After our tour of National Parks last fall it's good to be reminded that good things come in small packages. We visited friends and relatives in Madison, Wisconsin and among all the usual vacation fun we checked out a local conservation park. Throughout Madison are 14 conservation parks, totaling over 1600 acres, dedicated to preserving native plant and animal life in the metro area. Our 8 year old guide showed us there was plenty of fun to be had, even without a swingset.


Here are a few images from the Owen Conservation Park in Madison, WI.

Could New Mexico be on the path of a new High-Speed Rail Corridor running from Texas to Colorado? Imagine being able to take a bullet train from El Paso, TX north to Denver, CO with stops in between at Albuquerque, Santa Fe, and Colorado Springs. You could catch a dedicated, high-speed passenger train instead of spending hours driving by car or trying to book a flight that doesn't connect through Phoenix, Dallas or even further away.

Colorado has just begun a new program to allow rainwater harvesting. Strangely enough, due to the complexities of Colorado's water laws, it had been illegal to catch and hold the rain that fell on your roof! On June 2, Colorado Governor Bill Ritter signed the rain water collection bill into law. While there are many restrictions as to who can harvest the rain in Colorado, it is definitely a good step towards sustainability. Congratulations Colorado, starting July 1st you will no longer have to hide your rain barrels! Next, we have to work on Utah.

More Info:

Oh I felt so clever last night. I had radishes and pearly barley to use and, strangely enough, I found a recipe that used both. Thumbs up! But it involved turning on the oven to roasted some very pretty cubes and slices of vegetables. Thumbs down! It was hot yesterday evening and the house had not cooled off yet. But when I get an idea in my head...

Ever wonder what is REALLY in your water? If you drink water from a private well, you should test that water to find out. Santa Fe County, the New Mexico Environment Department (NMED), the City of Santa Fe, Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), and the Good Water Company to jointly test private domestic water wells June 23 through 25 at no charge to residents or owners. Water tests will include field and laboratory analyses for approximately 50 chemical parameters, including nitrate, fluoride, heavy metals including uranium, and organic vapor such as from gasoline and degreasing solvent.

The garden is so very alive these days and it is incredibly exciting. I went out to snip some mint last night at about 10:30 p.m. An all night produce department! There has been an almost daily rainstorm and that is perking things up considerably. Birds and butterflies have been visiting our yard looking for insects, seeds, sustenance and we have thoroughly enjoyed their flittering about. Then there are the bees.

If the individual and idiosyncratic people of Santa Fe have a universal sport, it is hiking. Trail hiking is the simplest and most direct way to explore the mountains and arroyos that surround The City Different. Of course, A Walk in the Woods is also a superb way to escape (often with your dog) the paved confines of the city. Conveniently, you can celebrate America's 200,000 miles of trails (with a friend) this Saturday, June 6, 2009 at a National Trails Day celebration.

Hey kids! It's been an exciting couple weeks as spring has finally arrived and that means, um, lots of things! It means I'm still getting greens fast and furious from the Beneficial Farms CSA. It means that the garden looks more alive and plants are in the ground with all their promise of delicious things. It means that our newly acquired BEES have several flowered things to investigate. It means that we turned on the grill this weekend and could stand around poking our grilling food and not wear a jacket. Oh the promise of spring and early summer.