We don’t mess around here in northern New Mexico. If this timezone wasn’t already called “Mountain Time,” we’d have to change it. I took this telephoto shot of Taos Mountain, officially known as Pueblo Peak (which no one calls it), around 7:30 a.m. MDT from just a few steps outside the front door. The elevation at the summit is 12,305 ft. Where I was standing is about 7,058 ft. I love high altitude. I wish it were warmer here, but I guess something had to go.
Speaking of something having to go, the years of struggle are at an end. Public struggle, anyway. I ain’t perfect, but I am done whining about it. Having conveniently outlived them all, there’s no one left to blame. And just when I was about to throw Taos and New Mexico away, after cursing my location more times than I can count for whatever ailed me, a practice I’ve carried out for my entire adult life, it seems that I’m exactly where I want to be for now and all I want to do is write. The moment is a slow pitch over the plate. There’s nowhere left to run, in any case. That yearning is mostly about avoiding the heavy lifting we eternal boys just never learn.
In a previous version of this post, I gave the erroneous impression that I was thinking of shutting down the blog. That will never happen, though, so please relax. I’m relaxing, too, which is why I deleted the rest I bitched about. It’s embarrassing when you catch yourself doing exactly what you said you wouldn’t, but that’s the price of just a little bit of self-awareness. Well worth it! Carry on, and let’s see what happens next.
John Hamilton Farr lives at 7,000 feet in Ranchos de Taos, New Mexico, U.S.A. As New York Times best-selling author James C. Moore tells it, John is “a man attuned to the world who sees it differently than you and I and writes about it with a language and a vision of life that is impossible to ignore.” This JHFARR.COM site is the master writing archive. To email John, please see CONTACT INFO on .png)
No worries John, we will be here…and as far as your images, well let’s just say, I never get tired of looking at them…they remind me of my time in Taos in 2002…
Cheers, Fred
Thanks, Fred! The blog will keep on keeping on, I’m sure. I love the show and tell aspect, you know? But I do feel looser now and want to shake things up. Stay tuned to see what happens.
I can’t tell if you are saying that you will stop this wonderful blog or not, John, but I am sure hoping not. I look forward to receiving your posts, very much–as one who has been ‘bit by the mountain’ (and as one Air Force brat to another). I love your photos; I find a great deal to reflect on as I consider some parallel dreams, ambitions, sacred messes, and graced insights. Like the rocks, the mountains, and the spirits, the world is full of voices, a veritable Pentecost of tongues across the landscape–which is the one I should be listening to, how is God (or whatever you want to call it) trying to communicate with me in a voice that I will understand if I will pipe down and listen. And I bought two of your books, so I am committed to following you, whichever way your spirit is blowing.
This comment is so wonderful, I’m almost not sorry I gave you the wrong impression. Rest assured we will continue here. Thank you so much for the kind words.
I will miss the blog, the musings, art, photos, and just being in touch with you, whom I have never actually met, and yet know more about from your writing than nearly anyone I know in the flesh. I will miss you very much. I have never been on instagram. No facebook. No twitter. Just blogs. Maybe you will nudge me into it, though.
Another beautiful response to the wrong impression, the promulgation of which is entirely my own fault. My apologies, but thank you! Your comment and the others clearly show the value of the enterprise for all concerned, and I’m very grateful. I do want to write some things that don’t fit here, and too few people get to see my photos, so I have plenty to do!
The thing about the iPhone [since deleted] and Instagram specifically is I’m a natural for show and tell and this would be a hoot. I could tweet photos directly from the wilderness. Live video, too, and some of that will end up here. Could be good for business. Would certainly be fun and good for moi.
I’m with you for the long haul John. If it wasn’t for you and Geraint Smith I’d be Taos free – I can’t have that.
I’m glad you’re keeping the blog, I’d love to see more of your photography, and another book or two if you can squeeze them in. Idle hands and an idle mind will turn you from a Taoseño into a big city shlub.
“…an idle mind will turn you from a Taoseño into a big city shlub.”
That sentence pretty much encapsulates this post, amazingly. I very much appreciate your hanging in there. Recommendations noted, also. Thank you!
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