Space Station, Aliens and More - 02/28/11 11:54 PM
Have a hankering to go into space?
About 30 miles from True or Consequences, NM is the new space station.  It is being created with tax money from citizens of NM, particularly those of Dona Ana County, NM.  Their (our) hope is that the space station will bring tourist and other business income to benefit the county as a whole.
The major private party involved is Virgin Galactic, a company of Richard Branson.  He has now 400 individuals who have signed up to take a 'tourist trip' into space.  As of this writing, he has two reservations for scientists, sponsored by … (1 comments)

Real Estate Brokering Vrs./AND Business Brokering - 02/27/11 10:18 AM
Perhaps you are one of the majority who are part of activerain.com, real estate professionals.  I have a real estate license that is used for referral purposes and I meet all of the requirements to renew that license, every three years in New Mexico.  However, because I don't practice the profession, I never claim to know the best of practices and do not represent real estate, residential or commercial.  No doubt every state has its own regulations to follow.  However, it is beyond regulation and more about knowledge.
What I do know is the brokering of businesses.  There is a difference.  … (0 comments)

NM Hometown - Hatch (Third in Series) - 02/26/11 08:48 AM
Do you know the difference between chili and chile? 
In New Mexico, particularly in Hatch, it makes a huge difference.
While growning up in PA, moving many times throughout the country, and landing eventually in Michigan for 20+ years, the word chili, was spelled with an 'i.' Then, I moved to New Mexico.  The 'i' was changed to an 'e.' and meant something entirely different.
Chili was defined in my mind as a mixture of ground meat, red beans, and red sauce.  We might say Texas style chili.  In NM chile is the name of the green or other colored vegetables … (0 comments)

Is it possible to like gray skies? - 02/25/11 07:45 PM
Can a gray sky be good?  Perhaps your perspective is unique and you have your own answer to this question.  It might depend on where you live.
For me, one of the pleasures of living in New Mexico (having moved from the grayer side of Michigan) is the sunny sky about 300 days a year. (In Las Cruses they claim 325 or some such.)  When there is a gray sky, it rarely stays more than a few hours.  In fact, gray happens so infrequently that one can really like the change, the break from the glare of a bright sunny sky.
… (1 comments)

NM Senate Honors Espanola Valley Humane Society and Citizens - 02/23/11 07:55 PM
Lill the education pitbull was the real star of the show today.  She is one of New Mexico's State treasures, in my opinion.
Over the very cold weather of early February when pipes were bursting and heat was off for thousands, the shelter in Espanola found itself without water and heat.  100 +/- rescue animals were at risk.  The call went out and within four hours all animals were in private homes or lounging in private for-profit kennels.
So Lill, who looks very much like the pitbull shown here, managers, and board members were invited to receive a proclamation in the … (0 comments)

NM Hometown - Las Cruses (Second in the Series) - 02/23/11 09:30 AM
Perhaps once you have moved someplace new.  It might have been merely a new neighborhood, a town, a city, a country.  Perspective on first arrival is different than for those who have been there years or decades.
Bill and Joan recently moved to Las Cruses from NYC, making a new hometown.  Now there is a change.  She is a retired non-profit exec and he a French Horn player. Note I did not say retired for him as musicians go on forever, it seems.  He continues to play now and she is volunteering for SCORE in the non-profit sector.  They are active … (1 comments)

You know it is spring when.... - 02/22/11 07:34 PM
You probably have one sure sign of spring, one that you can count on every year.  This is the one that is not dictated by what the calendar or moon says.
Out my northern New Mexico window right now there is a bird feeder.  It is a sure sign that we are getting much closer to spring.  It is the feeder that just a couple of weeks (or perhaps days) ago was being emptied every 36 hours or so.  Now, it has been several days and there remains feed in the trough.  The birds are finding their fill on the ground … (0 comments)

Lizard - Whats to Love? - 02/21/11 07:29 PM
You must have a favorite pet. Perhaps it is your dog, cat, goat.
In some recent survey I took, one person named their lizard.  They did not specify what type, just as initially one might not say "my pet collie dog."  I guess that some kids have lizards for pets as well.
This got me thinking of a story I was told about a visitor to the National Monument Chaco Canyon, New Mexico.  The canyon is right in the center of the state and a great place to visit.  The location was built in the 700 - 800 AD period.  Many … (1 comments)

Why some fires work: - 02/20/11 10:56 PM
 
Do you love the warmth and vision of a fire…the ones in fireplaces?
 
I really don’t understand the physics of it but it does work.  In New Mexico and perhaps other places, a kiva fireplace is the norm.  We have two in our house.  They are typically in a corner of the room.  They have a rounded front facing rather than a flat surface.  Of course there is a chimney and a flue.  The chimney is not typically clad with metal but instead clay brick.  The brick is thick and thus retains the heat, hours beyond the norm of … (0 comments)

More birds than you can count! - 02/17/11 08:22 PM
These snow geese are taking off in the morning at Bosque Del Apache, a National Wildlife Refuge, south of Albuquerque, New Mexico.  This protected wetlands is active all winter with birds that have migrated to NM, waiting out the weather north.  The preserve is home to thousands of birds, representing many species.  Just to name a few, there are Canada Geese, Bald Eagles, Sandhill Cranes, swans, and ducks.
For a sense of the numbers this year, they are counting 53,000 ducks and 11,000 Sandhill Cranes.
The Bosque is adjacent to the small town of San Antonio, 85 miles south of Albuquerque.  … (0 comments)

Lower income house buying - New Mexico - 02/16/11 11:35 PM
I just spoke with David Ray of, Omni Village Realty, Albuquerque.  He is representing homes for sale in Albuquerque, ones that through government grants have been purchased and rehabed.  They are eligible for resale to only people with lower incomes. The purchaser can receive up to a $50K reduction in purchase price, from the appraisal price.
This is a wonderful opportunity.
 
