Hurkle Durkle Versus the Cafe

One of my office spaces at home is my bed. The Scottish use the term “hurkle durkle"

to describe lounging in bed long after you should get up. I prefer to call it “hurkle workle.” My supervisors, tuxedo cats JuJuBe and Josie, make sure I’m on task as I conduct

business on my laptop.

Occasionally I’m bold enough to get up and out before 8:30am to drive to The New

Baking Company here in Santa Fe. Cafe life might conjure images of millennials or

Gen Z with fancy coffee drinks and oversized almond croissants but at NBC we are…

older. So much older. Although there are plenty of breakfast sweets, we are more likely

to order the “Cowboy Breakfast” or smothered breakfast burritos. Lattes? Nah, just four

vats of coffee to refill as we please.

The parade of customers is a delight for this photographer. My preferred table is in the

back where the light pours in and everyone is silhouetted. Many of the photos I make

are from that vantage point. Periodically I'll move around and ask an interesting looking person - maybe they are reading an actual book or doing the NYT crossword puzzle -

if I can photograph them. 

Many of the guests are regulars. We greet each other warmly. Never has anyone

suggested we sit together. We want our own space. Each of us has our own reasons

for being there. I’m just the red-haired woman who takes photos. What a sweet slice of Americana, Santa Fe style.