Spanish Broom

I had never heard of Spanish Broom until I came to New Mexico. I understand it is non-native to the United States, and in some states on the west coast it is considered a noxious weed, but not here in NM. Here in our state it thrives and is in full bloom right now.

I have four Spanish broom shrubs at my house. Here are a few pictures:

My tiny pansies

John found these little pansies blooming under the crabapple tree in our front courtyard. We don't know how they got there, but don't remember seeing them last year.

They are very tiny - dime sized. Colorful and cheerful .. what more could anyone expect from a pansy?

Sign of the times: another Eldorado business closing

My birthday was Friday, and John went to the flower shop in the Agora Center in Eldorado to get me the above flowers, and when he was there, found out that the little flower and card shop is closing. I think it is most likely due to two things: the tough economy for small business owners, and perhaps the lack of business traffic these little shops in Eldorado get.

Several places have closed just since we moved here: the furniture store, the ladies used clothing store, Brumby's Bar and Grill, and the Wild Wild Wok. Now the floral and card shop...

I know the reason for that too: it is so much cheaper for us to buy our groceries and everything else in town than to frequent the little businesses at the Agora. So, ultimately, we the residents bear much of the responsbility if they close.

I would like to say that John and I will patronize the businesses that remain, but the reality is, in these hard times, we are trying to save money where we can and we tend to give our business to the stores with the lower prices, even if it means driving by the small shops at the Agora and heading into town.

Sign of the times......

Oh those tumbling tumbleweeds!

Man! Is there a greater pest in the southwest USA than the ubiquitous tumbleweed?

They're ugly, they stick to anything they tumble into, and they have sharp needles that can stick you good when you try to remove them from your bushes, fences, etc.

Today I was out pulling tumbleweeds off my bushes and dispatching them down the driveway -- so now they are either caught on something out on the wild part of our property, or they are still tumbling across Eldorado. But I KNOW next time I go outside I will just find more of them tangled up in our shrubbery.

These pictures didn't turn out real well, but not to worry -- I can get more later!

Our plum tree.

We have this tree in our back yard with dark red leaves ... and right now it is all covered with fragrant blossoms. We have wondered for almost a year now what kind of tree it is.

Yesterday we were at Santa Fe Greenhouses, and we saw these trees for sale. Cistena plum tree. That's what it is.

Here's how it looks right now in full bloom:









ISN'T SPRING WONDERFUL???

San Miguel Mission, Socorro, New Mexico

The city of Socorro, New Mexico is built in the center of a Spanish land grant. Socorro comes from the Spanish word "socorrer" (similar to the English word "succor") which translates as "to offer comfort" or "to aid". The Spanish arriving in the area in the late 1500s found friendly Indians who were willing to share their corn with them.

In the middle of Socorro, the San Miguel Mission church still exists as an active functioning church. Founded in 1598, it is one of the oldest Catholic churches in the United States. The church was founded and built (with help from local Indians) by Fray Alfonso Benevidez, who is called the Apostle of Socorro.

The church has been called the Mission de San Miguel since 1800. It has undergone many changes through the years, and was originally a structure in the adobe pueblo style, but now only bears a slight resemblance to the original style. to me it now has the look more of California's Spanish missions rather than New Mexico's.

We were there two weeks ago and I got these pictures:

YIKES! This is April 18 ?!?

Take a look:

Santa Fe Tea Party pictures, part 3

THIS IS GENERAL GREG ZANETTI, New Mexico National Guard, and probable candidate for New Mexico Governor in 2010, I am very impressed by him:



THIS IS FORMER NEW MEXICO GOVERNOR GARY JOHNSON...he's a neat guy ...




AFTER THE RALLY...PEOPLE JUST DIDN'T WANT TO GO HOME:

More from the Santa Fe Tea Party

Brewing up Revolution in Santa Fe on Tax Day

The Santa Fe Tax Day Tea Party was a huge success, more than any of us imagined it would be. I'm not a good judge of numbers, so I have no idea how many people attended -- but there were hundreds there -- in our small liberal city!

I talked to many people in the crowd -- and heard a recurring theme in the comments -- "I never dreamed something like this could ever happen in Santa Fe." I guess when the people get stirred up enough over major changes in our government that they don't like -- anything can happen!

The tea party was peaceful, the crowd was enthusiastic but friendly and respectful. Seemed to me that everyone was there just to get their message out. We had made dozens of signs in the past two weeks at our sign parties and at home, but I was suprised at how many people brought their own signs...creative and colorful ones. I was also surprised at the number of people who took the time to dress up in costumes; it made the event all the more colorful and fun.

There were several speakers: former Governor Gary Johnson, whom the crowd obviously loved, former state senator John Grubesic, whom the crowd did not love and who was roundly booed, and General Greg Zanetti, a member of the New Mexico National Guard who is hinting at a run for governor in 2010. He gave an inspirational speech calling us to action for the future.

We anticipated protestors and if they were in the crowd, they kept a low profile, but a number of vehicles drove around the Plaza honking their horns and somewhat drowning out the speeches, so I am assuming they were people who planned to do just that.

Here are some of our pictures and they tell their own story (click on the pictures to enlarge):