Sustainable SW Blogs

With a 3 night, 4 day backpacking trip coming up in the Gila Wilderness (our route), Mikey and I are busy preparing light weight, high impact food. We've been dehydrating fruit of all variety and have reduced their weight greatly. As it stands we'll carry two watermelon, 2 cantaloupe, 1 honeydew, a pineapple, and a load of strawberries all without reaching 1lb in weight, likely it'll weigh in a .5 lb. For lunch'y snacks today I made blueberry quinoa bars, and chocolate, raw peanut butter and coconut balls. I also kicked off a batch of vanilla extract by splitting vanilla bean and placing it in our home brew 80 proof alcohol to steep for a couple of months, though this is not for camping.

The real winner here is the blueberry bar and so here's my recipe which I completely made up:

Mix dry ingredients separate from wet then mix all together. Bake 350 for 30 min on pan lined with parchment paper.

1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup quinoa
1/4 cup quinoa flour (ground quinoa)
1/8 cup flax seed ground
1/4 cup almond flour (ground almonds)
1/2 cup cashew chopped into small parts
2 tbsp chia seed whole
2 tbsp brown sugar
1/8 tsp cinnamon
pinch salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup blueberries
3 tbsp coconut oil
2 tbsp molasses
4 tbsp maple syrup
2 tbsp water

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I got a call the other day, "can you bring over your bee clothes, we have a swarm?" Mikey and I have had swarms on our property almost every spring since we moved here. We did not catch them because we already had a colony and we did not have an extra hive. I got in teh car to answer the call and dropped some bee hats and checked out the new colony that my friends had captured in a box by cutting down the limb of the tree the bees made a swarm ball on. The bees were calm and hungry. We fed them sugar water to hold them over as swarms on the run only have a couple of days to live before figuring out food and shelter. When I checked in to see what had happened the next day learned that the swarm moved back to the tree and were again encouraged to come down, this time into the beehive I brought over as we lost our colony last year. Our fingers are crossed for them.

A hearty "no egg" breakfast.  75,84,58,0,W

Dehydrating for Backpacking, a photo by mikey and wendy on Flickr.

Our next backpacking trip will be a 50 miler in the Gila Wilderness. I am dehydrating melons, berries and smoked tofu for the journey.

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I have mastered the waiting game...patience is a virtue when it comes to powered paragliding.  76,82,37,0,B

This week we have enjoyed spending time with a family  visiting T or C in their converted Greyhound bus that they've been living in for one year. The kids are home schooled though from what I can tell their lifestyle has world schooled them.

The other morning while hiking I talked with their daughter Atlee about what school was like for her when she was still in the system back in the Seattle area. She described an experience that matched my own when I was growing up even though for me junior high was 30+ years ago and in New York. She told me stories of girls competing based on clothing and ostracizing each other for being different. Atlee proudly told me that since leaving school the people she has met on the road are unique and she valued this. We've noticed that the homeschool kids we've worked with since living in New Mexico out shine those schooled by the system in attention span, creative thinking, idea generation and interest in learning. I brought Atlee over to our friend Jeannie's place today to see her looms, and other textile arts. It was a match! In typical T or C and small town fashion, each generation shares with the one behind it.

I've always enjoyed a sport. I windsurfed for years, roller bladed, and I swam every chance I was given. No sport has been as body changing as running. I've run 231 miles since Feb 4th, which has dropped me three sizes in clothing. I lost ten pounds, and I probably gained  more than that in muscle. My ass transformed into calves which are now like piston pumps. But what I'm most impressed by is my heart which which has become a very different kind of efficient blood pumping and oxygen delivering system. I feel this when I am walking and hiking. Even my resting heart rate has dropped significantly. I am strong from running in a way no other sport has provided. A heart rate monitor helps me to monitor my heart's development.  A strengthened heart will benefit me the whole of my life.

I cut my morning run short at 5 miles because there was a bull in my way. Mikey runs with them but I find them super scary and totally unpredictable so I let this one turn me around. He was hanging out just past the goats we run with who were zig zagging along a cliff's side. He was blocking the road that I needed to run up in order to run farther and the fence meant to stop them was down. I let the tree full of vultures that was right across the road from this scene stop me. A foreshadowing of could have been in store for me and Sesame.  ARG!
(last image: a scrap I keep near my computer with my measurements for sizing clothes when ordering on line. )

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I'm still sitting on a large stock of garlic bulbis from the garlic that went to seed while I was on my book tour. I figured that by now they'd be dry and ready for grinding into a garlic powder but no. I'm going to have to put these out in a solar oven for a while or stick em in a dehydrator. Their ability to maintain moisture has me thinking they're real keepers, they've outlasted my full sized garlic bulbs.

Now that our papercrete wall is stucco'd it's time to repair stucco cracks. Having no experience with stucco I researched the process online and choose a method that uses a silicone that can be painted over followed by a thin layer of stucco. My only complaint is that in spite of my having used the exact stucco that the wall was done with (an extra bag left over from that job), the colors do not match.

