The Night of the Harvest Moon - Nearing the Garden's End

By this time in the life of the garden, nearly every gardener is DONE! Well, the garden is still going, but the gardener is...pretty much done. It is only the amazing beauty of the almost unbelievable light this time of year that keeps this gardener going! When the sun breaks through at sunrise, this luminous color appears - this fake looking, glorious quality that never ceases to take my breath away. There's not much left out there that hasn't already bloomed and "done its thing", so one must really appreciate every little flower, every tomato, tomatillo or chile. A couple of our apple trees are still loaded with apples that are not quite ready for picking. This and next weekend we will wrap that up. Then we can make our first batch of home grown and home pressed apple cider! Maybe even a jug or two of hard cider! Happy Harvest Moon, everyone!

International Women's Day - 2012 - TODAY!

March is the month to honor women of the world! From Hina Matsuri in Japan, (which we call "Girls Day"), celebrated on March 3rd, to Women's Day, celebrated the world over on March 8th, women around the world are acknowledged for the vital roles we play. At Little Bird Farm, we send great appreciation, love and honor to the very, very special women in our family! Each of OUR women, is making the world a better place every day; pursuing their dreams, finding great purpose, and sharing love in ways that only women can. We are so proud of our women! Here are our littlest women! Their smiles alone make the world a better place! How we love them!!!! These little women are amazing!

Little Surprises

A couple of surprises here; first, the fact that I am actually putting up a new blog post after...four??? months! And second, this absolutely precious, small, hand-carved owl that we see on our acequia walk every day now. This little fella is a shy 2" tall and sits in the middle of this rotted out tree knot - proud and adorable. Seeing all. Normally, when I am walking Fred, my eyes are either down, so I don't fall in a hole, or way up, watching a hawk or some variety of rare bird (meanwhile, falling into a hole). Rarely straight ahead. But when my line of vision is straight ahead, I see other wonderful things! Like this little owl! Somebody placed him there in January, and I can't even express how delighted I feel about this unexpected, sweet little surprise. Each day that I see him, my sense of hope is renewed. "He is still safe in his cozy tree knot!" Not only is he still safe, but somebody has recently placed a tiny pheasant feather in there for him. "Snuggle in, little owl! Blossoms are beginning to bloom, but it is still chilly!" Ah, little surprises. Happy March!

Happy Halloween Wishes, Everybody!

We have had the most glorious Fall! It has lasted longer than I can ever recall, and the colors, the light, the birds, have been absolutely splendid! We were graced with a visit from our kids and grands in early October, and I can't even say how terrific that was - but it was super dooper terrific. Even some old friends came from far away to spend some time with us. Life IS GOOD! Now, I need to go plant 200 daffodils that came in the mail Friday, just as we were heading up to Santa Fe for a weekend of rest and relaxation...and to see Joan Baez in concert at The Lensic. It is a fabulous old theater in downtown Santa Fe. The concert was....wonderful. Joan is a marvel! An important note about the picture above - the one with the garland of tiny Jack o'Lanterns". Our three amazing, adorable grands made that when they were all here! Isn't it so cute? We just love it and wish it would last forever! It won't. But the memory will! Love you grands!!! Your folks too! Have a safe and Happy Halloween!

Is it really almost...September!!!!????

I am floored. I have no idea where the Summer of 2016 has gone. It has been so hot, so humid (in the desert Southwest!), and there have been so many bugs! Mosquitos like never before! And grasshoppers that have eaten vegetable garden plants and dahlias, zinnias and even young trees down to a few lonely leaves on the spindly branch! It has been...in a word...BRUTAL! At last, as we near August's Summer Finale, the nights and early mornings are cool, as they should have been all Summer long. And we begin to harvest a few vegetables, from our third planting attempts, after bunny rabbits and bugs and snails have eaten each new seedling or start. At long last we are harvesting a handful of tomatoes, eggplants, chiles, and tomatillos. Finally I can cut and arrange a bouquet of big, splashy Zinnias! (I planted them three (3!!!!) times!). We did not get our July monsoons, and, in fact, we have only had 2 or 3 nice, big rains in August. It has been.....WEIRD!! Also, I have not had the freedom to "get away" and spend time with our boys, their ladies, and our precious littles, since springtime. I have been the "fort holder-downer" this Summer. Soon, that will change, because Captain Tim is retiring from his 27 year military/uniformed service career THIS FALL! (What adventures we have had together!!!) He will return as "lord and master of Little Bird Farm! Our lives will become much more civilized, once again! Fred and I are verrrrry excited! We will have a BIG celebration come early October! In the meantime, I will pick the occasional novel eggplant, a few tomatoes, a handful of NM green chiles, and a bouquet of colorful Zinnias....and count our blessings. There are so, so, so many BLESSINGS! (These are Captain's Tim's ribbons, by the way,....from 27 years of 24/7/365 service to Uncle Sam! I'm so proud of him and all he has accomplished; and eager for the next phase of our life together! More terrific adventures!)