Rummage Sale for the Garden

We had a Rummage Sale this weekend for the garden and made some good money towards our goal of building a winter green house. I was in charge of signage. 

Head Gear

There seemed to be a theme of head gear during the day even though it wasn't that hot. 

$$$

We made almost $800 off sheer junk.  Garage sales are very competitive here and a weekly activity that tops most others. 

Food Dehydrator

I finally fired up my food dehydrator after letting it off gas for a few days. I made some raw onion crackers and some kale chips. Delish! I hope to go primarily raw in my diet for the hot summer months here. 

Youngsters at the Garden

I spent the better part of my afternoon teaching kids from the Teen Outreach Program about food and gardening. They weren't all that excited to talk about my lecture but when they actually got to pick out some seeds and plant them they really perked up.  I'm planning on spending several hours each week with them talking and learning about growing and preparing one's own food. I take all my inspiration from Alice Water's Edible Schoolyard Program and it would be incredible to get a grant from them. 

Dorkbot

Mikey's talk was about their homesteading adventures here in T or C. They are building their own structures, collecting water and using solar panels to collect their energy. They are living largely off the grid and grew 20% of their own food last year. They are a major force in the homesteading world and Mikey's geek side brings a lot of serious experimentation with electronics including water monitoring and watering systems, a special board he created for monitoring grease cars (WVO), grow lights and restoring and desulphurating batteries. Whew!

Wendy

Wendy is Mikey's partner in crime and equally awesome person. 

Mikey

Mikey talking to one of his fans. 

Albuquerque

I went to see my friend Mikey speak at a Dorkbot meeting. The meeting was at warehouse/gallery/artists space in the warehouse area of Albuquerque.

Crackdown!

They are really on to the economic downturn here. Businesses are cracking down!

Planting

This is my friend Tamra from the community garden. She's working on the medicinal plant area. She's an amazing gardener. 

Turkey Vultures

The turkey vultures showed up en mass right over my back yard tonight and when one of my kitties hadn't come home I got really worried. She sauntered in about an hour later. There must have at least 50 or so birds overhead. 

Assembled

It took 2.75 hours to assemble with 2 decent size mistakes along the way. 

Compost tumbler

My compost tumbler finally arrived today.  For the last two years I've been dropping compost scraps off either at Union Square in New York City or at my friend Rebekah's garden. Now I'll be able to harvest my own scraps and use the compost in my garden. 

Wings

Coming home from grocery shopping in Las Cruces on Tuesday I passed several large objects floating down the highway. At first I thought they were the wings to the mothership of Virgin Galactic but as I passed six of these I realized they were probably solar turbine props. I still don't know where they were headed but they were huge. New Mexico is one of the more favorable sites in the US for wind and solar collection. Futurists and Collapse Freaks - take notice!

Starting Over

I planted my seedlings on Monday and when I looked at them this afternoon they had all died in the sun. I guess I'll have to start over. Everyone has been really supportive. Being from a farming family I just think I've got it all together but I have a lot to learn. Most likely I need to just plant right in the soil and forego raising seedlings. 

Batman?

It seems like the sign is trying to insinuate that the police have super hero like powers to catch criminals here but the truth is that you can buy liquor easier than you can by tooth paste in New Mexico. 

By the Rio Grande

I spent the better part of today walking by the river and picking up rocks to line my garden bed with. 

Formerly known as Hot Springs

T or C won a contest to change it's name to the popular program in the early 50's. Ralph Edwards, the announcer, was a great humanitarian and picked Hot Springs, New Mexico because of it's history as a healing place and because they have nurtured many needy people. The tradition goes on today. 

Local Bison

I got a call today that a lot of buffalo meat came in from the Turner Ranch (Ted Turner) up the road. Turner is involved in a project to reintroduce the bison to their native habitat and occasionally some of the meat is sold to locals. This seems to be about a once a year opportunity. I don't eat that much red meat but I wanted to have some local offerings put up in my freezer. I got 12 lbs for $60 which should last a long, long time for me. 

Bulk Delivery

My friend Mikey is getting a bunch of bulk items and selling them privately to friends. Being newly set up I just got some almonds, white flour and garbanzos. The piece of paper is Mikey's handwritten receipt. We are doing everything we can to keep basics on hand and to stock up in case some things become difficult to procure as the economic crisis unfolds. 

Here is his very simple bread recipe which is so easy and delicious:

3 cups white flour

1.5 cups of water

1.25 teaspoons of salt

1 teaspoon of yeast

Just mix at all together...knead for a few minutes....cover in a warm place....bake at 350 for 25-35 minutes....just bake it as a round loaf on a bake pan.

Near Bloom

I noticed that my cactus are about to explode with blooms. 

View of the Town

This is the view of Truth or Consequences which lay at the foot of Turtleback Mountain. At least part of it does. At the base of the mountain runs the Rio Grande River. Towards the river is the Historic Hot Springs District where there are plenty of places to soak. 

Backyard View

This is the view of Turtleback Mountain from my backyard. 

People just pass their seeds around so everyone can get a nice variety of seeds without having to buy them. My friend Wendy loaned me her seed bag. The summer and winter seeds are divided and the broccoli rabe came from her own garden last year. I'm supposed to meet another woman at the laundry mat and pass these seeds on to her. 

A bunch of broccoli coming up. 

This is the next batch, broccoli, broccoli rabe, chocolate peppers (that are brown), watermelon, squash and a bunch of other stuff. I keep it in the oven to regulate the temperature. It has gotten a little chilly here in the last few days. (65 degrees)

My friend Millie said my seedlings were too leggy and I need to plant them soon. 

My cat Pinkie has changed her name to Dusty since we moved here and she feels much more at home in New Mexico than she ever did walking the streets of New York City. 

I can walk to the community garden from where I live so I go there almost every day. At this time of year there are a lot of chores. We laid out the new land given by the City of Truth or Consequences and more than doubled the land available for gardening for this season. This day I was shoveling compost. 

One of my first goals has been to start growing some of the food I'll need so I've been starting quite a few things from seeds. Most of the stuff I got was free from a local organization or from friends. I spent $20 at Seed Savers just to support that organization which maintains a heritage seed library. The community organization I'm involved with has gardening plots and also grows food for local people in need. 

The kitties really liked the yard. 

The first place I lived had a quasi New Mexico flavor.