Zombies, Giant Scorpions and Princess Sunsets

I taught my first workshop at the Roswell Museum and Art Center this week. I only had three students, but we had a lot of fun making miniature landscapes inside of shoeboxes. The kids worked really hard and were incredibly imaginative. Lucas made a Western scene with red mountains, red dirt and vegetarian zombies that ate from cherry trees and then escaped into time portals. Joseph made a scene of his backyard where he and his brother defended their house (with a shotgun and pistol) from a giant scorpion. McKenna made a grassy hill where she and her best friend could enjoy the sunset or a fuzzy television from their bejeweled park bench. I earned a thank-you letter and a pipe-cleaner komodo dragon from Joseph! I'll be teaching something similar again in the fall.

You can see more photos here.

Mo, the Woodhouse Toad

Last night, I returned to the house from my studio and sitting on the patio was this enormous toad. I called David to come out and see and we watched (and took photos) and he casually hopped over to each of the moths that were gathering in the porch light and ZAP! they were gone. I found a guide book on reptiles and amphibians of the southwest at the library today and looks like Mo (yup, we named him) is a Woodhouse toad. Apparently these guys can eat up to 2/3 their weight in one sitting. Mo was well on his way when we left him to his dessert.

OUR FIRST SCORPION

Since we arrived, everyone's been talking about the bugs. Tarantulas, Black Widows, Scorpions, do you need more?

So far, nothing is shocking. They're are beetles, flies, mosquitoes and spiders. We either scoop em, smush em, or flush em, depending on our mood. Scooping is when we are feeling particularly generous - fearing karma or retribution if we are ever reincarnated as say, a gnat. Flushing is reserved for the bigger ones who, if smushed would surely make an unbearable snap*crackle*pop. Smushing usually occurs in some state of panic or immediacy. Like when a bug is biting, or approaching food or annoying the crap out of us when we're trying to sleep.

But last night, sitting in the middle of the floor was our first scorpion. Now, I've heard vastly different reports of what a scorpion's sting feels like. Everything from "Oh, its just like a bee sting, nothing to worry about," to "Dude, you'll definitely be going to hospital." So, like the scorpion, I stood there hoping that if I stayed very still, I'd be safe.

Krista took charge with a small glass and a piece of stiff paper to slide underneath. She deftly captured it and released it far away from the house, thus saving me and the house from any unfortunate stings...however severe they may be.

Roswell's 60th Anniversary UFO Festival

It's what the place is known for, right? Aliens? UFO's? Area 51? The big cover-up? So, as responsible, patriotic Roswellians (and Americans for that matter!), how could we possibly stand by and not participate and see what we could uncover as the ET's descended upon our new home? Disregarding any risk of an uncomfortable probe, we felt it was our duty as residents of our galaxy.

The best part was the Alien Costume Contest. We documented the whole thing here. To the left is "Trinket," the alien dog who won in the "Non-Human" category. In the collection of pictures, you'll see Dean Haglund, the contest's MC. You may (or not) remember him from the X-Files. His running commentary oscillated between wildly unfunny, and inappropriate for the family audience - sometimes killing 2 birds with one stone.


Seen here, and of particular interest is a trio of orange aliens who's orange astro-gastrointestinal processes were part of the show.

Their incontinence went over quite well with the audience and eventually won them the blue ribbon - Best Over All Alien!

The year begins

We are settling in to our little house in the desert on the Roswell Artist in Residency compound. Brand-new and fully furnished, it felt more like a vacation rental than home right away, but a little re-arranging and picture hanging will go a long way.

Apparently, rain fell liberally on Roswell this year so the landscape is greener than most summers. We took advantage of a cool morning to bike an hour out to Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge. The landscape is incredible.

Here's the view out our back door. See more pictures of the house and compound.

The Journey

We left June 27th after a couple slight delays: one nasty head-cold and some difficulty with managing our incredible amounts of crap - deciding what stays, what goes and what goes USPS.

We made several stops: in Munroe Falls, OH for some parental care which included a drum brake repair lesson and some to-die-for Pecan Sandies. In St. Louis to visit our friend Christine and also take a symbolic stride through the Gateway Arch into the great western United States. And finally, in Oklahoma City, where we visited Carillo's Tire Shop for a quick patch for a bum tire. You can see pictures of our journey, including a close-up of "Provella" covered St. Louis-style pizza (if you're thinking "mmm", you're mistaken).