Monthly Photo Project -- March (Taiban)

This month's photo project had me heading west to what is essentially a ghost town on the way to Fort Sumner. Taiban has never been a thriving town, at least not in my memory, but there was a time when there was a general store that was open daily, and a handful of people who lived there. These days the only claim to fame is the building on the hill that captures the attention of passing tourists and photographers alike.

The common misconception is that this building was once a church, but after reporting on this structure years ago during my newspaper days, I learned that it was actually a one-room school house. Years ago there was even a swing set on the west side of the building; that has since been removed. The school was repainted years ago, but has continued to fall into a state of disrepair ever since. There are no longer any windows or doors on the structure and the wooden floors inside are starting to deteriorate as well. Surprisingly there isn't much graffiti, and what is there is of a religious nature.

All of my previous visits have centered around the school house, but today we ventured off the beaten path (or down the dirt path, as it were) and found more, old, decaying items of long ago. A run down house was littered with a fortune in rusted tin cans, aluminum cans and glass bottles. Old cars also left clues about when Taiban might have been in its hey day.

We also followed a dirt road that seemed to be leading us to one of the many mesas in the area, but instead took us to a cemetery we never knew existed. We explored the cemetery and read headstones, finding that deaths went back as fars as the late 1800s and dated to as recently as 2010. Some headstones were impossible to read because they had been there for so long, or because families weren't able to afford more than a piece of stone or concrete. Others looked like fallen silos with headstones in front of them, and yet another one was a giant crypt type memorial to a lady who passed away in the 1960s. I always wonder about the people who are buried in country cemeteries -- where did they come from, what brought them to this remote and dry area, how did they die.

The Monthly Photo Project was designed to get me out on a monthly basis, taking pictures of the things I love (landscapes) and blogging about the adventures. This months definately hit all of the project's challenges/elements. I enjoyed the fresh air, looking for the right angles, playing with settings on my camera and doing all of this with my family. I look forward to seeing what April has in store for me!

The month isn't over yet!

Okay so I haven't done my artsy fartsy photo for the month of March yet, but I have been thinking about it. Of course spring break was the perfect time to get out with my camera and look for something, but I've been busy spending time with Matthew. In my book that's more important and more special than looking for art for the sake of filling a spot and a promise on a blog no one reads anyway.

So today's post has me teary eyed because my baby keeps proving to me that he's not a baby anymore, but also has me beaming with pride because he's growing up into such an awesome little boy. As much as I hate to think about the baby long since passed, I find myself looking forward to seeing the amazing young man he will become. It seems like only yesterday that we were learning that after years of trying, we were going to have a baby of our own. We brought him home from the hospital nearly five years ago and we must have looked like deer in headlights (or every other parent leaving the maternity ward). We didn't have a clue what we were doing or what we were in for, but it didn't matter; our prayers had finally been answered.

Over the course of the last four and a half years we learned that there may not be a parenting handbook, but grandparents are great for answering those late night questions and calming concerns. We have relished in the fact that God blessed us with a healthy baby boy with a disposition like his father's and a sense of humor like his mother's. Matthew is always happy and spends a lot of his time playing in the dirt, with bugs, fighting (in a good way) with his Dad and singing nonsense songs for all to enjoy.

I could go on forever about how fabulous my child is, but the real reason for today's post is the pride he has bestowed on me by becoming a soda stand entrapeneur at the age of 4. This afternoon, as I cleaned the kitchen, Matthew came in from outside and asked if he could set up a lemonade stand. While I don't the idea was his, it has been him, and only him, out hollering at anyone and everyone driving up and down the street, "Coke for sale...25 cents." I thought it would take longer to set up the lemonade stand than it would for him to stay out there trying to sell drinks, but he has proven me wrong. He has hocked soda's to the neighbors and continues to try to reel in those passing motorists and has been doing so for more than an hour. He has even told his dad that we need to go around town trying to sell the drinks. I think we may have created a monster, or maybe we have created the next Donald Trump (please don't have the hair), or the next Mark Zuckerberg or the next...Matthew Del Toro, millionaire. I am so proud of you son!!