Found some photos from an abandoned neighbor's place in New Mexico. I really enjoyed this historic photo session, which created wonderful memories.
Christine Haese
I currently write, garden, forage, travel, and chronicle my encounters with wild lives and wildlife in the Southwest via blogging.
Sunday, April 7, 2024
Friday, March 22, 2024
Sunday, February 18, 2024
New Canine Companion
She was food deprived (probably on the streets for a while) and likes to eat fast & run away. To slow down her eating, and instead of buying a fancy slow-eat bowl, I put a big river rock in the middle. Works like a charm๐
Saturday, February 17, 2024
THE GOODLANDS - My Debut Novel
I've completed my debut Western Mystery, The Goodlands, A Sam Rios Novel (or maybe a Wide-Open West Novel. Now it's time to query agents!
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THE GOODLANDS
A Sam Rios Novel
Christine Haese
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Part One
GONE WESTERN
“Go quietly, alone; no harm will befall you.” ― John Muir
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CHAPTER ONE
He was flat on his back and barely conscious when the brown and gray canine roused him with her soft whine and accompanying bad breath, panting in rapid rhythm. She had just finished rolling and rubbing on his open backpack and was standing near his side, licking his bloody shoulder. He flinched as she ratcheted her head sideways and moved her soothing tongue from his shoulder to the open wound on his forehead.
“K-Dog, is that you pal?” he asked faintly.
With squinting eyes, he followed the canine’s flaring nostrils upward, until he saw two yellow eyes glaring at him with uncertainty. Small, pointed ears were alert and attentive. Turning his eyes and head slowly downward, Sam knew this was not his pet, but a wild creature. He should not show dominance. He held his breath as the she-wolf looked up and listened intently to something in the distant twilight. Carefully, she stepped over the human and walked toward a game trail leading into darkening timber.
Looking back once, the lobo shook her head, and twin strings of slobber created an arc in the final light of day. She trotted confidently into the darkness, accompanied by the scent of her mother, stolen from the human evidence bag. Her faint whine and howl called for her pack and converged with the wind.
Oddly, Sam Rios, Law Enforcement Officer for the US Forest Service did not fear the wild creature, but as she disappeared, he found himself exhaling in relief. Searching in its direction, he saw only black, silhouetted statues of Ponderosa pines displayed against a backdrop of disappearing sky.
What just happened? He stretched his wounded body upward to peer deeper into the woods, lost his balance, and rolled downhill, landing in a shallow stream of icy water, which racked him in pain. He shivered and cried loudly. His scream sent chills along the mountain’s spine and all the predators paused to listen.
He knew he must desperately struggle to remain in survival mode, but the warm fluid was dribbling into his eye, pain stabbed at his chest, and he could not lift his left arm. When he tried to escape the water, its sandy bottom hugged his body tighter.
Then he heard the shouting.
Saturday, February 10, 2024
The Write Words
I found a comfy chair and was writing at the Chino Valley Library, engrossed in finding the right words. After an hour of working on a chapter of my debut novel, The Goodlands, I was hackneyed for a fresh idea and I needed the plot to take a deadly turn.
Yep, this is definitely the time and place. Now...how shall I have my villain husband die?
Thursday, February 1, 2024
Elk-Proof Fence That Works!
Current Work
The Write Words
I found a comfy chair and was writing at the Chino Valley Library , engrossed in finding the right words. After an hour of working on a c...
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Copyright 2013 Elk Proof Fence For Your Garden Traditional Elk Fencing. Most elk fencing used in Alaska, Arizona, New Mexico...
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I found a comfy chair and was writing at the Chino Valley Library , engrossed in finding the right words. After an hour of working on a c...