Watermelon Mountain

Believe it or not, my first ever sojourn into the Land of Enchantment occurred only about six weeks ago. I booked round trip tickets for myself and my good friend Kevin (riding partner for company and heckuva brilliant soil scientist) so we could scope out the "new digs". Having never stepped foot in New Mexico, I felt it prudent to verify that I actually had a job and place to call home because up until then, it was an application, a few phone calls, and a whimsical dream. Fortunately, everything that was verbally promised awaited me at my new Santa Fe office, and with a sigh of relief, Kevin and I set out to explore what in a few short weeks my family and I would be calling home.

That's when I witnessed it for the first time.

View standing in my front yard.

A monarch of a mountain range. A huge upheaval of granite that stood forebodingly beautiful as a picturesque backdrop to my new home. The first picture I ever snapped of it I was standing outside my son's high school. It took my breath away.

One can only imagine when the first Homo sapiens stumbled into the valley and settled within its early morning shadows. The earliest inhabitants, the Pueblos called it Bien Mur, otherwise known as big mountain. As the new settlers came in, they would rename the mountain (like they usually do) but something this beautiful, this majestic, could only bear a notable and righteous name. And so forth it was named, from now until the world moves on, it would be known as "Sandia" Mountain. A regal name at that!

Not being well-versed in Spanish I could not wait to uncover the translation. My mind wandered. Could it mean "Patriarch"? Or how about "Heavenly Rock"? Possibly "Guardian"? Heck, I bet it means "Grizzly's Lair"!

Nope.

It means watermelon.

Yep...you heard me.

I now live in the shadow of watermelon mountain.

So much for romance at every turn.

Oh well...at least my bed-loving black lab has a new nickname. But I'm telling you right now, if I spend the next few years exploring cantaloupe canyon or grapefruit glades I'm gonna be seriously disappointed in the naming committee of old!

Meet my lovable puppy Sandia (aka Brooklyn) -------->