You may recall that in Wendy's book she lists staying up all night to watch astral events as one of the reasons to not have a job. We did just that... an allnighter in our Hot Spring with friends to enjoy a stunning total lunar eclipse. It was worth staying up until 4am. We had originally planned to go hiking for the eclipse but a drop in temps and running injuries kept us local. The hot tub is hard to beat for watching astronomical events on a chilly night.

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Saturday, April 19 Basics of Backyard Chickens: Free ClassLearn the basics about starting your own flock Time: 10 am-12 pm Instructors: Mike Warren/Molly Prewitt Location: Mike & Molly’s House, 747 Old Las Vegas Highway, Santa Fe (The house is on the right side directly across from Rancheros Campground. Call Mike or Molly at their house if you get lost-505-466-8998)

RSVP to 505-983-9706 or email: homegrownnewmexico1@gmail.com

Chickens are inquisitive, entertaining and food-producing.  Owning a small flock of chickens is becoming as popular as having a cat or dog.  They are easy if you have an understanding of what they need for shelter, food and health.

Come learn how you can start your own flock today.  Find out what is the best breed for you, how to provide a healthy diet and what type of chicken coop is right for your backyard.

Learn how to build a proper brooder and how to deal with predator issues.  Walk through Mike and Molly’s chicken yard and find out what they have learned about what works and what does not from raising chickens for over 10-15 years.  Suggested $10 donation. Become a 2014 Member for $35 with $250 value-includes all classes, potlucks and tour.

Saturday, April 19 Basics of Backyard Chickens: Free ClassLearn the basics about starting your own flock Time: 10 am-12 pm Instructors: Mike Warren/Molly Prewitt Location: Mike & Molly’s House, 747 Old Las Vegas Highway, Santa Fe (The house is on the right side directly across from Rancheros Campground. Call Mike or Molly at their house if you get lost-505-466-8998)

RSVP to 505-983-9706 or email: homegrownnewmexico1@gmail.com

Chickens are inquisitive, entertaining and food-producing.  Owning a small flock of chickens is becoming as popular as having a cat or dog.  They are easy if you have an understanding of what they need for shelter, food and health.

Come learn how you can start your own flock today.  Find out what is the best breed for you, how to provide a healthy diet and what type of chicken coop is right for your backyard.

Learn how to build a proper brooder and how to deal with predator issues.  Walk through Mike and Molly’s chicken yard and find out what they have learned about what works and what does not from raising chickens for over 10-15 years.  Suggested $10 donation. Become a 2014 Member for $35 with $250 value-includes all classes, potlucks and tour.

I go to a lot of yard sales. My home is composed of what I find there. Sometimes I make a couple of bucks selling my finds on ebay and this gesture prevents me from the risk of being a hoarder. I don't collect. Objects move through me. I consider myself a rescuer of things heading for landfill.

Last week I found myself mesmerized by a pair of gold painted birds from the 50s. Was I having some kind of flash back? Were these at my grandma's in the Bronx and my subconscious mind, having remembered them, went into some kind of pleasure overdrive? I had to have them in spite of the layers of dust, chipped paint and high price considering what they are. I pad six bucks for the pair and took them home figuring I'd put them on ebay or something.

I find myself unable to part with them and yet they go against everything I know about myself. They're ornate without any function, a category I don't gather and keep. They're ridiculously grandam too. Since they've been with me they've inspired me to start a painting, yes featuring at least one of them. Then I thought of a series based on them. I moved them from a to be listed on ebay pile to my desk. I wonder if a dust based vintage minded parasite has moved in to my brain making me unable to part with them. Ahhhhh!

Friends, it is time again for the biggest annual used clothing and DIY orgy, an event I call Swap-O-Rama-Rama, in northern California. This is the biggest Swap-O-Rama-Rama of them all and features a 6,000 sq foot tent at the Maker Faire.

If your in the area and wish to offer a workshop, teaching something you love, help people sew, or just sort clothes and help in a general way, contact Erin. If you just wanna come and have fun, save the date.

Greasy Cleanup, a photo by mikey and wendy on Flickr.

We are just about to resume running our VW on biodiesel this year. I've been waiting for the last cold front to pass so that we don't need to worry about hard starting. Tomorrow night will be in the mid-30's and then we should be clear. This spring has been cooler than most and I'm thankful to not have the sun blasting down on us just yet.

Montrail - FluidFlex, a photo by mikey and wendy on Flickr.

I am breaking in my next pair of running shoes. My Brooks Cascadia 7's are just about out of tread. They were a great shoe, but a little stiff in areas. These Montrail Fluidflex have the idea weight and cushion I'm looking for. I'm not thrilled about them being dark in color which can lead to hot feet in the summer. The Fluidflex have a super light mesh that breaths well and makes me think that heat might not be a issue. The only downside I've noticed with the Montrails are that they grab high on my ankle. I'm hoping that part softens up with use.