Learn more by contacting David:  Omni
 
 
 
 
… (0 comments)

The Color of Desert - 02/15/11 02:17 PM
Are you tired of adobe-colored homes in New Mexico?
We certainly have plenty of them.  Recently I went to the deck above our kitchen.  From there one can see miles of high desert terrain, seven mountain ranges,  with homes dotted here and there. It is a guess, but likely, that 98% of them are the color of mud.  Now, don't get too discouraged because mud does come in various shades of dusty brown.  These homes often have a number of accent colors to give a bit of spark to the viewer who happens to be closer than my deck.  Many of … (3 comments)

Winter Plant Watering - 02/12/11 08:19 PM
One of the most difficult things for me about living in New Mexico, is how to tend to  the garden.  The ineptitude is all about my having never had a green thumb, living most of my life in the lush world of Pennsylvania and Michigan, then moving to the desert.
It is now mid February and I have not yet watered the outdoor plants.  Not once.  Husband, John says it is silly to worry about.  But, everything that is published suggests he is wrong and I have messed up.  The trees and plants will surely all be dead in the spring.
… (0 comments)

New Mexico Hometowns – Lamy (First in the Series) - 02/11/11 08:30 PM
 
Are you itching to move?  Some never want to.  Some have to. 
 
This is the first in a series of articles about places to live in New Mexico.      
 
Lamy is the first because it is my hometown.  John and I don’t live right in town but Lamy is our address.  The town is three miles south over the hill.  We sometimes walk there for our hike of the day.  What we for sure do there is catch the train.  Lamy is the train stop for the Amtrak, Santa Fe Depot.  It is about 15 miles as … (0 comments)

The fox is out of his den! - 02/10/11 09:30 AM
Who lives at your house?
This beautiful kit fox is one of several fox we have seen around our house in Lamy, NM.  The first sighting sent us to our computers to determine what type of fox and its habits.  The short story of the kit fox is that they either make or take over dens underground.  There can be as many as twenty entrances:  I guess to ensure there is a way out and there are plenty of avenues in when emergencies arise.  They have their pups and raise them in the den, at least for a period of time.  … (5 comments)

Pie Town - a short trip in New Mexico - 02/09/11 09:08 AM
Do you want a really great piece of pie?  One of the day trips we can make from home in New Mexico is to Pie Town New Mexico. 
We first learned of Pie Town in the Smithsonian Magazine.  This put it on our list of places to visit.  Eventually it was incorporated into a circle tour of our own making.  Often the places on our tours are for curiousity but this location had the added attraction of a small diner called the Daily Pie Cafe.  I am all for the sentiment contained in the cafe's name.
On route 60 west by … (1 comments)

Out to eat in Eldorado, NM - 02/08/11 03:32 PM
Last week our hiking group, most hail from the Eldorado area of New Mexico, took a drive to La Plancha, a restaurant in a local strip mall.  Why hike before a great meal?  It would ruin the absorbtion of calories.
La Plancha, relatively new, is a Salvadoran restaurant that serves breakfast, lunch and dinner.  Their food is over the top good, primarily local fresh ingredients, and inexpensive.  They have a beer and wine license.
My meal was a shrimp stuffed chili relleno, so big that I took 1/2 home.  They have other suffings for their rellenos as well.  My favorite at … (0 comments)

Two cats and the coyote - 02/06/11 11:03 AM
In New Mexico having a pet is challenging, in part.  There may be more pets per capita than other areas.  Many of my friends have more than three.
Our household has two cats, shelter types.  Ms.  Kat (named after the first Native American canonized as a Saint, Kateri) is a tortoishell.  Gray (named after Dorian Gray) is just grey.  They want to be outside so much but the animals of prey are too anxious to have one for their own, their own eating.
Even in heavy residential areas, small pets are at high risk for hawks, coyotes, mountain lions, and other … (3 comments)

Land of no basements: New Mexico - 02/05/11 01:04 PM
Do you have storage issues?
The first fifty years of my life I lived in places like Pennsylvania and Michigan where many homes had a basement.  Not so in New Mexico.  I did not understand this before moving here and, diligent as a good mover should be, not enough was given to charity and friends or thrown out.  Therefore, moving into the not-so-very-small New Mexico house became a nightmare of hiding things.
Forgive me to the closet experts but, frankly, I had no clue as to why you were necessary.  Now I do.
Becoming expert in storage and use of small … (1 comments)

New Mexico and Winter / Frozen Pipes Tips - 02/03/11 07:19 PM
Last night, the second in a multiple night storm and fridgid weather found my New Mexico house, suffering the February storm of 2011.  New Mexico along with some 30 other states was hit with the mother of all storms.  Our Santa Fe low last night was -18 a new February record and just shy of the all time low of -19.
We were careful but then I wasn't.  We knew there was a freezing issue, in, get this, the inside wall of the first floor hot water heater and one shower.  This interior shower had frozen before.  So, carefully we started … (0 comments)

 
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Priscilla Dakin

Albuquerque, NM

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Address: P. O. Box 2106, Santa Fe, NM, 87119

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