DIY

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Do It Yourself

Have McLeod - Will Travel

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.

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

The temperature's rising, it isn't surprising. So... how do you beat a heat wave?

Spring?

All that drippy sounding stuff I said in April about spring being here? Forget I ever mentioned it. It proceeded to snow again amidst the usual punishing wind of a New Mexico spring. The only good side to that is that I can make soup without feeling like I’m clinging to the wonders of winter cooking. I really can move forward when situations change, really I can. But soup is so wonderful, what can I say.

A Tale of Two Rush Hours

Rush Hour - Utrecht, Netherlands

Why I Garden #15

Wild Plum in bloom with snow

I love gardening, but to paraphrase the old saying - it's not all a bed of roses. Case in point, the apple, almond and plum trees are in bloom and the apricot trees are just past bloom. The problem: the weather last night - snow and a low of 29.5°F and the forecast for tonight is below freezing again.

One pound of pinto beans

Apple Tree in bloom

The birds are singing, La! The fruit trees are blossoming, La! All this April is busting out all over, but the bummer of taxes due remains. And what a bummer it was. We wrote checks, we crammed forms into envelopes, we raised our voices in thanks for TurboTax, and then off to the post office and the bloody things were off. We have made our contribution to civilization.

Why I Garden #14

Winter sown greens sprouting

Gardening last year was pretty frustrating. Weeks of hot and dry weather stunted growth in most gardens in the area. A scorching summer was followed by ravenous grasshoppers that ravaged our fall greens. But, Spring is all about renewal and promise. The very same garden bed that was mowed flat by grasshoppers in the fall is now coated with surprise greens.

Reading Dirty Catalogs

Seeds of Change packets

It's hard to tell now with a fresh blanket of snow on the ground, but this is garden planning season. Days are getting longer and the Spring Solstice is less than a month away. Farmers and gardeners, even rank amateurs like myself, are excitedly thumbing through seed catalogs and websites, anticipating that day when seedlings can brave the elements.

Chew Your Food

Defiant Scrub Brush

I have two pounds of sunchokes in my refrigerator and I'm scared of them.

Oh, I'm sure they will be delicious but the cleaning of them puts fear in my heart. Perhaps, like many things in life, if I just had a stiff drink before facing them with vegetable scrub brush in hand, it would go a lot easier.

Home Improvement, but Smarter

Home Improvement TV show

Somedays homeownership feels more like home repair triage to me. Managing and completing our home improvement / maintenance projects can seem never-ending. Adding energy efficiency to our goals makes the task even more daunting. I've been considering a comprehensive home energy audit so I can better understand our energy use. Thankfully, I found a FREE! online tool for evaluating our home efficiency projects. Behold the Home Energy Saver.

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