Harvesting

The tomato harvesting and putting up continue. I'm doing another massive batch of dehydrated tomatoes along with roasting a bunch. Upon going to the garden there was a whole other bunch that needed to come home. I'm spending at least a full day a week putting up food right now.

Tarantula

Just cruising around in my living room tonight. They are way faster than you would think. Beautiful, but way too fast.

Lamont 'Blackie' Blackwell

This is our neighborhood cat who kind of moved in on my girls and made himself known. Slowly he's become a part of the family but he has another family down the hill hence the variety of names he goes by. He went and got his business taken care of last week thanks to his dad Davey and hopefully he doesn't already have any illegitimate children on the hill.

Oyster Mushrooms

These little beetles were munching down on some delicious oyster mushrooms in the Gila National Forest. My friend Rick ended up taking some on the way down after our 9 mile hike.

Rainbow House

If you get tired of rainbows you wouldn't like it here at all.

Zinnias from the garden

More Basil, More Tomatoes

I've got to stay on top of the harvesting every day in the garden. I'll probably do some more dehydrating with the tomatoes since those went over really well on the kayak picnic. This is just the first wave of tomatoes. After the heat dies down we will have many more to pick. With the basil I plan to make a simple green sauce with some marjoram and oregano, maybe even parsley added to the basil. Good for soup stocks and marinades. I still have another wave of basil coming up in my own plot. The tomato and basil are symbiotic partners in the garden. One aids the other in terms of pest control and soil nutrients. Even as they taste good together, it is advisable to plant together too.

So much fun

We saw so many birds on this kayak trip. Blue Heron, Egret, Orioles and many more that I wish I knew the name of.

So so so beautiful

Kayak trip - Rio Grande

Basil Harvest

I did a massive harvest of basil with my friend from the community garden and then we proceeded to make mucho pesto. We still have another batch to collect that is larger than the batch here. There is going to be a lot of pesto dishes this winter.

Just a Reminder

Silver City and my old pal Max

I went to visit my old pal who lives right around the corner in Silver City. (Or actually up and through the pass). We day tripped to a little mining town called Mogolion and went to this amazing mining museum. Max previewed the album he is putting together for me which sounds really really great. (maxcarmichael.com)

Double Rainbow

Sunflower

This was a gift from a friend. The sunflowers are coming up in gardens all over the city and they are amazing. Look closely and you can see the seeds.

Kitty Hydration

Dorothy checking out the deer on Fire Island

Live from New York

I've got my eye on...

Our Local Hospital

The sign seems a little bit like a prop for a Douglas Sirk film. Honestly, it's a good advertisement for taking care of yourself.

Bite the Hand That "Feeds" You

Monsanto would love it if no one knew what a seed was, much less how to grow it. Be a food activist by saving your seeds. Even if you don't have a garden now, you just never know. These are the seeds I'm saving from the dried arugula plant. It's kinda tedious.

Dried arugula

Just to emphasize....

Accidents will happen

The Other World

Monsoon Season

As the monsoon season approaches we will have rain almost every day. Tonight we had a shower about 20 minutes south of here and it produced this amazing rainbow. 

Phaidon Press?

I can't believe there is a coffee table book about my town. 

New Mexico-themed kitty toys

Pinkie's grandmother sent her a snakie officially making all her toys New Mexico-themed. 

Star Trek

Naturally, in New Mexico, Star Trek was held over at our movie theater for additional showings. We have a thing about outer space I guess. 

My First Zucchini

I've been so excited so see my Black Beauty zucchini and just when I wasn't looking there was a huge one just waiting to be picked. My very first one. 

Farmer's Market Score

The market was great this morning. I got some garlic scapes, fresh basil, fresh sprouts, radish, green onion, garlic flowers and an assortment of lettuces. 

Sunning Turkey Vultures

If you enlarge this photo you can see two turkey vultures drying their wings in the morning sun on the top of the ridge in Jose Canyon. This hike is about 10 minutes from where I live. 

Poser Kitties

The kitties are really getting adventuresome in the back yard but mainly just stand around and pose. I think they've been listening to too much Rufus Wainwright. 

Pinkie von Beaumont

Pinkie volunteered to do quality control and product testing. 

Cat Mint Chili Pepper

My friend Paula is making these adorable chili peppers from cat mint she grew in the community garden. They will be sold at the Farmer's Market to raise funds for our greenhouse project. 

Sugar Pecans

My friends from Louisiana send me sugar pecans and I just love 'em. Since these pecans are native to the area and because they are delicious - I decided to make a batch to sell at the Farmer's Market this weekend. 

Parking?

You could not get a parking ticket in this town if you tried. 

Farmer's Market

The Farmer's Market opened Saturday in Truth or Consequences and there was some truly incredible finds. These are Red Hot Pokers that come from the valley just north of us. It was a blown out social event for this town and I really look forward to seeing all the fresh produce start pouring in soon. 

Organic Bug Spray

I was selling some organic bug spray I make from essentials oils at my friend's herb stand.

Sun-dried

My friend Lilynn from Monticello whose family are seed farmer's, had these delicious sun-dried tomatoes. Yum Yum and more Yum. I'm going to use them the raw food preparation below:

Sun Dried Tomato & Basil Paste

1 cup walnuts

½ cup sunflower seeds

1 cup sun dried tomato

1 cup basil (Chopped)

2 tbsp olive oil

½ tsp sea salt

1 tsp soy sauce

Little Tramp Art

My friends the seed farmer's out at in Monticello brought their kids to the Farmer's Market and the young boys (9 and 7 I think) had made all these knives from different scraps and things available to them on their farm. I thought this was some amazing tramp art from some young country dudes. 

Seeds of Change

Some friends here took a bag of this Rainbow dent corn to the Inauguration so these are literarily Seeds of Change and Hope. I planted a small circle of them but that is not the ideal way to plant corn I learned. It's best to bunch them tightly together as the winds and rain really batter them during monsoon season. We'll see what happens. 

Purple Beans

These are probably the best thing I have going in the garden right now. It's some purple beans that I planted right into the soil. 

Lettuce

My lettuce is coming up real nicely but it won't last too long. In the summer months it gets too hot to grow it so I'll have to get it at our farmer's market from people who grow in a cooler valley. 

Fiesta!

I got back in the wee hours of Saturday morning from being in Massachusetts and my entire town was in full swing for it's annual Fiesta Festival which is the celebration of Ralph Edwards and the naming of the town Truth or Consequences. My first stop was a place called Dr. Bob's where there was an intense drumming circle going on with lots of wild dancing. I played with them for about an hour before I split to check out another live band playing in the park.  It certainly was a massive culture shock after my conference. 

African Dancing

The energy was incredibly high and all sorts of crazy dancing was happening with the African Band. As my friend Wendy said, "Can you believe how random this place is?" The whole town was partying and cutting loose - and I mean looser than they typically are. 

Fire Spinners

These fire spinners were going strong as the African band jammed in Ralph Edwards Park which is right on the Rio Grande.