I’ve so far spent six months in Los Angeles, taking in all the newness of the landscape. And I’ve ended up back home in Albuquerque for most of the summer. I was talking to my friend Heather yesterday and we had the following conversation:
Heather: I really love Albuquerque, but there’s no beach.
Phil: We may not have water, but we do have dirt.
Heather: There’s a lot that.
Phil: And dammit, when I’m away from it, I miss my dirt. Every time I fly home I get so excited to see the brown.
There’s a running joke that I fear only native Albuquerquians understand. It’s sort of a joke about our special desert vegetation, which in its most natural state lacks many popular flowering plants. The joke goes something like this, starting first with a surprisingly common, yet innocuous, question:
Outsider: Does New Mexico have a state flower?
Albuquerquian: Sure. It’s the Orange Barrel.
Being away from the city for as long as I’d been, I completely forgot just how much roadwork can hit this place. First, spring hits in early April, and trees start to bloom. Next comes the inevitable “unforeseen” winter storm that freezes all the buds on the trees and drops a few inches of snow. And then it jumps right into summer, which means that it’s prime time to work on the roads. Construction springs up, simultaneously, on every other major road in the city. Sort of to the point that whenever you discover new roadblocks, you can rest assured that whatever alternative route you find offers a 95% probability of road construction of its own.
I was out driving today and was fortunate enough to have my camera handy when I discovered a classic setup of construction materials. Given that it’s the height of summer, the orange and white beauties are in full bloom. See below.
I’m not entirely sure what the proper term is for these puppies, but they’re obviously a close cousin to the classic orange barrel New Mexico State Flower, and they’re all over the place here. Cheers to summer!
7 Responses to “There’s a reason one of my favorite childhood desserts was called “Dirt Cake.””
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Ah yes, it reminds me of the state plant where I grew up - usually grown to hedge height and greyish in color, it is called the Jersey Barrier. Of course, everyone knows the state bird - the mosquito…
I think Minnesota may have already staked the claim on the mosquito as their state bird. But, I’ll leave that to you and the Minnesotans to fight that one out.
Is it sad that I know exactly where that picture was taken at? I still haven’t figured out why they put the barrels out and pick them up every year…wouldn’t it be cheaper to either leave them out or just build them into the roads? We know they will be back in the same spot every summer!
I wonder if the barrels feel like they have returned home when they are put back on the same streets every year?
yes i would definitely miss the beach if i left la. and i don’t do well with dirt, haha.
Mmm… Phil’s Famous Banana Pudding. That’s the best.
Kate: It’s not sad at all; it just means you’re a New Mexican. Personally, I prefer to only see the roadblocks once a year, but that’s just me.
Katelin: We do have dirt, but it comes in at least a dozen different varieties. It’s beautiful in its own way.
Elaine: I suppose that that’s its own dirt-colored dessert. Just a lighter sand, perhaps.
Woohoo, summer! I’ve only driven through NM once, but I definitely want to go back to check it out. It looks completely different than any place I have ever experienced.