Behold, the Majestic Plastic Bag

Submitted by TimJFowler on Mon, 2010/08/16 - 7:37pm
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A little Monday humor, especially if you've watched a few too many nature documentaries like I have.

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Why I Garden #16

Submitted by TimJFowler on Thu, 2010/08/05 - 8:45pm
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Squash Blossoms and Honey Bee after the rain

The monsoon rains have been coming pretty regularly and everything in the garden is growing with vim and vigor. I expect that the various squash and other vining plants will soon break out of their beds and overwhelm any slow moving bystanders. Of course that includes the weeds, but the fruit and veggies are keeping pace. My only worry is that I might miss pulling any of the insidious Siberian Elm (aka Chinese Elm) seedlings that are sprouting from any and everywhere.

Game On

Submitted by EcoMommyo on Tue, 2010/07/27 - 12:17pm
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Apricot Jam, Butter and in Marsala

I would have written sooner but I’ve been canning. The apricots are here and it’s game on.

Due to an amazing turn of weather this spring, fruit trees all over town actually escaped a late frost and managed to set fruit. It has been several years since this miracle happened last and right now I see piles of apricots lying in the street all over the place. It practically makes me want to weep. Pick your fruit, people! Someone, somewhere will appreciate it not only because it is delicious but also because you can avoid attracting vermin to your neighborhood in search of rotting sweets.

A Walk in the (Santa Fe National Forest) Woods

Submitted by TimJFowler on Fri, 2010/07/23 - 4:22pm
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Closed to Motorized Vehicles

Do you hike, bike, ride a dirtbike, ATV or OHV in the Santa Fe National Forest? If so, the Forest Service wants to hear from you, really! After years of study the Forest Service has written a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for five alternative Travel Management Plans in the Santa Fe National Forest. This is your opportunity to share your reasoned and informed opinion of how to best manage motorized travel in the Santa Fe National Forest. Read below for the travel plan alternatives, DEIS and public meetings.

SFNF Travel Management Plan Alternatives

Have McLeod - Will Travel

Submitted by TimJFowler on Fri, 2010/07/16 - 12:20pm
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IMBA Trailbuilding School in the Santa Fe National Forest

I've been a trail user for years, hiking, biking and skiing trails across the nation. Over the years I've seen many good and bad examples of trail design and building. Now thanks to the International Mountain Bicycling Association, I have some formal training in how trails should be built and maintained. The IMBA Trailbuilding School rolled through Santa Fe and provided a day of indoor education and outdoor application of trail maintenance techniques.

Moving Images – Part 3 – Terminator Urbanism

Submitted by Brett Frauenglass on Sun, 2010/07/11 - 8:36am
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Terminator Urbanism

A couple of years back, a colleague of mine took me on a tour of a project he was working on out at Mesa del Sol, a new development on the South side of Albuquerque beyond the airport. With only a vague knowledge that our firm was involved in some planning there, I rode shotgun South through town to the last highway exit before the Indian reservations and empty desert take over. The road up to Mesa del Sol is one of those works of civil engineering that look like a Michael Heizer landform sculpture, with long flowing embankments on both sides that cut dramatically through the terrain.

Hero without a Cape

Submitted by TimJFowler on Wed, 2010/07/07 - 3:46pm
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Tim with Dale Ball

How would you recognize a hero if you met one? Most heroes don't wear capes (that I've seen) so spotting one could be tricky. I recently met a local hero, who is responsible for creating the very popular Dale Ball Trail System in Santa Fe, NM. I really wasn't sure I would recognize him. Fortunately, this hero was wearing a name tag.

Gleamin' in the Rain

Submitted by TimJFowler on Tue, 2010/06/29 - 4:11pm
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Bruce and his Solar PV panels in the rain

We all know that washing your car seems to bring on the rain. I've found another way to encourage precipitation, tour a Solar Photovoltaic System. After a sun-filled week the skies clouded over and unleashed a downpour about 30 minutes before I visited a friend's solar system. Despite the non-power producing weather, Bruce showed me his PV system and we climbed up on the roof during a lull in the showers. At least the solar panels were nice and clean!

Kill Your (old) Refrigerator

Submitted by TimJFowler on Wed, 2010/06/16 - 9:58am
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Energy Star Rebate Check

A few weeks ago I wrote about an appliance rebate program in New Mexico. The NM Energy Conservation and Management Division offered $200 rebates for upgrading either a refrigerator, clothes washer or furnace (lots of $ still available for furnace upgrades). Well, we jumped on it and bought a new Energy Star refrigerator and replaced an early '90's vintage fridge. Thanks to my handy-dandy Kill-A-Watt EZ* I discovered how much money we are actually saving with the new fridge.

We're Having a Heat Wave, a Tropical Heat Wave

Submitted by TimJFowler on Wed, 2010/06/09 - 5:20pm
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The temperature's rising, it isn't surprising. So... how do you beat a heat wave?

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