Thanksgiving is a time to pause and reflect on, well, what we have to be thankful for. I am thankful for family, including my Native American family members, and friends. I am thankful to the readers of this blog site. Your comments are meaningful and helpful and I thank you for being here with us.

I am thankful for this wonderful, funky country we live in. It must be the best country in the world because immigrants can’t get here fast enough. We are privileged to live here and blessed to be.

The beginning of this country belongs to its Native Americans. They were here way before anyone else, of course. But, when the earliest immigrant-settlers arrived, it was the Native Americans who were instrumental in helping them begin to forge the new nation.

The Pilgrims, including some of my family, arrived in 1620 after surviving an arduous 66 days crossing the Atlantic in a leaky wooden boat. That first winter they lived on the Mayflower while building homes and storehouses at Plymouth. Half of the 102 souls that had arrived perished during that first, brutal winter. The remaining ones moved into the village they had built.

It was then, in March of 1621, that an Abenaki Native came into the village surprising everyone by speaking in English. Days later he returned with Squanto, a Pawtuxet Native American. Squanto had been taken years earlier by an English vessel and sold into slavery. He managed to escape to London and find his way home on an exploratory expedition. His English was very good. Seeing how the Pilgrims were suffering from lack of food and illness, Squanto taught them how to plant maze, harvest maple sap and catch fish. They also learned how to identify poisonous plants growing nearby so they wouldn’t accidentally eat them.

Squanto was instrumental in introducing the Pilgrims to the nearby local Natives, the Wampanoag. This friendship endured for over 50 years in peace and harmony. In the fall, when the crops planted by the Pilgrims under Squanto’s expert instruction were successfully harvested, the colony’s Governor, William Bradford, declared a time of feasting and invited their Native American allies. The Wampanoag Chief, Massasoit, was among the invited guests.

It was a 3-day celebration of gratitude by the colony for now having food and good nourishment for the coming winter. They were grateful to their Native neighbors and wished to include them to show their gratitude. They were more than included as the meals were probably prepared with Native spices and cooking methods. While the colonists went “fowling” for meat, the Wampanoag brought 5 deer with them as their contribution. The food was a little different than it is now, but this was the earliest Thanksgiving in our country.

As you eat your turkey and pumpkin’ pie and enjoy the warmth of family and friends, include the Native Americans in your thoughts, prayers, and meditations. They deserve it and right now as they defend everyone’s water, they need your support in whatever way you can give it. We wouldn’t be here without them!

This blogger has been traveling and very neglectful of this site, but, I’m back.

One of the fun places that is visited for a few days is in and outside of Albuquerque, New Mexico. New Mexico is very much a western state with many Native American Pueblos and a proud Hispanic heritage. And lots of Cowboys, too. The world needs more Cowboys!

One day, my college roommate and I visited Pioneer Woman in downtown Albuquerque. This adventure was suggested by a friend and it was a very worthwhile trip. The Daughters of the American Revolution donated 12 similar statues in 12 different states. This one was given to the City of Albuquerque around 1928, the year of its dedication in McClellan Park. It was moved in 1996 to its current location, a small park of its own, by the Albuquerque Public Art Program and rededicated at that time.

This and the other statues are dedicated to the fortitude of the women who pioneered in settling the west and other states where they are located. The women suffered many hardships while caring for their families and often traveled long distances in covered wagons to their new homes. They were a hardy, hard-working lot that didn’t have time to complain.

It was fun to visit her and know that those women of that time period are appreciated, as well they should be. Thanks to my friend who made the suggestion.

This time of year is the ‘brown’ season here with the prairie grass drying out and changing from green to brown. But here and there bursts of fall colors fill the trees.

The most spectacular display is along the Rio Grande River where Cottonwoods are predominate and a few other varieties are interspersed.

A family member took me on a drive along the Rio Grande one day from Los Lunas to Belen on one side of the river and then crossing the river, came back the other side. Following are some photos we took that display the splendor of fall along the Rio Grande.

And on the other side of the river.

A surprise to me was coming upon the University of New Mexico, Valencia campus. It is an extension of UNM about 60 miles south of Albuquerque. The buildings are designed to look like the adobe of another era.

If you are ever near Albuquerque in the fall, don’t miss the splendid fall display of colors along the Rio Grande River!