Back at the Farm in New Mexico, June 2016

Well you have heard the old saying nothing is certain except change or plans are always in jello.  Both apply.  When I last blogged, I was headed for Reno mainly to clean out my stick house, get it ready for rent or sale, and tend to business for my mother's estate and then head to Alaska for the summer. . I'm pleased that I got most everything accomplished. ...except the Alaska park.  In the meantime,  Joel flew back to Casa Grande, picked up his motor home, drove back to Reno and loaded up his stuff and headed north to Oregon for the summer, leaving me with the truck and trailer.

I decided to stay put on my other  property in Portola, California, for a few months...that is until my son, Conlan called pleading with me to come to New Mexico and help out on the farm for a few weeks while his wife went to Texas to help her mother who was having surgery.  I towed my trailer down  to Tierra Amarilla, New Mexico and am staying in it while at the farm.  I'm still loving it!   My biggest challenge is backing it up.  Practice, Practice.

The farm has grown since I last spent any real time on it.  There are now 22 Yaks including five babies which are just darling, 10 Devon Cattle, a bunch of chickens, some pigs, 4 horses, two donkeys, and a huge garden!  It's a busy place and definitely not a 9-5 operation.  In addition to taking care of all of the animals, three days a week is spent a various farmers market selling meat, eggs, and produce.  Usually, my daughter-in-law does the farmers market in Los Alamos, Santa Fe, and Tierra Amarilla, but my son is doing it while she is away, so I'm the one who is dealing with the animals and the garden during the day.

A couple of the baby yaks.  The mama are very protective, so it's best to keep on the other side of the fence.

Two days this week  were spent bucking 300 bales of alfalfa/hay and loading stacking it  on  the trailer and truck and then unloading into the barn. (It took two trailers and two pickup loads, and a second trip for 300 bales), Those bales weigh a minimum of 50# each and were loaded by hand.  Fortunately, I got a reprieve and I was the one who drove the truck around the field while the guys loaded and stacked the hay.  Monsoon season has arrived, so once the hay is baled it has to be picked up immediately so it doesn't get wet, otherwise it will mildew and spoil.  Usually, there is not a whole lot of notice between cutting, baling, and picking up.

One of the main crops is garlic shown here.  Apparently, once it is harvested and dried it sells really quickly at the market.

My daughter-in-law didn't have time to finish putting in the garden and she left me with the task of planting nearly 40 hills of various variety of squash.

 All the plants had been started from seeds which Gayle plants inside during the winter.  She even grew her tomatoes from seed all without chemicals.  She mixes her own soil.

Well, that's all for now.  I'll be here one other week before heading back to the mountains.  It's been really unseasonable warm here even though it is around 7000 ft, and I'll be looking forward to a little cooler weather.