I work at this incredible school. As a charter school, there are certain things we must live up to that are outlined in our charter. One in particular is our focus on environmental education. I love this!! Many classes go to the Bosque a few times a month for outdoor education and we have gardening classes for grades K-6. Next year I will be team-teaching at the middle school in math, science and outdoor education. I couldn't be happier.
To begin preparation for my new role, I'm in the process of a proposal to get a bee hive on campus. We already have numerous fruit trees, both in the orchard and spread across the school grounds. The students can pluck peaches, pears, plums, Asian pears, apples, apricots and figs as they ripen. Strawberries are also in abundance around campus, too, as is a generously sized edible garden of herbs and veggies. This is truly beautiful and adored by the students. What better way to demonstrate the processes of pollination and honey creation than by having an on-campus hive?
Today I met with a colleague and a local beekeeper to discuss possibilities for obtaining and caring for a top bar hive. It turns out the beekeeper loves working with schools and has a very favorable proposal for getting us a hive, bees, and regular maintenance. This is all with plenty of student input and cooperation. They can help build the hive and care for the bees. In a few weeks our proposal will (hopefully) be approved and we'll be the happy caretakers of a healthy colony! Keep your fingers crossed.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Monday, April 25, 2011
Souvenirs of a Weekend in the Gila
Although we probably shouldn't have, Lane and I drove down to Silver City and mountain biked in the Gila National Forest. I'm pretty swamped with school-related work, but sometimes you just have to get out of town! Lane surprised me by packing up all of our gear and getting the car mission-ready for the excursion. This was such a treat. All I had to do on Friday was come home from work and hop in the car.
Part of the drive down was a bit painful due to the high winds on the interstate, but once off the freeway, we had such a lovely drive into Silver City. The terrain changed from desert, to piney woods as we climbed into the Black Range. Much of this land is grazed by cattle and we had to drive carefully to avoid the cows and bulls in the road. A wild turkey was spotted too, which was a real treat.
We rolled into Silver City around 9:00 and were astonished to see that restaurants and and a cafe were still open! Even in Albuquerque it can be a challenge to find tasty food after 8 or 9 and Silver City's population is significantly smaller. Home to Western New Mexico University, it looks like the town caters to the student crowd. After a cup of tea at the Javelina Cafe we camped in the Subaru in the town museum parking lot.
We fueled up at Diane's (delicious eggs florentine, by the way) and picked up some necessities at the food co-op and Gila Hike and Bike. In our usual fashion we arrived at the trailhead around noon, a bit of a late start. We also realized that we left our forest service topographic map at home. No worries--we packed the compass and the fabulous GPS my dad sent in the mail--thanks, dad! This was to be our first time using this nifty bit of technology.
This ride was tough! The first 7 miles of forest road were a variation on a theme--up and up some more. Not quite half way through the ride we were pretty tired, but we soldiered on. We hopped on some single track, also known as the Continental Divide Trail (CDT), for about 6 miles of rolling, sometimes technical riding. We rode through areas recovering from forest fire, with beautiful grasses and lupine tickling our ankles. The views were stunning and if I hadn't been so worried about the time, I would have stopped to snap some pictures. We had the intense focus of getting out of the woods, literally and figuratively.
I ran out of water around mile 12, but Lane still had plenty. The sun was beginning its descent and the GPS said we still had at least 6-8 miles to go. Signs of large mammal life were present and looked pretty fresh. We had plenty of food and extra clothes if we didn't make it back to the car by nightfall. If it was all downhill we'd be in good shape. But as it turns out, it wasn't.
The CDT intersected a forest road that shot down into a canyon. Just before the end of the road, Lane fell, hard. He was bleeding and a little shaken up. The sun kept moving toward the west. About this same time, 2 men and a woman in their twenties came up the road in what looked to me to be an oversized, gas-powered golf cart. They offered us a lift back to the main highway, but said the ride out wouldn't be too bad of a climb and was maybe 5 miles. We had about an hour's worth of sunlight and figured we could make it, or at least make it to their campground and catch a lift back to the Subaru.
The climb out was grueling, since we were tired, thirsty, hungry, and a bit beat-up. We just kept turning over the pedals and keeping an eye on the GPS. At the first possible moment where we thought we could take a shortcut back to the car, we took it. Fortunately, we made a great educated guess. Just as we were whooping and hollering that we could see the car, my rear wheel seized up with a whooshing sound--a major flat. A rusty nail, about 3 inches long pierced the tire and tube, rendering my ride finished for the day. Perfect timing, really. If that had happened 1 mile earlier, we would have been getting back to the car in the dark.
As dusk settled upon us, we scarfed down a quick dinner, hydrated and were grateful to be able to sleep in the back of the station wagon, not in the backcountry. The GPS and compass were something we could not have done without and were grateful for these devices, too. A few hours later we were camped in a canyon in the Black Hills en route back to Albuqerque. A great weekend in beautiful surroundings with just a few souvenirs to remind us of the adventure:
We're already planning our next trip there!
