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A LOOK INSIDE THE ARCHIVES AT ONE OF OUR CLASSIC ISSUES FROM 91 YEARS OF NEW MEXICO MAGAZINE.
November 1940 By John Sinclair The July sun beat down on the New Mexico range country as the mounted cowboys rounded up the big pasture and drove the scattered bunches of cattle to the large herd being massed together on the flat. Shouting, whistling, pounding of hoofs, bellowing of cows and bulls, bawling of calves—all this commotion under the pall of dust let one know that bustle and activity had penetrated this serene spot on the prairie. The summer roundup was in full swing.
“Harvest Time” by Wyatt Davis
WHEN Autumn lights her fires along the Río Grande She strikes a blaze of glory you cannot understand, Unless you travel downward upon the winding way That runs beside the river from Taos to Santa Fé.
On his Rancho Benito, on the outskirts of Mountainair, Pop Shaffer creates his animals to suit his mood and to conform to the strange and frequently weird shapes of tree limbs that he picks up in the nearby mountains. From the gnarled and twisted trees he creates for his zoo everything from dogs to dinosaurs. This unique hobby started when one day sitting under a juniper tree, he looked up and visualized, in the shape of the branches, a calf. That was all that was necessary. A hobby was in the making. … Last year he was host to 12,000 visitors who came to look at the fruits of labor of his unusual hobby … not enticed by any advertising. Pop explained they just heard somebody tell about it and came to satisfy their own curiosity.
There’s a splash of blood-red chile against a tan mud wall; A flame of yellow cottonwood is waving over all; Up along the hillside are browns of every hue, And hiding in the canyon are shadows, soft and blue. Through the air is floating a ghost of campfire haze That mingles with the sunshine of mild October days; If you listen closely (I’m sure I can’t be wrong) You’ll hear the river humming a rare old Spanish song. There’s magic in the valley you cannot understand When Autumn lights her fires along the Río Grande, Unless you travel downward upon the winding way That runs beside the river from Taos to Santa Fé. —Bessie M. Moore VOLUME 92, ISSUE 11 New Mexico Magazine (ISSN 0028-6249) is published monthly by the New Mexico Tourism Department at 495 Old Santa Fe Trail, Santa Fe, NM 87501-2750. SUBSCRIPTION PRICE: $25.95 per year, $45.95 outside the United States. Periodicals postage paid at Santa Fe, NM, and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to New Mexico Magazine, PO Box 433148, Palm Coast, FL 32143-9881. Copyright © 2014 by New Mexico Magazine. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. The magazine is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts, photographs, or artwork.
80 NEW MEXICO | NOVEMBER 2014