Desert Exposure

We in the desert southwest are used to snakes, but our July sky has an actual serpent. Serpens, The Serpent is divided into two unconnected parts, separated by the constellation Ophiuchus. Serpens … more

By Bert Stevens | 7/1/21

Chloride Day Trip

Whether you believe in ghosts or not, ghost towns are fun. We headed out to Chloride, a two-hour-plus drive from Las Cruces on a fine spring day without any wind in the forecast. As soon as we … more

By Gabriele Teich | 7/1/21

A Tale of Two Kitties

Every Saturday I go to Las Fuentes restaurant and buy my father the family pack of red cheese enchiladas, with sides of rice and beans. My father is one enchilada-eating kind of guy. If I’m … more

By Jim and Henry Duchene | 7/1/21

Quilts Are Wild Things

This story begins many years ago, when my best friend forever, Yolanda, and I were in grad school. She was a single mom with two young children whom she would bring to seminars. Olivia would house … more

By Mia Kalish | 6/27/21

Pandemic in an Enchanted Land

My grandfather, Ignacy Golub, was a great storyteller. He loved to talk about events in context, big events, the war in Eastern Europe, the destruction caused by Stalin, his work helping others … more

By Mia Kalish | 6/2/21

Hydra, the Water Snake

A long, jagged, region ranging across our southern sky represents the water snake, Hydra. This constellation snakes southeastward from a small circlet of stars two-thirds of the way up in the … more

By Bert Stevens | 5/1/21

DEX Propels Career in Writing

I’ve written for a long time, but never had the time, courage, or inclination to do a lot of writing until I happened to be in Washington DC on 9/11. At that time, I saw the plane that … more

By Jeff Berg | 5/1/21

Short Stops in SNM

Sometimes, when you’re traveling through Southern New Mexico on a tight schedule, you don’t even think about stopping to sample some of the local color, local flavor and local … more

By Richard Coltharp | 5/1/21

Reconsider Travel

I used to jump in my car some Saturday mornings, drive to Ascension to have lunch and then move on to Casas Grandes. Or I might spend my day in Juarez, which had lots of marketplaces, both inside and … more

By Marjorie Lilly | 4/1/21

Monoceros, The Unicorn

If you have never seen a unicorn, all you need to do is look halfway up in our southern sky. Just above Canis Major and its brilliant star Sirius, you will find the constellation of Monoceros, the … more

By Bert Stevens | 4/1/21

Bigger on the Inside

Whether watching your nanny pull an umbrella from her carpet bag or traveling in time and relative dimension in space (TARDIS) accompanying an alien with two hearts, the concept of something being … more

By Elva K. Österreich | 4/1/21

Music remains very much a part of our lives

During this last year, we have been able to listen to our favorite recordings as before. The pandemic, however, has precluded the possibility of many in-person performances and gatherings in which music figures prominently. more

By Rabbi Karol | 3/4/21

Desert Exposure readers write

I was surprised and excited at the prospect of wheelchair-using mini figurines for Dungeons and Dragons and while I was playing World of Warcraft this evening, I made the mistake of looking for resources on representation in a game that I love. more

3/1/21

Whining our Way Through the Pandemic

How long has it been now that we’ve had to wear these scratchy masks and fear for our lives every time we buy groceries? Six months? Twenty years? Every week is the same, so how are we … more

By Sheila Sowder | 3/1/21

End of Watch

The morning of Friday, Feb. 5, I drove U.S. 70 from Las Cruces to Tularosa. The whole way, across the desert, two counties, three cities and two military installations, flags were at half-staff. … more

By Richard Coltharp | 3/1/21

Learning What’s Important

Sometimes I feel my life is an episode of “The Wonder Years.” Like Kevin Arnold, the teenager whose life is the center of the show, I can hear myself narrating my thoughts. It seems … more

By Abe Villarreal | 3/1/21

Dad’s New Dog

My father’s best friend recently left us for that great boneyard in the sky. After a short period of mourning, he told us he wanted to adopt a new one. Bark! Bark! Bark! Bark! Bark! Bark! … more

By Jim and Henry Duchene | 3/1/21

Get Over It

As the 31st year since two children, their father and another were murdered at the Las Cruces Bowling Alley slips by, Anthony Teran, brother of Steve Teran who died Feb. 10, 1990, with his daughters, … more

By Elva K. Österreich | 3/1/21

Falconry

“My falcon now is sharp and passing empty; and till she stoops she must not be fully gorged, for then she never looks upon her lure, another way I have to man my haggard to make her come and … more

By Sheila Sowder | 2/1/21

‘A Horse’s Prayer’

Like so many people over the past year of living life mostly at home, we’ve been staring at a closet full of boxes that seem to have been there forever. In our case, these boxes date back to … more

By Scott Thompson | 2/1/21