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Early spring down on the farm in Albuquerque

Snow in spring.
Snow in March: Been there, done that. This is a pic of our old house in Franklin, Massachusetts. Okay, this was in December, but you get the idea. I never took pics of March snow. By then it wasn’t welcome.

 

So, the whole country is watching the east coast for a second time this late winter / early spring day. I know what I’m talking about when I say that two nor’easters in one week is a big, old bitch. See, weather like that is one of the MAJOR reasons Tom and I picked up in 2015 and moved to New Mexico. From Massachusetts. Yeah, we’re both native New Englanders, but we got tired of the winters.

Spring flowers at Heritage Farm.
Cheery daffodils yelled “SPRING” and welcomed me to Heritage Farm yesterday.

Don’t get me wrong, snow’s pretty and fun to play in. I don’t even mind shoveling (now and again; we had a snow blower). BUT that self-same snow is only lovely for a day or so, then it gets all nasty and brownish-gray. Out here in Albuquerque we can drive forty minutes around the Sandia Mountains and visit snow. The dog loves it. Then we get back in our car and head home where this winter it’s been mostly in the 50s and 60s. Hey, that’s not typical, and because we’ve had very little snow in the mountains, we’re back in a drought situation. Which means that there’ll be a BAD fire season. (We won’t be affected by that, but I have friends who most definitely will be.) Don’t even start me on the juniper poison pollen that’s been out since January. It’s something we never even considered when we chose a new home.

Nonetheless, yesterday a few of us from the guild were doing our usual gig demo-ing rug hooking at Albuquerque’s Botanic Garden, part of the BioPark. (We’re there the 1st and 4th Tuesdays each month except June and July when they kick us out for summer kid programs.) There was a good breeze going, and temps were in the low 50s (oddly enough lower than the norm), so it was a slow day in the park. I figure folks are waiting till it hits 70 tomorrow and Friday.

Heritage farm in the early spring/late winter.
A shot of the Heritage Farm farmhouse. The tulips are sucking up the sunshine. It’ll truely be spring when we go back on the 27th.

It was a good time to wander outside and look for spring.

 

AWAG demos at the Rio Grande Heritage Farm, a section of the Botanic Garden. The farm’s a reproduction representing a New Mexican farm circa somewhere between 1925 and 1935. We hang in the farmhouse or out on the porch in rocking chairs when it’s nice. Out back there’s an apple orchard. They’ve got a vineyard too! And then there’s the barn with its requisite farm animals. Fun times, though not with one of the sheep yesterday. 🙁

 

Spring plants at Heritage Farm
The chicks and hens are enjoying the warmth. See the green in her center?

 

 

 

 

I thought I’d share some of the signs of early spring at “our” farm. Enjoy!

 

Early spring plants.
Fresh chives! Now all I need is a baked potato.

 

 

 

 

Sheep in an early spring coat.
One of the churro sheep (I think it’s one of the churros) is having NOTHING to do with me. She (?) posed this way. Cold!

 

Turkey at Heritage Farm in spring.
The turkey was far more accommodating.

 

 

 

Goat at Heritage Farm in spring.
Goats are by far the friendliest of the farm animals.
Goat and sheep pose at Heritage Farm in spring.
Then the goat got his (???) churro buddy to pose. Nice!

 

 

 

 

Lilacs at Heritage Farm in spring.
The leaves were just coming out on the lilac. (I was so happy to find lilacs out here. There’s even one in our yard. Their scent says SPRING’S ARRIVED.)

 

 

The Heritage Farm barn at Albuquerque’s BioPark. Looks like a movie set, no? If you get a chance, come visit. The Botanic Garden’s been rated one of the best in the country.

 

Dog with hooked rug.
Tynan’s back! He very enthusiastically presents (given the presence of the doggie beef jerky treat) this week’s “What’s on the frame.” It’ll be a happy sunflower table runner hooked in upcycled t-shirt that’ll be available at the Albuquerque Recycled Art Fair April 14 and 15. Will we see you there?

 

 

 

Meanwhile back at the Salamy homestead, Tynan’s back with “What’s on the frame.”

What’s on your frame today?

 

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Nature as inspiration

Tynan having a grand old time in the snowy Sandias.
Tynan having a grand, old time in the snowy Sandias.

New Mexico is a great place for nature. It was a big reason for moving to Albuquerque; that is, we wanted a more outdoor lifestyle than New England’s winters afforded us. (And I hated being cold for six to eight months straight.) Make no mistake, there is winter here. We’ve had snow a couple of times now, and morning temperatures are usually in the high teens to lower twenties. Makes for cold walks with the dog in the Bosque, the forest along the Rio Grande.

The Sandias as viewed from our neighborhood in the west of Albuquerque. Winter hiking and skiing are excellent on the other side.
The Sandias as viewed from our neighborhood on Albuquerque’s west side. Winter hiking and skiing are excellent on the other side.

Monday was a big, bodacious day in Albuquerque with lots of sunshine filling the sky. Tom and I packed the dog and some gear in the car and headed around to the other side of the Sandia Mountains. Winter abides more forcefully there. They even have a ski area. One of the last big storms dumped about 21 inches of the white stuff on the slopes. And on the trail we decided to hike.

I had considered bringing my snowshoes, but Tom needs new ones, so they stayed home. No worries. The trail is a popular one. Other “snowshoers” and hikers had blazed the way creating a nice hard-pack. Boots were fine. Of course, if you stepped off the trail, you dropped way down to at least your knees. And your boots filled with snow.

I spy a nature-inspired abstract mat here!
I spy a nature inspired abstract mat here! Check out all the bore holes.

 

 

I always take my camera (i.e., phone) with me when we go, hoping to find something nature-ific that might inspire a rug or four. We weren’t disappointed yesterday. Clearly, there’s been a fair amount of evergreen dieback in the forest in the Sandias which is actually part of the Cibola National Forest. But as the trees decay, they make for the most interesting subjects to study, if only aesthetically. I was quite taken with the one in the photos. It might have a future in fiber.

Another view of my tree.
Another view of my tree.

 

 

 

 

After our most pleasant of snowy, winter hikes (it was about 45 with the slightest breeze), we wound our way up to the Crest of the mountains. By car. Much colder with a wicked wind, from there we could look out over Albuquerque metro area and to other snow-covered mountains to the north, south, and west. Very impressive.

 

The view from Sandia Crest looking to the southwest.
The view from Sandia Crest looking to the southwest. Our house is somewhere to the right.

Then it was goodbye to the snow and the cold. A quick 40- or so minute ride down the mountain and through the pass and we were home, on the city’s warmer west side. Tired, we opened a bottle of red wine and toasted our good fortune. Next week we’re off to the west (by only a couple of miles) to further explore Petroglyph National Monument.

I know that nature inspires many of you when you hook, paint, write, and make other forms of art. Please share some of those marvelous creations.

PS – I’m off this weekend to Tucson to attend the hook-in put on by the Old Pueblo Rug Hookers there. I’m told it’s an eight-hour drive. Four of us from the Adobe Wool Arts guild are going. Hope to have lots of pics for you next week. In the meantime I’m off to the liquor store for a bottle or two of chardonnay to share with the ladies.

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