Pecans, Chiles, and Mountains All Around

On my pre-sunrise walk this morning, I saw pecan orchards to the right of me with the Organ Mountains in the distance...

 ...and chiles to the left of me with the Dona Ana Mountains in the distance.

The chile plants are almost ready for harvest, and they smelled so good.

There are even a few red chiles peeking out. I'm guessing that this field will be picked for green chiles soon. As my Bill will tell you, there is nothing in the world like a green chile cheeseburger. Other folks will take a green chile right out of the roaster (where the outer skin is burned off), stuff it with some cheese, and eat it out of hand. Mmm, that first green chile of the season!

In some cases, the farmer will wait for all the chiles to turn red. Red chiles can be eaten fresh or dried for future use.

That sky!

Heading home again, this time with a view of the Robledo Mountains.

The Colors of My Morning

My morning is filled with color and joy...

Yet another family member is coming to live nearby

where he will know the serenity and the shelter of thick adobe walls

and the enchantment of this beautiful valley. 

Another Day on the Mountain

A clearer view than yesterday down to the Mesilla Valley

When I told you about how we hiked and biked on the mountain the other day, I pretty much gave you what my sister calls The Princess Bluebird version. Oh, yes, in a nod to reality I did mention panting and pesky flies, but I was going on and on about silence and solitude. What I didn't tell you was that after I got home from my uphill hike in the heat, I was violently ill. I don't know if it was the sun or something I ate, but it was very unpleasant, although I lost a pound (always good news). 

Destination: Organ Mountains, being declared a National Monument tomorrow!

Yesterday, we were back on the mountain, panting away on foot (me) and by bike (Beez). This time, however, we beat the heat by going earlier in the morning. The sky was also somewhat overcast, which helped keep things cooler. I found that my breathing was much easier, and the walk to the visitor center took less time and was more enjoyable. 

Hard to make out, but I had company on the road

I turned around to "admire the view" (catch my breath), just in time to see a small herd of deer crossing the road below me. I tend to keep an eye out for mountain lions and rattlesnakes, so these gentle fellow travelers were very welcome. 

More Scenes from the Canal Ride

Here are a few more pictures from our early morning bike ride along the canal last weekend. You can really tell that we live in an agricultural area. Things are growing everywhere...

Some newly planted chiles

I think this is a field of alfalfa

Pecan orchard

Horse corral

A lovely rose bush planted far from any house

The couple who owns this garden is always out tending to it by 6AM in the cool of the dawn

Biking Along the Canal

Whether you call it the acequia or the ditch or the canal, it is the lifeline that brings water to the fields of the Mesilla Valley and makes the place an oasis in the midst of the Chihuahuan Desert. I tend to call it whatever I have last heard it named; I spoke the other day with a native of the area who has lived here for 85 years--he was charming and he called it the canal, and so I call it that now.

Early, early on Saturday morning, just as the sun was coming up over the Organ Mountains, Beez and I climbed into our saddles and took off for a lovely ride up the canal. The skies were an unusual overcast gray that made the light, together with the low angle of the rising sun, just perfect for photography.

We passed chile fields, alfalfa and onion fields, and maybe even some cotton fields, although we don't know how to recognize young cotton plants just yet. The mother ducks herded their babies along the water banks, the air was cool and smelled like water and soil, and everyone we met along the footpath called out, "Beautiful morning, isn't it?"