| Fiesta at St. Jude's |  | |
Fearing that the old traditions were being lost, San Patricio's St. Jude's Catholic Church decided to resurrect the celebration of the Festival of San Juan (St. John.) Friends
and neighbors from all over the Hondo Valley gathered to enjoy music, dancing, bingo, a cake walk, raffle, flea market and, of course, authentic New Mexican cuisine to die for! Funds raised will be used for needed maintenance to the church.
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| Camping with Pop |  |
Venturing out on a road-trip with dad is fairly common in the American experience. But in the Hurd family, like most things, there was nothing ordinary about a trip in the camper with Dad.
Peter's traveling studio brings back memories for his son alright...but they are memories that Michael would just as soon forget.
"Pop would usually load up me and Mom and some poor, hapless guest and tell us he was taking us to the back of the ranch to look for dinosaur tracks." (Peter had located tracks in a sandstone deposit somewhere on the ranch and was always happy to show them to guests.)
"Well, Pop never got a four-wheel drive. He'd take us out on a back road somewhere and sure enough he'd find a recently flooded arroyo or some dangerous looking path and we'd see that sparkle in his eye. So Mom would look at me and roll her eyes and we'd all just hang on to whatever we could grab while he'd make a run at this thing. Usually we'd hit a few boulders, straddle a log stickin' out of somewhere and manage to get thoroughly jostled before we were inevitably stuck with our wheels spinning in mud and rocks. Mom would announce that she was going to pick some flowers or look at the countryside and she'd disappear for about an hour while our poor guest and I concocted new feats of engineering in rock-removal, leveling and shoveling, until we could finally get that hunk of metal dislodged.
Pop always kept a bottle of tequila and lime on hand~an antidote to failure and a reward for success."
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| Recipe of the Month:
Bad News Beans |  |
(Photo by Ken Cobean- I'm not jokin')
~4 strips bacon, cooked and crumbled
~1/2 cup onion
~2-3 cans 28 oz. baked beans
~1 cup barbeque sauce
~1/4 cup ketchup
~1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped
~1 tsp. seasoned salt
~1 tsp. hot sauce
~1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
Cook bacon in a large skillet. Remove bacon and allow to cool, then crumble. Reserve some bacon grease in pan and add onion. Saute onions until they are slightly brown and shiny. Remove from heat.
In a large pot or slow cooker, add baked beans, barbecue sauce, ketchup, jalapeno, seasoned salt, hot sauce and black pepper. Mix ingredients thoroughly. Add bacon and onions. Cover pot and allow to simmer on medium low to low heat for 35-45 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Warning: This recipe is hot and spicy. For a gringo version, reduce the spicy ingredients.
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If you're new to our Online Newsletter family, you've missed a few! Click on the picture above to visit our Newsletter Archive page.
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Peter Hurd's Most Beloved Work...
Ten year-old Dorothy Herrera didn't know the meaning behind the painting when she posed for Peter Hurd in 1960. All she did know was that posing for the famous man who employed her father, would not be easy. Not because Peter Hurd was grumpy or difficult to work with, but because, as Dorothy had heard from her two older brothers, you have to hold still for a really long time. Many candles burned down during the three weeks it took to complete the painting, and when it was over, Dorothy still wasn't sure what the "Eve of St. John" was all about.
The Gospel of Luke states that John the Baptist was born about 6 months before Jesus. The Christian holy day of St. John was therefore set on June 24th, six months before Christmas. The Feast of St. John also coincides with the June solstice, or midsummer, and in many cultures festivities are celebrated the night before on St. John's Eve.
Worldwide, it is common to commemorate St. John's Eve with prayers, music, singing, dancing and games. Another tradition is to celebrate with a bonfire, with believers taking ashes from the fire to spread over their land as a blessing for protection of their crops. Perhaps the connection to the bonfire tradition is what inspired Peter Hurd to ask Dorothy to shelter a lighted candle. I am sure that Dorothy would be glad that Peter didn't ask her to perform the more common St. John's Eve tradition of jumping through the flames of the bonfire for good luck! |
| House in the Hills by Michael Hurd | 
Price: $9,500
Size: 17 1/2" x 23 1/4"
Medium: watercolor
Signed: lower right |
| Rio Grande Sandbar by Michael Hurd | 
Price: $7,500
Size: 10" x 16"
Medium: watercolor
Signed: lower right |
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One evening, in the early 1970's, Peter and Henriette Hurd arrived at the Tinnie Silver Dollar where they were planning to meet friends for dinner. In the parking lot sat one lonely, isolated, vehicle with state government plates, so the Hurds knew they were the first in the party to arrive.
In those days, it was necessary to pass through the bar to get to the restaurant. As their eyes adjusted to the darkness inside, they walked through the bar, greeting Betty the barmaid and dodging the two brass spittoons on the floor. They couldn't help but notice that the sole customer in the place was sprawled out drunk on the bar, taking a nap. Appalled that a state employee would drink himself into a stupor, then get on the road where he could potentially cause an accident, Peter grumbled under his breath while he escorted his wife to the table.
Soon the Hurds were joined by their friends, including the Dean of New Mexico State University, Dr. Gerald Thomas, and his wife. After everyone had placed their orders, Peter excused himself from the table. About ten minutes passed before he reappeared with a self-satisfied grin and mysteriously remarked, "Well that should take care of it."
The group enjoyed a pleasant meal, accompanied by Peter and Henriette's entertaining stories and jokes. Finally it was time to say goodnight. As the group wandered to the parking lot, Mr. and Mrs. Thomas suddenly stopped short. Peter smiled and waited for the rest of the group to notice his good deed. Thinking that he was keeping a drunk off the road, he had slipped away from dinner and let the air out of all four tires of the state vehicle. Unfortunately, he didn't know that the Dean of NMSU and his wife had also traveled to dinner in a state vehicle...which now had four very flat tires. The drunk, it turns out, had long since gone on his inebriated way.
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| You asked for it...and it's finally here! |  You can now enjoy the beauty and drama of the Hondo Valley and Sentinel Ranch without ever having to leave home...although this book will make you want to! Originally created as a gift for Michael, so many of you asked for it, we have a very small quantity available for those of you who have come to love Sentinel Ranch as much as we do. This vibrant coffee table book is 75 pages with over 100 stunning photographs. ($49.95 + tax + $4.50 s&h) While supplies last. Proceeds benefit Sentinel Ranch. |
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Content and images on this site are the property of Michael Hurd, Tiffanie Owen and the Hurd-La Rinconada Gallery/Sentinel Ranch. Reproduction of the content on this site is prohibited without the express written consent of the owner. All rights reserved. |
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