"How will they know you are real?"

Yon Povi' has asked me to tell you this about her.

"I am called another name but will use the name given to me when I was only four years old. My Grandfather gave me this name when I told him of the dancing bear cub that visited me. This cub came in my sleep and also during the day, and was first to call me this name, Yon Povi'. I am in my high nineties and have kept many things I am told to say, yet I have had no way. I am asking my friend to write out these words and messages for all people who will listen." - Yon Povi'

How I came to know Yon Povi', what I know about her

and how I became her "Web Master"

With the advise of Yon Povi' and common sense I am publishing her "messages" as an anonymous friend.

If I hadn't stopped for coffee on my way to to photograph Sierra Grande I would never have met this unusual woman who seems somehow out of time yet remarkably present.

When I turned to leave after paying for my coffee I almost ran into her and as soon as I said "excuse me" she asked "Do you know about the treasure art man Fenn?"

I was shocked that she asked me anything at all, but told her that I had heard of this man's treasure hunt, knew he was an art dealer and saw something on TV about him once. Without any hesitation she said "I am in my high nineties" and that she wanted me to "put out messages I get about that Fenn art man, some other persons and some other things".

Her halting speech and tendency to look down and too the side when she talked seemed to indicate a social awkwardness and it felt like is was somewhat painful for her to speak with me.

Again surprising me, she asked where I was going and if I would come to her house. I told her my plans not being sure if I had ever felt so put on the spot. I think she sensed this and said that her property's view of Sierra Grande was very good. I agreed to follow her and can say with confidence I will never regret going.

She drives an older white truck that seems in good shape. Each time I've met with her she has worn the same stripped overalls and an old blue cap. In the photo above she is wearing an old wool shawl around her head and shoulders because of the wind at her home. The above photograph is the only one she will allow. No more photographs of her, no how, no way.

Everything about our conversation was surprising and surreal. It started when she said, "You gotta be my web master, tell me how much that will cost." Suffice it to say I agreed to do this for her after she told me a few stories over a cup of tea.

Yon Povi' still lives in a mostly adobe house situated up against a small hill in the northeastern quadrant of New Mexico. She says her father, uncle and a cousin built the home sometime she thinks, around 1920, just a couple of years before she was born.

Her family had traveled to New Mexico from the Appalachian Mountains enduring hardships along the way like most others coming west in those days.

Remarkably she has lived through the overwhelming challenges of the West for her entire life, in the same home, in a town that is no longer a town. She has lived alone there for nearly sixty years. Her property has two springs which she says was a saving grace when her family still had livestock.

Her home like her truck, seems in good enough shape indicating that somehow she manages without too much difficulty, apparently being able to afford the help and few things she seems to need. She has never married nor has she had children. That is all she has said about her personal life so far, I don't know if she will say more in the future.

For reasons I can't explain I feel calm, comfortable and safe when I visit Yon Povi'. I am honored that she invites me to the vast breathtaking beauty of the Hi-Lo Country to her simple home, and also honored to publish her messages. Frankly it all seems very weird and surreal to me, and she knows this. l do not understand what she means by this "dancing bear cub".

She tells me to say, if you ask why I - "put out this crazy old lady's messages" to respond with, "so what if the old lady is crazy, haha" Her sense of humor is much better than her photo reveals. I'm pretty sure she meant that for me and I agree, so what if she's crazy? What if she's not? Her messages are dear to me. What would you do if a dancing bear cub visited you day or night with these messages? I don't know either!

I cannot judge where these messages come from, I can only experience being in the presence of this shy, humble, resourceful, funny and wise woman whose messages seem to be for everyone. I have so many written down, I don't know how long it will take for me to catch up with everything I have to post.

Sincerely,

Web Master