The Garden Project Went On Hold

On 6/28/2011 this was our air quality. Dense smoke that traveled up here from the Los Alamos fire. We closed ourselves in the house and Mom spent much time on oxygen.

Now - 2 weeks later - we are venturing back outside more and more. With the monsoon rains (clearing the air) and the fire almost contained, life in paradise is returning to normal.

The mountain garden project suffered during this time. The veggie patch was consumed by panicking critters. I wasn't able to water (and we were in the middle of an extreme drought) many other plants didn't do well at all. But these are things we face - gardening at 7,800 feet above sea level.

There is one man that, in my opinion, is the master gardener up here; Jack. He's been working the earth on his property for a few decades. He gave me a tour and TAUGHT me a lot. Then he blessed me with a book - a HOW TO book for gardening at this altitude. The book is, 'High Altitude Gardening, by the Los Alamos Garden Club'.

Here's my favorite quote from the book so far:
"Upon my arrival in Los Alamos in the summer of 1947, I stuck a shovel in the ground, broke the handle, and decided the soil here was quite a problem."
Boy do I UNDERSTAND this!

The conclusion - I have a lot of work to do now and through the fall to get the garden area ready for next year's planting.