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| On Whiplash Curve - Corn Lillies in foreground |
“Oh, we are doing that again”, so you say. Yup I am getting through the doldrums and
starting to write again – if you read this stuff I can only say, “Why?”
So here we go.
The reason I quit writing for three weeks or so was directly
related to the Internet situation in Chama.
The community has an open Internet, which is common in many small
villages – Why doesn’t Calhoun have that? – which is a good thing but, it locks
up from all the traffic when mom and pop and all the kiddies decide to look at
recipes, play games, look at Netflix or view naughty things. So posting was problematic at best.
Now I could have written the daily posts and saved them to a
file to be posted when we came home but it was far more fun talking with folks
or eating at the Boxcar, or High Country, than typing at a computer – so, I
didn’t do that. But, a promise is a
solemn thing and I really felt bad that I was breaking a promise to keep a “journal”
of our journey – likely excuse – to put people to sleep. Thus, for starters, I am giving you a brief
post about a plant – no not a stooge in a bad film about the CIA – this is
about a bit of flora in the Southern Rocky Mountains.
This is really going to be thrilling.
Docent training involves remembering a lot of things such as
civil engineering, railroad operations, history, geology and also flora and
fauna indigenous – this is a really impressive word to throw around – to the
area and super important things such as, “How many telegraphone booths are there
and when was the last fire in Chama?” I
am really into the engineering, operations and history but plants and animals,
not so much – “What is the yellow flower we passed ten minutes ago?” But, all such things are asked and you need
to be prepared to answer.
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| Skunk Cabbage - "False Hellebore" - in bloom |
Thus it was as we traversed Whiplash Curve at the throat of
the Cumbres Yard when this question typically arose, “What is the plant with
the broad leaves?” I quickly learned the
name of that plant it is False Hellebore “Veratrum.” In genteel company they are also known as
“Corn Lilies” and in the wilds of New Mexico as “Skunk Cabbage.” Growing by rhizomes, False Hellebore is rampant
plant in moist areas such as the slopes of Chama Pass. They have white flowers and after blooming
rapidly fade away. Skunk Cabbage smells bad
and is highly toxic thus no cattle or other critters eat them they are purely a
place in which moth and butterfly larvae – especially Monarch Butterflies – thrive.
It is of note the migration pattern of
Monarch Butterflies passes directly through this area of New Mexico.
One guest on a journey with us said, “If you eat the stuff you
get such a bad case of diarrhea you wish you were dead.” I am not sure why anyone would eat the stuff
but I guess some people are up for anything.
On our journey I make it a point
to tell everyone about the Skunk Cabbage and then fall silent when they ask about
the yellow flower we passed ten minutes ago.
