Sunflowers

Susan Wittig Albert wrote a recent blog post on sunflowers about the same time sunflowers here in Santa Fe began "popping" as Shasta's Auntie T would say.

Along side the asphalt roads where Shasta and I walk.

Insects love these bright, cheery flowers.

On cloudy days these flowers greet us,

and on days with spectacular clouds as we begin our morning walk
around  Frenchy's Field to the Santa Fe River bed they greet us.

I can hardly wait for the dry seeds to appear so these native wildflowers can thrive at 6790' MuRefuge.

May these common yellow flower cause us all to 

From Zingy to Soft

Volunteer Cutleaf Nightshade (Solanum triflolium) in
6790' MuRefuge's backyard making large patches of
soft cushion for Shasta to nap upon.

When we moved to live on San Felipe Circle, Shasta found the backyard "zingy". 
Her word describing this place she was transplanted. She was unhappy and wanted to go back to MuRefuge, the place she called "home."

This picture shows only three fruit trees have been planted in the
backyard: apricot to the right of the double gate,
an apricot on the left next to the wall and
an apple, not in the picture but
further along the wall away from the double gate.
Can you feel the zingyness?

She did not like the burrs of the clover nor the tumbleweed; and as the Winter progressed the plethora of foxtails. With the increased altitude, 6790' above sea level, she did not have enough oxygen to be her regular peppy self. We set about to remove the invasive plants. Two truckloads, each 10 cubic yards, of compost along with all of the cardboard from our moving boxes covered the areas of the worst infestation, after some diligent weeding to keep seeds from entering the soil seed bank.

With the monsoon rains the unmatched areas are now adorned with volunteer Cutleaf Nightshade, a native and member of the Potato Family, Pigweed a member of the Amaranth Family and to which I am highly allergic so all of it has been removed, and Desert Mallow.

Desert Mallow (Sphaeroalcea ambigua)

Patches of Blue Grama (Bouteloua gracilis), the New Mexico State grass, have been planted. This warm season, low growing bunchgrass is native to the High Plains. Several Todd planters filled with potting soil were scattered with seeds. Once the grasses were established they were transplanted into mulched areas where Shasta naps. These young grasses have begun to send up gloriously, lovely seed stalks visible in the picture below.

Although there are still smooth medium sized river rocks in the backyard, most of the rocks now make up walkways. With the increase in vegetation Shasta seems to have not only adjusted to the backyard, no longer considering it "zingy," but loves her new home. Three black rod-iron gates allows her to view all the passerbys. Her barking has become more selective and the tone often identifies the passerby.

The side and front yards moving towards "soft" with all of the Santa Fe gravel have been diligently removed by hand with a shovel, no machinery! A lovely man came several times a week for about six (6) weeks with his pickup. He moved 11.5 tons, yes tons!, to his 1000' dirt driveway. I am happy to have the gravel gone and he is happy to no longer have a long muddy driveway to negotiate during monsoon season.

As sections of the front and back are sheet mulched, softness is the prevalent energy. The Santa Fe gravel was definitely "zingy." This area known as Casa Alegre was farmed by the Spaniards evidenced by the acequias which provided water to irrigate the crops. While water was provided to the crops, it seems soil regeneration was not practiced. The soil, both sand and adobe, is sorely in need of nutrients which sheet mulching will provide. Cardboard, tattered natural fiber clothing, wood chips delivered by Coates Tree Service are the ingredients for this process.

From the get go Permaculture was practiced at MuRefuge with sheet mulching top and center. This practice was the backbone of rehabilitating the raped ground. Soil regeneration is practiced at Singing Frogs Farm in Sebastopol since its inception and the annual Soil Not Oil International Conference in Point Richmond, California has become increasingly popular and features speakers on the topic. This year I so wish I could attend since Starhawk (author of the Fifth Sacred Thing in which she touts soil regeneration before it had its now popular name) is one of the speakers.  I feel ever so blessed to have had personal experience with all of the above while living in California. Techniques learned during this time are now used here at 6790' MuRefuge, located in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Urban living has provided many inquiries about what is happening, the purpose, how to replicate, where to get wood chips. The questions seem endless while the work progresses; moving the energy away from zingy towards soft.

As at the original MuRefuge, native perennials, shrubs and trees have been planted at 6790' MuRefuge in the front and side yards for native habitat restoration. When the previous owners "flipped" this house and property, the landscaping was done by a "professional landscaper' who put in irrigation that was necessary for the what was planted amidst the black landscape "cloth" (really plastic fabric) and 11.5 tons of Santa Fe gravel. All of the plants with the exception of the well established Pinon Pine in the front have been dug up and moved to four different homes. Oh yes, also the Oregon Grape aka Creeping Mahonia (Berberis repens) along the North walkway remains and is flourishing. Below is a picture taken in April when the flowers were spectacular and invited bees.

Now that the berries are ripe and drying, a plethora of birds can be found joyfully foraging for them. The happy sounds made mostly by finches are a joy to hear!

6790' MuRefuge is located in the Pinon-Juniper Woodland/Sage Scrub habitats.
In light of that reality plants that thrive in both habitats have been planted in the side and front yards. Two Pinon Pines, two One Seed Junipers and four Gambel Oaks have been planted as the backbone of mostly West facing yards, the hottest locations on the property. There is prickly space designed primarily to attract the Sage Thrasher, my new favorite bird, to eventually nest.

A plant list will be available during the Winter when out of doors Work will be limited thus allowing time for this project.

"Soft" . . . note the apricot tree next to the wall between
the green bench and the bird feeders that was in the zingy picture.
Now mulch and plants soften the dinginess
Shasta was so uncomfortable with.

