April 3, 2023
March came in like a passive lion, allowing a few signs of Spring to peek through. My collection of nature snippets and decorative trail rocks was going well, until ……. Before long we were once again shoveling drifts and piles of snow, dumped on New Mexico thanks to California’s 13 atmospheric rivers that flowed from coast to coast. This was looking like the winter that would never end.
It was truly and literally “March Madness” out there. So, in the spirit of the crazy seasonal weather, an emergency road trip became necessary to search for some “Littles” filler. And I knew the perfect route to take …..
The Turquoise Trail Scenic Byway winds around the Ortiz Mountains and Cerrillos Hills, while passing through the historic mining towns of Golden, Madrid (MAH-drid) and Cerrillos (sir-REE-yoose). Today, there’s minimal mining taking place in them there hills. Today it’s all about art, and there’s some really weird stuff on display out there.
From Golden to just north of Cerrillos, the hillsides are adorned with metal sculptures like a Trojan horse, three boned fish on sticks, a scuba diver fleeing a curious dolphin, two-story tall origami made of folded metal, butterflies as big as pterodactyls, a squadron of green parrots, and a fleet of racing bicycles. You have to look around every bend in the road ….. they’re all there, and more!
It was fun “collecting” these images for my March “Littles” collection, but I needed one more. We had heard the story of Ethyl the Whale somehow living out of water, somewhere in Santa Fe. Sounded like the perfect weird addition to that blank spot on my page.
And there she was! Around the back side of the Santa Fe Community College, in a large, flat field was Ethyl, the 82-foot long blue whale sculpted out of single use plastics. Ethyl is HUGE! She not only holds the Guinness Book of Records for the World’s largest recycled plastic sculpture, she also delivers an important message about the health of our oceans.
Well, there you have it; my eclectic assortment of “Littles” to remember this March of 2023. Let me know what you think! I’m already looking forward to true Spring in April. Wildflowers should be popping up everywhere and maybe a few more bugs will make an appearance for my April “Littles.”
Thanks again to “Made by Fay” for the “Littles” inspiration!
a curious nature 
So awesome post with so beautiful drawing photos that birds, fishes, flowers extra , so nice to see 😍👍🏻
from winter to spring explanation also so interesting 🧐 thank you for sharing and grace wishes dear ♥️🙏
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Thank you so very much for such beautiful comments, Thattamma! You’ve been an inspiring follower of my posts, and I really appreciate you taking the time to comment! Have a lovely week!
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🌹🙏🥰🌹grace wishes dear friend 👏
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What an interesting variety of Littles for March! I enjoyed browsing through them all. I hope April brings Spring to you! Happy sketching!
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Thanks so much Fay! I had a sense of desperation as the month seemed to quickly come to a close. It was a good excuse to explore and see some new things! Happy sketching to you too! And thanks for commenting (and inspiring!)
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What a wonderful trail to explore to escape the snow! The Turquoise trail is one you recommended to us last year, but we couldn’t fit it in. So many curious expressions of creativity on that trail! I love how you weaved in your nature findings, too! Beautiful!
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A million thanks, Karen! We often take the Turquoise Trail to Santa Fe, hiking in the Cerrillos Hills on the way. We’ve never stopped to admire the art sculptures, but doing so was worth it! Next time you visit NM you’ll have to take the drive!
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Well, that was an amazing road trip! Certainly more than enough to fill up your littles. I had to spend time looking at the flower petals and leaves to see how you make them so realistic. I would like to tough the birds, caterpillar and flower
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Thank you so much for coming along, Susan! It would’ve been more fun to have you along tho. Love your comments too. I love these “Littles!” Looks like I’ve added this approach to my tool bag
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