The Ides of March

It's hard to believe it's only the middle of March and we're busy in the garden. For long-time Alaskans, it's a miracle. We returned from the East Coast to find our garden's over run with Arugula (the huge plants on the left). We had planted some salad mix last fall but the frost stunted the lettuce. The arugula, however, started growing and never looked back. It's now gone to seed and the tiny white flowers are calling the bees. We picked several grocery bags full and have been giving it away to anyone who'll take it. We also took some to the Natural food store. We have to check today and see if they want more.

Our little herb garden by the back door made it through the winter as well. We have had lots of parsley, sage and thyme throughout the colder months. Our little chile pepper wreath is pretty desiccated, but still a cheery addition to our courtyard. Today is chilly (mid-forties at mid-day) and cloudy, but we've been having glorious, sunny 70 degree days. The wind tries to dry out our little starts, but we've put shade cloth on the fence to try and slow the gusts somewhat. We've started seeds in flats on our porch, and have already transplanted some morning glories into larger pots. We've also been transplanting our hanging geraniums that got pretty dried out during our absence. We also have some cana lillies we picked up at a local coffee shop last summer. The owner had boxes of them to give away, and hopefully they will have a home in the corner of the yard.

We also picked up a Spanish Broom plant (yellow flowers) at the local Cactus Ranch. (They have amazing cacti and other southwest flora as well as wonderful pottery) Behind the fence you can see newly dug beds. I've been furiously digging, screening, and amending the soil. We've got lettuce, peas, pak choy etc already in the ground and will be eating greens (other than arugula) soon.

The birds missed us while we were gone. It took a few days after our return for them to find us again. These tiny lesser goldfinches love the thistle seed. A few days ago we heard the Conk-a-ree call of redwing blackbirds from the pine trees in the neighbors yard. Couldn't see the birds, but assumed they were mocking birds imitating the call. When they flew into the tree in the next lot, we could tell they weren't mocking birds but still couldn't believe we'd scores of blackbirds here in the desert. I'd always seen them in marshy areas before. When they came down to feast on sunflower seeds, we could see the red wing patches (barely visible in the photo). We keep pinching ourselves, wondering what we ever did to deserve this life we now have in the South West. Our days are filled with gardening, bird watching and rock gathering in the desert. The pace of our daily routine is leisurely but full. I've been baking bread, playing guitar and reading a lot. Annie has been furiously knitting in anticipation of yet another grandson (Susa is due in May). Life is good!

Springtime in New Mexico

It's been awhile since we updated this, so I'll try to fill everyone in on what's been going on in our lives for the past several months. We left NM in early January to attend the birth of Isabella in Virginia Beach. Although the due date was late January, Jenny was feeling contractions and that the birth might come sooner. We had a great road trip from NM to VA... three nights on the road through Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, South and North Carolina... a part of the country neither Annie or I had seen before. A cold front chased us east, but the only weather we encountered was a little ice on the road near Atlanta which slowed traffic to a crawl for several hours.

We got to VA and waited for Isabella's arrival. She finally came on January 31, following a snow storm that had us all worried about the drive to the hospital. We made the drive at 6 in the morning with very little traffic. Isabella had some breathing problems early on. She couldn't quite figure out how to swallow when she had a little reflux and stopped breathing a couple of times. That all straightened out in a couple of days and she's fine now. A beautiful addition to our family.

After welcoming Bella, we waited for the storms to abate in Maryland and snuck up the coast between two major blizzards. Had a great visit with Lucas and his family. Tristan and Brooke both had the entire week off due to the snow. There was a total of almost 4 feet of snow within a week. The roads in Maryland were not too bad, however. Because of the weird winter weather throughout the central part of the country, we decided to take the most southerly route possible on our way back to New Mexico. We stopped for another couple of days in Virginia, then headed south to Florida, where we stopped to see our friends Perry and Cynthia. Perry was in Maine, working on a house he's building in Bridgton, so we decided to kidnap Cynthia and bring her to New Mexico with us. While in Florida, I spent one afternoon kayaking on the inland waterway watching a fellow named Lars try to catch redfish. I didn't even take a pole and caught just as many as he did.

We had a great drive back across the swamps of Florida and along the Redneck Riviera, then along route 10 and home. The crappy weather followed us. We had snow, sleet and freezing rain from San Antonio almost all the way to El Paso. Had a great time showing Cynthia around Truth or Consequences. We had some great drives, including this one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sr2hWLpaQss

Just one more picture, before I sign off for now. Brooke painted this visor for her Grannie while we were visiting. It's quite stylish and she wears it everywhere.