St John’s Wort Oil in New Mexico

St. John’s Wort (Hypericum perfolatum) is one of my favorite plants. I love its buttery yellow flowers and the way they magically produce a deep red ruby juice when crushed. I love how it pops up in unexpected places like craggy, dry slopes where one would think nothing could grow. And when it is infused in olive oil it makes one of the prettiest oils we offer at sunstoneherbs.com.

I’ve used this oil in the past to relieve pain from shingles (in a former life I worked 50 - 60 stressful hours per week as an IT project manager for a financial services company in NYC), but recently, I’ve been dipping into our stock for a new purpose.

As readers of this blog may know, we recently moved our homestead from upstate New York to New Mexico where the sun is more intense than I had previously imagined. I’ve gotten very good at wearing an enormous visor to protect my face, but occasionally I’ll run out to hay the goats without it, and then after 15 minutes (often more) of playing with them, I’ll end up with a patchy mild sunburn or, sometimes, a blotchy wind burn. Not pretty, uncomfortable, and not good for my skin. Gently applying a little bit of St J’s oil, however, relieves the dryness and soothes the burn until the next time I forget to wear my hat. -Tree

Rainwater Harvesting at the New Mexico Xeriscape Expo

Jen and I dropped by the 2008 New Mexico Xeriscape Expo yesterday to check out the exhibitors, visit our friends Bard and Zoe at the Soilutions booth and attend Brad Lancaster’s seminar on harvesting rainwater. We bought a copy of Brad’s book before moving to New Mexico and are in the process of designing both rainwater catchment and grey water systems for our new homestead in the South Valley.

Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands (Vol. 1): Guiding Principles to Welcome Rain into Your Life And Landscape

Brad is an energetic and gifted speaker. His talk was exciting because it was filled with common-sense (and easy to implement) solutions to managing rainwater so that it creates and supports sustainable landscapes rather than ending up as stormwater runoff that is directed away from communities and the watershed.

Gearing up for the Sandias

When we lived in New York City, we used to drive up to the Catskills and camp and hike on a regular basis. Once we moved there, however, it was a different story. I think we did only one hike - the Diamond Notch Trail - during our almost 8 years living in Olivebridge. Maybe it was because we had so much property right outside our door. Between our woods and the 2 adjacent parcels, there were over 100 acres to roam. The dogs and I created a nice loop of trails that I hope the new owners are enjoying as much as we did.

We’re determined to get back to hiking now that we are in New Mexico. The Sandia Mountains, which seem to me like silent sentinels watching over the hubbub of the Albuquerque area, beckon. Jen bought a couple of maps and hiking guides that we plan to work our way through. Our inaugural hike was a short one, a quick trip to the old Juan Tabo Cabin and back, a distance of about 1 mile. Here are some photos. It’s obvious that Maggie and Tessie had a great time.

Juan Tabo Cabin is a historic landmark at the western foot of the Sandias. It was headquarters for a Civilian Conservation Corps camp that included a number of buildings back in the 1930’s.

Why is it that Jen is always behind the camera?

Sanchez Farm Project

We’d been in New Mexico less than 2 months when Jen got involved with local community growers and volunteered me (Tree) and my trusty BCS to till up a plot in Sanchez Farm, a community garden that is beginning to take shape in the South Valley.

Below are pictures of me tilling an area for planting rasberries, fruit trees and some garlic. John Shipley (in the red shirt), a farmer originally from Missouri, along with La Plazita Institute - a not-for-profit organization dedicated to creating authentic sustainable opportunities for cultural practices and economic, educational and community development - is spearheading the effort to make the Bernalillo county-owned property a beautiful, welcoming space for gathering, growing food and enjoying open space.

Check out New Mexico’s clear blue sky! Having grown up in the northeast, I still can not get over it.

Burning Our Fears

Jen and I wrote down our fears on a piece of paper and tossed them into the stomach of El Kookooee, a 25 ft effigy of New Mexico’s bogeyman. A South Valley ritual for the past 18 years, the burning of El Kookooee takes place during the Festival de Otono, a celebration of fall and the end of the farming season. Here are some photos of us and the community watching our fears burn away on Sunday, October 28.