Chicago, and ended in Los Angeles, and in the early years attracted tourist business for the small towns all along the way. By current standards, the time to drive the old road was endless!

In the Dust Bowl era of the 1930s, Route 66 was the route of the “Okies” — families displaced from farms by drought and economic hardships of the Depression, many from Oklahoma. John Steinbeck, in his famous book about these families and their journey west, named it “The Mother Road.” Woody Guthrie, who was born and grew up in a town on Route 66, wrote many songs about road travel by homeless wanderers seeking a better life. And Nat King Cole, in 1946, sang “Get your kicks on Route 66.”

Traveling across the country, I’ve often driven the newer four-lane divided Interstate highways that replaced the old two-lane Route 66 (though in 1960, on a family vacation from St. Louis to California, I did see at least some of the original). Instead of going through the middle of small towns, the Interstates are limited access, and mainly bypass the town centers — leaving the old diners, roadside motels, and souvenir shops behind. Now you take the exits to visit fast-food chains and big gas stations. There are rows of name-brand hotels alongside the frontage roads in the cities, and you don’t need to go into towns at all. But it’s very efficient.

Dinner in Oklahoma City: typical Chinese-American food.
Did you know there are more Chinese restaurants in America than there are McDonald’s?

Dinner Thursday in Rolla, MO

Driving from Santa Fe to Oklahoma City on Wednesday was uneventful, with the usual wide-open spaces and hilly landscapes. Driving from Oklahoma City to Rolla, Missouri on Thursday was a nightmare: the worst pelting rain that we’ve driven through in years. In the morning, the trucks passing me kicked up such a wall of water that sometimes I couldn’t see the lines on the highway — which were the only way that I could navigate. We finally gave up and stopped for 45 minutes until it cleared up a little, but in the afternoon it was nearly as bad. We hope Friday will be better.

Blog post © 2022 mae sander.

Randall Davey, Santa Fe Artist

Randall Davey’s painting of his house, which is now part of the Davey Audubon Center.
Davey bought the house in 1920, when he settled permanently in Santa Fe.

The artist Randall Davey (1887–1964) was the owner of a beautiful house and art studio outside Santa Fe, New Mexico. The property is now the Randall Davey Audubon Center and Sanctuary. Davey taught art at several institutions, including the University of New Mexico. A number of well-known museums display his paintings. 

The Randall Davey House as we saw it while visiting Santa Fe earlier this week.

Another view of the house.

For us the main memory of this artist is the beautiful garden full of bird feeders, and surrounding land, where it’s great to watch birds and other creatures. We have visited the bird sanctuary several times on our various trips to Santa Fe, including this week. We’ve never had the opportunity to tour the house and studio, however.

A hummingbird at one of the feeders.

Deer in the garden behind the house.

Deer love bird feeders too. Not everyone thinks this is a great idea.

 

Randall Davey is honored, along with many other local people of accomplishment,
by a plaque on the sidewalk in front of the museum in downtown Santa Fe.
For a history of artists in Santa Fe, see “Founding the Santa Fe Art Colony”

While we are currently traveling home from our trip to Arizona and New Mexico, I’m posting more about what we did while in the West.

Blog post © 2022 mae sander.

 

Santa Fe Streets

We have now driven from Santa Fe to just outside Oklahoma City, on our way back from our road trip. There’s nothing to write about here, so here’s another post about the interesting street art in Santa Fe.

A few images and from our last evening in Santa Fe.

Intriguing mural!

The famous plaza of Santa Fe. On one side is the Spanish Colonial Governor’s Palace.
The other three sides are shops and restaurants.

Photos © 2022 mae sander