Quarantine.....behind closed doors

Quarantine.... passageways 

Door in Alpine, TX.....do you see what this door has hidden?

“In the universe there are things that are known and things that are unknown, and in between, there are DOORS.”     Jim Morrison

We have a house with many doors. This is fortunate because without them we'd be unable to isolate from our family. This morning, the door from our bedroom to the deck allowed me to bundle up and eat my cereal curled up in the Adirondack chair.  A fiery mountain sunrise coupled with sweet vocals from a Song Sparrow, gave hope for this day and moving forward.

Song Sparrow

We spent a quiet morning in the Southwest Texas town of Alpine. There, surrounded by the colors and flavor of old Texas and nearby Mexico, we reassessed our travel plans. Should we continue West to AZ or was it time to return to the persumed "safety" of Vermont. I said to Bucky, "I feel by returning, we might be jumping from the frying pan into the fire", NYC being the East coast epicenter of Covid-19. Texas was feeling very safe with lots of space in which to disappear. In a somewhat symbolic way, our doorway West seemed to have closed temporarily, allowing the door to the East to reopen. After traveling 2500 miles toward the setting sun, we turned our motor home around. The following morning we pulled our windshield visors low, in an effort to keep the rising sun from our eyes.

There's something about the simplicity of both the colors and the number.

Rap music blared from this dojo, with some interesting characters coming and going through the open door.

In Texas, our motor home door stayed open to capture the cool breeze off Lake Amistad. Morning was the optimal time to view wildlife and  birds. We were camped in a prime migration area so there was no lack of photographic material. I was able to convince Bucky to wear his hearing aids to help locate our subjects. We work as a team. I can hear the birds and his keen eyesight finds them. With his hearing aids, he's a master at both! The Cardinals whistled for mates while the Mockingbirds seemed undecided as to who they identified with, at times sounding like a Parakeet, repeatedly whistling, "pretty bird, pretty bird" and other times imitating the Cardinal’s whistle. I often looked up to see several different birds sitting on the highest branches of the same tree, competing for the most prominent perch.

Getting high!

Mockingbird 

Pyrrhuloxia 

The Sage Thrasher was more interested in building its nest than vocalizing and was actively securing nesting material, some of which was too heavy to carry and was dropped in the process.

Sage Thrasher

By siesta time, as the sun sent the birds and us seeking shade, our camper door was firmly closed and we lay comfortably beneath the manufactured breeze of our air conditioner.

I was distracted on occasion by a fluttering Monarch butterfly alighting on a tree branch much like a bird. I wondered if these stragglers were slow to leave Mexico on their migration north. After Googling about monarch migration I learned it can take as many as 5 generations to complete the migration from Mexico to Vermont and back. And....Monarchs are the only butterflies that like birds, make a two way migration. https://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/pollinators/Monarch_Butterfly/migration/index.shtml

Vermillion Flycatcher 

“Recognize when it’s not your door” anonymous 

Doors are unique in that they can be locked to prevent entry or exit. I have no prison doors to post! Church doors welcome worshipers to enter, but some like me, choose to remain outside. It’s not the “right” door for me. I would assume there are many doors unable to be opened for various reasons. Finances might prevent entry through college or university doors, whereas; a fitness club door might not be opened by choice!
I have memories of my mother-in-law, during her battle with Alzheimer’s, fighting with the car door. As the disease progressed, it became impossible to move her from the house into the car. Once in the car, if my father-in-law wasn’t quick to push the door lock, she would escape, running back to the safety of home.
“People are strange when you’re a stranger
Faces look ugly when you’re alone”

The uncertainty of marriage as captured by my daughter on the streets of Malta. Opening this door isn't for everyone!

Pilgrims carry a cross into Santuario de Chimayo, NM on Easter weekend.

I didn’t enter the church in Chimayo although I was intrigued. It’s customary for Catholics to take dirt from a hole in the church floor. The dirt of Chimayo is sacred and thought to heal and cure injury and illness. Devout Catholics travel here from all over the world. We saw groups of pilgrims walking many miles from neighboring towns and cities to Chimayo. Their faith was evident by the distance walked while carrying the cross of Christ.

The smell of  ground chili powder, both red and green, filled the air drawing me into this shop. I laughed at popsicles being advertised, but hot chilies are indeed HOT!

"When we step through the doorway of adventure our life is suddenly worth the living. And we experience life as it was meant to be."  Kevin Beasley

I like the concept of doors lying between the known and the unknown. If one fears the unknown there's no need to enter, however, for those who enjoy the adventure of the unknown, the door can be opened and passed through. Most of our life consists of passing from the known into the unknown which then makes the unknown, the known......it's quite fluid.

Hunters often face the unknown. There’s hope for a successful harvest, but there’s never
certainty. I particularly like this picture of happy hunters framed by the barn door. A huge dark opening filled with the light of accomplishment.
I leave you with the following images to interpret as you like.