Communing with Nature

So, the title of this post may be a tad misleading. Going to a ski resort is not exactly communing with Nature. We drove there, rode a chairlift (albeit wind powered) and skied down on fiberglass boards strapped to our feet. John Muir and Thoreau would not be impressed.

Being up in Pagosa Springs/Wolf Creek, however, is stunning. The views from the top of the mountain were spectacular: the sky was wide and blue and snow-capped peaks stretched all the way to the horizon. I could almost understand people who risk their lives to mountaineer. I don't have any photographic evidence of this landscape because the camera was left in the car. It's pretty hard to operate when your fingers are frozen and/or in gore-tex mittens.

Despite the chairlift and madness at the base, the fresh snow and glimpses of green peeking out from the snow-laden conifers were refreshing. We usually ride the side of the mountain that is devoid of people. The terrain can be steep and the snow deep, but the serenity is well worth it. As we carved in and out of the trees and over squirrel tracks I realized we were in nature. There were times where we thought we might have even been outside of the ski boundary, it was that quiet.

Unlike last time we were up there, we didn't stay in a hotel. Sure there were lots of options--the spot we called home last weekend or the green-built, hot-springs heated, wind-powered fancy hotel. No, we communed with nature a bit more--from the inside of our station wagon. With poorly cut curtains and our camping pads stuffed in the back, we snuggled under our down comforter while also wearing fleece pants, down jackets and beanies. I wasn't cold during the night, but the frost on the inside of the car indicated how cold it was outside. Luckily Pagosa Springs had decent coffee and a great bakery to warm us up after we broke down "camp."

The drive home was through fields of  sage and cholla cactus with incredible rock formations as a backdrop. Although observed from a speeding car, the beauty of northern New Mexico was not lost on us. There's talk of heading back up there again next weekend, depending on the next storm system to come through. You can bet we'll be glad to be back in nature and this time I'll take the camera.

On the Homesteading Front

 Although there's sauerkraut fermenting in the kitchen and chickens scratching out back, not much else is going on at our wee little homestead. Canning has come to an abrupt halt and I've become stingy with putting jam on my toast because I don't want to run out of preserves. Silly, I realize. There are more jars of jam than we should rationally consume in one year, but they seem so precious. I feel like that about the veggies we grow, too. In fact, I still have about a cup's worth of black-eyed peas we grew in Austin that I can't seem to cook up. I think about the time and energy it took to grow them and to simply devour them doesn't do those little legumes justice.

When cooking homegrown veggies I'm conscious of eating every last bite but, the strange thing is,  I rarely feel this way about food that we didn't grow or put up ourselves. While we limit food waste and compost what we can, I don't feel the need to eat every last grain of rice, every last bite of mashed potato or lick the plate clean. I do savor every bite and enjoy the pleasure of eating but without the same elevated feeling as when I've grown it myself.  I'm grateful for the work of the farmers who grow this food for us and I think I need to give it the same reverence as I would my homegrown stuff.

In other homesteading news, it's been gray and overcast for a week, which is a great time for bread baking! So far this week I've made whole wheat pita and pizza. The pita was a great addition to a Greek-inspired menu that included slow-cooked lamb from our CSA, orzo, spinach and green bean Fashoulakia.  The pizza had roasted carnival squash, caramelized onions, walnuts and parm. cheese. Garlicky kale and pickled beets rounded out the meal. Tomorrow I'm going to try my hand at homemade pumpkin pie using a real pie pumpkin and crust from scratch. Keep your fingers crossed!

I picked up Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day (Hertzberg & Francois) from the library and can't wait to get some big batches of dough going so we can have homemade bread multiple times a week. I want to get that routine down because my work/class schedule from March-May is totally nuts and we'll need some good food routines in place if I want to cook.

March-May is also planting time around these parts. I hope I can carve out some time between work and classes to really get our garden going for spring. I'm tired of the bare yard--the tufts of vetch and winter wheat are a nice touch, but I would love some veggies!! Patience, I know. And planning--my downfall. I'm notorious for spending months on a plan and then, at the last minute, throwing the plan out the window for something to be happening now. I like results. Usually this ends up in a half-baked attempt and then having to redo it later. (i.e. the raised beds in the parkway garden in Austin that I dug in 100+ degree heat and needed to rebuild a month later. Not my finest moment.)

Lane's been doing his fair share of homesteading projects, too. He's been putting the sewing machine to work mending clothes and sewing curtains for our station wagon--our winter "camper." He's also finished our fence, built a ton of shelves, worked on the cars and preparing for our wood stove chimney installation.

