The snows of December have receded to the higher country, although they remain across the countryside up near Santa Fe. The county Road Department told me that they are still digging folks out of the snow in the back country, as the wind blew the snow into head-high drifts for miles across the back country roads north of Edgewood. For six weeks, the return trip from Santa Fe bisected a solid white sheet of snow to within 10 miles of Albuquerque; more like Canada than New Mexico.

Thirty-eight years is a long time, but we've stood each other that long. I guess so have my siblings and their spouses. The picture's none too good, but I had to creep between the tripod and the refrigerator to get in position before the camera timer went off.