Changes of fall are in the air

Fall is my favorite time of  year in Taos. The colors are brilliant from the leaves that start to change to yellows, oranges, and reds to the summer wildflowers that are still in full bloom like the rabbit brush, sunflowers, and Michaelmas daisies. My two favorite colors, purple and yellow, dot the huge expanses of desert prairie. We've been driving out to the property quite a bit now to smooth out the land and uproot leftover sagebrush stumps. I've been really enjoying the drive with all of these pretty colors. It is so peaceful to see nothing but wilderness and mountains in the background on all sides.

So we've been using shovels and rakes to work on the land, a little at a time because 2.25 acres is  A LOT to work by hand and honestly we aren't clearing the whole property. There is a slope toward the road with lava rock that we will probably just leave be. Right now we are content with the nice plateau we have on the hill for the rv. You can see our little car at the bottom of the hill.

The kids have been real good sports about helping out. Even Willow has been helping with her plastic shovel. The teamwork has been super helpful. Sometimes the kids even fight over the tools. Ugh. You can see the main road in the background here so we aren't too far from a good paved highway. That will be peace of mind in the winter.

walking up the "driveway"...everything on the right is our property up to where you see the buildings in the distance....

Last but not least, our road sign, haha...

Monastery of the Holy Archangel Michael

This year our very spontaneous and quaint "summer vacation" consisted of a a visit to the local monastery. The road trip was just spectacular. The monastery is nestled in the mountains in Canones which is in the greater Abiquiu area. We are continuously excited to discover new places which are within an hour or two to Taos. Here is a  photo of our camp which was unbelievably inundated with rain the entire weekend...

We were disappointed that most of the days were so cloudy but the church is nonetheless lovely

This has to be my favorite photo of our group leaving one of the daily services

Then the kids were able to see how the monks make their beeswax candles which are distributed to various churches and places for sale

It was a lovely trip overall although I came back with a horrible cold which was odd for the end of summer. I attribute it to getting out of my tent for Matins services at 3:30 am in the cold rain for a couple of days. I don't think I could have done it without Ashley waiting from the guesthouse with her flashlight.