So, I guess things on the home front haven't been that quiet after all.  Many of these things have become such a part of our everyday lives that they don't seem so special or out of the ordinary. If you had asked us 4 years ago while living the urban life in Portland what we'd be doing now, living in Albuquerque with 2 chickens and a 900 square foot house would probably not have been our answer. But, here we are enjoying our little life in the North Valley. We hope life is good for you, too.

Winter Break

Friday, at 12:45, officially marked the start of my winter break: a respite from syllabus deadlines and no where in particular to be at 8:15 in the morning. Delightful.

By 2:00 Friday we were on the flanks of Sandia, alpine touring. Lane was on his split board, I on my randonne skis. The powder was about 2 feet deep and we blazed a trail up to some cat tracks. After we passed the jump-building, whooping sledders and snowboarders it was fairly serene.  Two hours of huffing and puffing, with the moon rising and light fading, we were rewarded with a smooth trip down to our car, surfing the powder and laying fresh tracks all the way.

Saturday we tried to make it back to Sandia, but to no avail--the road was impassable and even a snow plow was stuck. (At least this is the version the sheriff shared with us.) After scouting out a few other spots which proved unskiable, we decided to head home and pack up the car for an adventure. Five hours later we were in Pagosa Springs, Colorado soaking in a natural mineral pool. Wolf Creek Ski Area is just 23 miles from Pagosa Springs and has some of the best powder skiing we had ever experienced. Sunday would be no different.

Up at 4:30, we fixed a nice cup of tea and began the slow, snowy ascent to Wolf Creek pass. The pass would be closed from 6:30-8 for avalanche control and we didn't want anything to come between us and the fresh powder. Pulling into the parking lot around 6 am, there were just a few crazies like us and the resort staff. It was still snowing.  By the time the lifts started at 8:30, our car already had a few inches of fresh snow. We couldn't wait to hit the slopes because even the groomed trails would have plenty of  powder. In the trees it was thigh-high and light, my fat skis and Lane's powder board floating on the surface, the first evidence that people had been there.

Our legs burned from working our way down the mountain yet, when the upper part of the mountain opened that is accessible only by hiking, we were game. Our last run of the day involved a brief, but steep, post-holing hike to waist-deep powder. I have never experienced anything like it. Exhausted and elated we cruised back to the lodge, to our waiting Subaru and Pagosa Springs for tacos and a soak in the pool.

We could barely move the next morning, which was a great excuse to get back in the hot spring and spend the morning in the local bakery, eating cinnamon rolls and pumpkin muffins. No matter how many times we tried to get riled up about heading back to Wolf Creek, our bodies protested loudly so we pointed the Subaru south and cruised into the North Valley where the snow had melted and the temperature was unseasonably warm.

Since we left, Wolf Creek has had almost 3 feet of snow and it's still falling. I'm seeing another Colorado adventure in our future....

Thanks Winter Break.

The Bosque

It's sandhill crane season again. Standing 4 feet tall, these majestic birds winter in New Mexico, much to our delight. There is something so incredible about these creatures, with their prehistoric calls and imposing frames. Much of the time we spot them in empty fields along the Bosque and in open spaces in the North Valley. When they take off they are truly a sight to behold.  Magnificent. Today I was lucky to have two soar right over my head as I pedaled to the Bosque. It looked something like this:

Not only did I see those beauties, but we were treated to a juvenile Cooper's Hawk and  a porcupine at the Bosque. A porcupine!! It was lounging in the top branches of a cottonwood and was much larger than I had expected. From a distance it looked to be between 1-2 feet long. Incredible. Even though we are technically in the city, the Bosque allows for so much wildlife to thrive and have a place in our bustling town. 

What's on the Menu

This is for our dear friend who is curious what will be on the menu tonight if he comes to dinner.

• Roasted, stuffed delicata squash

• Sauteed garlicky kale

• Homemade pickled beets

• Cumin roasted carrots

And dessert is yet to be determined.

We'll save you a seat!

Storage Solutions

This post is going to be heavy on the pics, light on words. I'd like the photos to speak for themselves. We have been living without some storage solutions for a while and this weekend Lane worked especially hard to build and install various shelves and a closet. He used reclaimed barn wood for everything but the dowels on the closet and towel rack. Hooray!  We have places to put our stuff!

Our "closet" before.--Note the bikes lined up. We need a shed!

Now isn't that better?

Bathroom trim and a towel rack. The trim is from reclaimed barn wood, too.

Our vintage tile shower. This was *not* a project of the weekend. I just didn't think you'd seen it yet.

 

The new shelves have opened up the counter which is really nice. The clutter can really get to a person. 

Last, but not least, a way to organize our shoes, helmets and the like. This really cleans up our dining area and gives the semblance of organization.

First Snow

We got our first snowfall last night. It was less than a half inch. Winter is just around the corner!