As the Work at 6790' MuRefuge progresses and Shasta feels more comfortable in her new home, may I and each of you as well,

Water

"I have come to terms with the future.

From this day onward I will walk

easy on the earth. Plant trees. Kill

no living things. Live in harmony with

all creatures. I will restore the earth

where I am. Use no more of its resources

than I need. And listen, listen to what

it is telling me."

                         M.J. Slim Hooey

In coming to terms with the future, my new favorite flowering plant here in the Land of Enchantment is the Tufted Evening Primrose which is pollinated during the darkness of night by Hawk moths. Below are pictures of each of the three plants calling 6790' MuRefuge home and residing along the sidewalk along the front of the house. These three plants I bought from the Plants of the Southwest in 2" pots . . . and now look at their size in less than two months.

This is the Tufted evening primrose (Oenothera caepitosa)
that bloomed first and was featured in an earlier post.

Tufted evening primrose with
many spent flowers.

The entire Southwest has been under a "severe drought" up until July. Then the monsoon weather pattern arrived in New Mexico. It is amazing to me how the rain (and hail + often high winds) occurs in some specific areas of New Mexico, even within the city of Santa Fe, and completely misses others. For example, Albuquerque, less than an hour's drive from Santa Fe, has received enough rain this monsoon season to have reached "normal" while other spots in the Land of Enchantment remain under a severe drought.

Map on sign post along the Santa Fe River.
We use to walk along the "river bank,"
but with the not one, but two huge monsoonal rainstorms
the path has been washed out in a number of places
 and the river bed has widen although it is now dry.
Trees were uprooted, huge boulders moved
downstream and several steep banks have
been washed into the river bed.

Santa Fe received two huge deluges less than two weeks apart in July, each altering the Santa Fe River bed more drastically. Individuals who have lived here all of their lives, several in their 90's, have never seen rains like these. One storm dropped 3.25" in less than 40 minutes. As you can imaging the storm drains, street, acequias (designed many years ago to deliver water to agricultural areas and now used by the city for "run off"), and arroyos were rushing and overflowing. Huge waves were created by the massive amounts of water rushing through in many cases way too narrow of a passage in some places, often filled with debris. Some of our neighbors across the street watched some of their property drop off into the rushing water; others experienced the waterline 18" in their rooms backing on the arroyo. Whew! We were spared since our house and property is on higher ground. The Stamm home we initially planned on buying just down the "circle" was one that had water inside of the house from the rushing water of the arroyo.

After these storms two "rain tanks" have been installed on our property that have the capacity of collecting over 1000 gallons of rain water from the flat roof via two canales. Better late than never! San Isidro Permaculture got to this project as soon as possible given their busy schedule. Many here in the area are going the way of water harvesting and water catchment.

Poly-Mart 500-Gallon Brown Rain Tank 
on cinder blocks for gravity watering, located 
in the front of the house between the windows
for the guest bedroom and library.
In front of the tank is a swale
which collects rain water from the
front portale via a canale.

Bushman 530-Gallon Slimline Rain Tank
on cinder blocks for gravity watering.
Installation was tricky since the cement
against the house and the cement
sidewalk slant away from the house.
All the rocks across from the tank
have now been removed and
four Heritage red raspberries and
four Prairie Clover, for nitrogen fixing,
have been planted. These plants are
loving the rain water from the tank!

Rain harvesting makes so much sense especially since during the most recent monsoon rain we have watched hundreds and hundreds gallons of water rush down the street stalling cars in their tracks. And City of Santa Fe Water gives a variety of rebates for water conservation. I am very much enjoying using rain water on all the newly planted perennials, grasses, shrubs and trees! These BEings prefer rain water to filtered city water it is very clear! 

Rainbow during lunch on 6790' MuRefuge's back portale.
No rain falling to the ground but the clouds and
the rainbow were spectacular!

Whether we get rain or just thunder and lightening, we

August 01, 2018, a Cross Quarter Day

Desert 4 O'Clock (Mirabilis multiflora)
newly planted near by the Desert Willow (Calopsis lines 'Bubba')

"August 1, Lughnasadh

Lughnasadh was the wedding of the Sun god Lugh to the Earth goddess, causing the ripening of crops.

• The church transformed it into an offering from the first fruits of the land; the first loaves baked from the new wheat were offered at the Loaf Mass, which became corrupted in pronunciation to Lammas." - from Farmers' Almanac

There are a plethora of hummingbirds buzzing about our yard even onto the front portale. The Rufous is ruling the feeders and sips nectar routinely from the Salvia pictured below. Anne Schmauss, the co-ower of Wild Birds Unlimited in Santa Fe, writes a weekly column in the local paper. She recently described the migratory pattern of the Rufous hummingbird: first the males arrive, followed by the females. Once her brood has fledged and once the youngsters are strong enough they too migrate through Santa Fe and surrounding areas. So we have a steady stream, so to speak, of these hummers returning to their Winter homes.

Autumn Sage (Salvia greggii)

June, historically the hottest month  here in Santa Fe, NM, has passed. The monsoon season has begun. A "100 year flood" (3.25" in 40 minutes here in Casa Alegre) has recently happened causing heightened fear in the human inhabitants. Luckily our property is a bit elevated so even though the backyard

flooded, within a quarter of an hour the water disappeared. Marble size hail damaged leaves on many of the plants.

The massive destruction from the flash flood along the Santa Fe River is evident on our daily walks. And the most amazing happening during almost daily rains is that the rain has essentially missed the area of the reservoirs which remain only 26% or so of capacity. The rain is spotty; thunder and lightening is spectacular each evening.

At this time "of harvest" or August 1 cross quarter day may we each have at least one good belly