Welcome to New Mexico

You're bundled up in sweaters and jackets in the morning, and in the afternoon you're running around in tank shirts and sundresses.

I never thought that I would see the beauty of the desert. I'm a Michigan girl...grass, trees, lakes, forest, snow.

Yesterday it was so hot that all i could do was lay there and breathe. This morning, I'm huddled up in my blankets with hot coffee.

On a big prickly catcus sits a single yellow flower. The tall thin octillos sport beautiful orange flowers.

Mesquite trees offer shade and almost always have a sticky sap running down the tree attracting tons of ants.

Acadia cats claw trees have really tough spiked thorns.

In the  desert, sunrises and sunsets are spectacular. I love the way you get sunset colors reflected off clouds and mountains.

It's a desert so there are rarely mosquitos. You do get mosquitos and gnats by the Rio Grande.

The mighty Rio Grande is often a slow trickle. The government has harnessed it into water for irrigation.

Alfalfa is a water intensive crop. There is a better natural method of agriculture here. You plant a ground cover. Trees or plants are built up in a dip with a natural earth basin around them to funnel and hold the water near the plant or roots. You plant things that are less water intensive. There is a lot of container gardening.

I've learned to be very conservative with water. Water can be used a couple of times for different purposes.

In the van, i do dishes with a spray bottle of vinegar and water. Water from cooking goes into my gray water (a folgers plastic coffee can.

Bathing can be very simple too. A soup pot half full of water is enough to wash hair and all of my body. That water then becomes part of the gray water.

In New Mexico, gray water can be poured on trees. Gray water is any water used except for human waste purpose.

My "pottie" doesn't flush...it's a large plastic coffee can with lid. It's taken to any portapotty or vault toilet and disposed of safely. Baking soda or a plain charcoal briquitte control any odor. 

Safe travels and Good Coffee to you
Lou

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