Part of the drive down was a bit painful due to the high winds on the interstate, but once off the freeway, we had such a lovely drive into Silver City. The terrain changed from desert, to piney woods as we climbed into the Black Range. Much of this land is grazed by cattle and we had to drive carefully to avoid the cows and bulls in the road. A wild turkey was spotted too, which was a real treat.
We rolled into Silver City around 9:00 and were astonished to see that restaurants and and a cafe were still open! Even in Albuquerque it can be a challenge to find tasty food after 8 or 9 and Silver City's population is significantly smaller. Home to Western New Mexico University, it looks like the town caters to the student crowd. After a cup of tea at the Javelina Cafe we camped in the Subaru in the town museum parking lot.
We fueled up at Diane's (delicious eggs florentine, by the way) and picked up some necessities at the food co-op and Gila Hike and Bike. In our usual fashion we arrived at the trailhead around noon, a bit of a late start. We also realized that we left our forest service topographic map at home. No worries--we packed the compass and the fabulous GPS my dad sent in the mail--thanks, dad! This was to be our first time using this nifty bit of technology.
This ride was tough! The first 7 miles of forest road were a variation on a theme--up and up some more. Not quite half way through the ride we were pretty tired, but we soldiered on. We hopped on some single track, also known as the Continental Divide Trail (CDT), for about 6 miles of rolling, sometimes technical riding. We rode through areas recovering from forest fire, with beautiful grasses and lupine tickling our ankles. The views were stunning and if I hadn't been so worried about the time, I would have stopped to snap some pictures. We had the intense focus of getting out of the woods, literally and figuratively.
I ran out of water around mile 12, but Lane still had plenty. The sun was beginning its descent and the GPS said we still had at least 6-8 miles to go. Signs of large mammal life were present and looked pretty fresh. We had plenty of food and extra clothes if we didn't make it back to the car by nightfall. If it was all downhill we'd be in good shape. But as it turns out, it wasn't.
The CDT intersected a forest road that shot down into a canyon. Just before the end of the road, Lane fell, hard. He was bleeding and a little shaken up. The sun kept moving toward the west. About this same time, 2 men and a woman in their twenties came up the road in what looked to me to be an oversized, gas-powered golf cart. They offered us a lift back to the main highway, but said the ride out wouldn't be too bad of a climb and was maybe 5 miles. We had about an hour's worth of sunlight and figured we could make it, or at least make it to their campground and catch a lift back to the Subaru.
The climb out was grueling, since we were tired, thirsty, hungry, and a bit beat-up. We just kept turning over the pedals and keeping an eye on the GPS. At the first possible moment where we thought we could take a shortcut back to the car, we took it. Fortunately, we made a great educated guess. Just as we were whooping and hollering that we could see the car, my rear wheel seized up with a whooshing sound--a major flat. A rusty nail, about 3 inches long pierced the tire and tube, rendering my ride finished for the day. Perfect timing, really. If that had happened 1 mile earlier, we would have been getting back to the car in the dark.
As dusk settled upon us, we scarfed down a quick dinner, hydrated and were grateful to be able to sleep in the back of the station wagon, not in the backcountry. The GPS and compass were something we could not have done without and were grateful for these devices, too. A few hours later we were camped in a canyon in the Black Hills en route back to Albuqerque. A great weekend in beautiful surroundings with just a few souvenirs to remind us of the adventure:
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Stone Fruit
Although we lost quite a few young apricots during the last few weeks of high winds, there were some survivors. These trees are on our lot, as opposed to the 4 cherries which make up the guerrilla orchard on the acequia.
The peaches are also hanging on. In fact, I had to thin this tree today to allow enough room for the fruits to mature. The peach began flowering after the apricot, which is why I think it is putting out more wee peaches.
In other gardening news, the chickens found a way to get out of their large run, those sneaky girls. We came home from a jaunt out of town to find all of the young lettuce devoured. I think they may have found the numerous flower seeds we planted, too. Strangely, they didn't eat the beet, turnip, or carrot greens. Picky picky.
The peaches are also hanging on. In fact, I had to thin this tree today to allow enough room for the fruits to mature. The peach began flowering after the apricot, which is why I think it is putting out more wee peaches.
In other gardening news, the chickens found a way to get out of their large run, those sneaky girls. We came home from a jaunt out of town to find all of the young lettuce devoured. I think they may have found the numerous flower seeds we planted, too. Strangely, they didn't eat the beet, turnip, or carrot greens. Picky picky.
Monday, April 18, 2011
Guerrilla Orchard In Bloom
Lane's terrific idea to create a guerrilla orchard is bearing fruit! The two Bing cherries are blooming and fruiting, while the two Stella cherries are just leafing out. We lost several young apricots to the recent high winds so I hope the cherries will hang in there. Here's how things are looking so far:
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Old School
A new organization, Albuquerque Old School, has just surfaced. They teach great old-timey skills like sock darning and canning as well as kombucha brewing and humanure composting. All of the classes are very reasonably priced and childcare is provided for free. I'm thinking of giving the classes on beekeeping and lacto-fermentation a try.
I hope this organization is a rousing success!
I hope this organization is a rousing success!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)