Water in the Southwest may be worth more than gold. Even growing the hardiest of native plants requires considering how they will be watered. In our backyard I've used rain barrels for two years to water the vegetable garden. But until now my front yard was dependent on direct rainfall and the garden hose. I've finally added a branched drain system that directs rainfall from the gutters to mulch-filled basins that water our trees and perennials. Hopefully, I can water the front landscape without moving a hose again!

Economics tends to be an arcane science that few understand. But, occasionally the 'real world' provides a clear example of economics in action. For instance; ridership on the New Mexico Rail Runner Express. This February the Rail Runner Express raised weekend fares at the same time they cut two trips from the Saturday schedule. In October, it was announced that NM Rail Runner traffic was down by nearly 11%. Here's the punchline - the ridership loss was from the weekend schedule.

In the January 29, 2010 issue of the Santa Fe New Mexican:

So, do you have big plans for the weekend yet? If your Sunday is still open, check out the 350.org 10/10/10 Global Work Party to see if there are any events in your area. There are 10/10/10 events planned worldwide that range from group bike rides to trash clean ups and tree plantings. Santa Fe is home to a Skill-Share event and a long bike ride to join the Albuquerque event.

In celebration of our upcoming anniversary, my wife and I visited Rocky Mountain National Park this fall. We love camping and neither of us had seen this great example of accessible wildness. Our trip turned out to be much more educational and exciting than expected. We had close encounters with wildlife, a tour of a lodgepole forest ravaged by pine beetles and a brush with wildfire all while surrounded by a gorgeous landscape.

I've discovered some bad news. Your car is making you fat, angry and broke. But, I've also found out what you can do about it. You may be wondering who I am and what do I have against cars. Believe it or not, I'm a gearhead and I do love cars. As a kid my favorite t-shirt had a silk-screened '57 Chevy. I read car books and magazines from cover to cover. I think cars can be useful, fun, beautiful and exciting. Unfortunately, it turns out that our cars don't love us.

Have you ever wished you could go back in time? Well, until physical time travel is invented and perfected (I don't care to be a beta tester) looking at old photos is a reasonable substitute. The Third View is a recent project to document the west of the past and today. Third View revisited the sites of 1860's and 1970's western American landscape photographs. The project made new photographs in the late 1990's, kept a field diary and collected materials useful in interpreting the scenes, change and the passage of time.

The first rule of Mountain Bike Club is that you need a club. Are you looking for a group to ride and socialize with, tips for beginning mountain bikers, or do you want to lend your hand at trail maintenance and local trails advocacy? Now is the time to join a varied and enthusiastic group of mountain bikers in Santa Fe, NM as we start a new club. Read below for details on the first mountain bike club events. Mark these dates on your calendar and start brainstorming a great name for the new club.

What: Trail Maintenance Party and Trail Ride

I drink wine and have noticed a few new words on bottles in the wine shop. Natural, Sustainable, Organic and Biodynamic are appearing on certain wine labels. As I'm learning about wine and grapes I thought I should learn about sustainable wine making. It turns out that viticulture (the science of growing wine grapes) is a complex science and sustainability adds to the complexity. So, I started small by touring a sustainable winery on the central coast of California.