In like a lion, made of dirt, sand and weeds

I had to drive this weekend to Deming to take my dog to the groomer, and that is when I realized that spring has finally arrived. As I drove past Nutt and the wind farms on the old Hatch Highway, I could barely see a car's length ahead of me, and dust blew in through my air vents and directly in my face.

The dirt storms in Deming, NM, are legendary, so much so that a big part of the museum is dedicated to pictures and writings from people who lived in the town, discussing how they could not see across Pine Street, and people were getting lost in the dust storms. Currently, you can go on Facebook for the annual posts of “Is this your trampoline?” and “The wind took my trash cans.” 

It is just something we get used to living in New Mexico, and it is not only the Southern portion of the state that suffers. I remember working in Albuquerque, and while there is less dirt due to the concrete jungle effect, the wind comes from all directions, leading you to want to double-layer your clothes and hide between buildings if you smoke, which I did at the time. The wind would still catch you directly in the face as it came from four directions at once and felt like it was made of sharp ice. 

Socorro has its share of wind, but I found it to be one of the best climates I’ve ever lived in. The wind started, but it also tried to rain almost every afternoon, which cooled everything off and stopped the dirt at the ground. I also stayed in a camper last spring, and the wind rocking a camper back and forth has a very peaceful effect on me. Some of the best sleep I have ever had has been in a camper, as long as the mattress wasn’t too thin.

So, while the rest of the nation is out getting ready to check out their spring flowers, and frolic in some new grass, and enjoy the lack of snow on the ground, we get to look forward to a few more months of lion gusts that take children’s playground equipment, and ramp up allergies to what feels like unreasonable levels. 

Historically you had a better chance of getting lost in a dirt storm if you made New Mexico your home, but you would probably be found hiding behind a hay bale or someone's house. We didn’t face as much risk of freezing to death or getting caught in a blizzard, as long as you were in before nightfall.

While we will probably spend a lot of this season indoors, avoiding driving and popping our preferred antihistamines, at least when it is our turn to go out, we can hike up some beautiful mountains, enjoy monsoon rain and some blooming cactus flowers. 

Where there is grass, there are chiggers and ticks, so when you can’t see your hand in your face this spring season due to the dust, we can all just be grateful for our lowered risk of Lyme disease.