Ranch Country photography
by Robert McCune

Next evening, camped at Comb Corrals. We’ve had dinner and I’m making sure the camera is ready for tomorrow. Both lenses wiped clean with special cloth, etc. Extra battery and digital film-card in jacket pocket. The plan calls for me getting up extra early for a right-at-sunrise shoot of the corrals and loading gate. From the way the sky has been the past two or three days, the sunrise might be spectacular. Me, just letting Maggie know, “I’ll set the alarm for five and maybe get a good sunrise photo for the website.”

Maggie, warning me: ”Don’t wake me up!”

The next morning, giving way to the lazy part of myself, I reached over and turned off the alarm. With a twinge of guilt, went back to sleep.

Two and a half hours later, a typical in-the-field backroad breakfast. Tomato juice, to wash down two ”horse” pills. (For aging joints). Half a fresh grapefruit each. Steel-cut(?) oatmeal for Maggie, cooked over our red one-burner portable stove. Dry corn flakes for me, with slices of freeze-dried bananas and raspberries. The first several days on the road, there’s fresh banana to add to the dry cereal. (I quit using milk and sugar, long ago). Oh, and don’t forget the coffee! An excellent Taos House piñon blend, from New Mexico earlier this year via U.P.S.