little by little

i don't think i have explained the title of my blog very thoroughly, and i think that this post's title deserves a bit of the full explanation... toute doucement means "to go lightly" in french, a saying that is often forgotten in the hustle and bustle of the everyday. but it is my goal to delicately skim the freshness of this earth without  leaving roots or any trace too deeply as i cross through the experiences of life, to tread lightly, following a peaceful and restless existence. as i consider that i have been in silver city for a WHOLE MONTH now, i can only begin to grasp what has happened to me here... i am pursuing the idea that i may have some roots that just need to grow in here, and it could be inevitable. little by little, and ever so lightly, i am testing the soils here, and feeling my own nature shift from roaming to resting...

on that note, i have been playing in the sunshine, and digging around the yard with my lovely neighbor and fellow plant-lover, rachel... and we have been busy! our goal is to plant oodles of veggies and herbs for this spring and summer, and nurture our sad little yard back to a semi-natural state of beauty. plus, as i am trying to help start a school garden at a local elementary school down the street, i thought it would be good to practice some gardening techniques in my own backyard... southwest new mexico presents a whole new set of challenges for gardeners!

to start, there is not much water. that is probably the biggest problem too... we will be hopefully installing a drip irrigation system and maybe even set up some rain-barrels around the yard too. there is talk of hoops over the more sensitive beds as well, in part to conserve water from evaporation, and also to protect the plants from adverse tempertures and sunlight. that would be the second biggest problem: sunlight. we got a WHOLE LOT OF SUNSHINE here, and sometimes it can be overbearing... i got a sun tan already and its april. given, my 'tan' stops at all the places a tee-shirt and shorts would, and i am hoping to perfect my teva-tan real soon as well. 

some of the photos below give a sense of the ever-growing (literally) project size that we have started on... it seems like everyday new ideas pop into one of our heads, and we are on another trip to the nursery or hardware store to stock up on gardening things. my new favorite store in town may actually be ace hardware... second only to our wonderful silver city coop!

the little creek that runs behind our yard. doves love it here, they coo-coo all day long.

the flower bed-bed (its a converted bed frame, or something like that) soon to be housing copious greens!

mmm composted dirt!

rachel & my biggest success yet: our very own compost bin! rot-on!

lavender, columbine, and poppies... my attempt to nurture some colorado flora into new mexico.

my favorite flower, hands down.

hand-built rock wall to the right, a nice spot for herbs to grow!

new home for veggies: tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, beets, carrots, pole beans, sweet peas, chard, oh my!

tomorrow is a big day: we have to saw and haul all of the yard waste (mostly dead tree limbs that have amassed into a 12'x12' "pile" in our backyard. since its fire-season, it has been decided that our ultimate bonfire stick pile should go. we will be hiring our male-friends to help with the sawing and hauling, although i may have to show off my new-found bow-saw skills, thanks to a tree-cutting lesson received in the field at work.

 the winds kicked up fabulously today, and during my sunset hike with a fellow sunset-enthusiast, we laid on our backs and watched the moon grow whiter and the orange skies sink into purple mountains, leaving us in a world of gray-green desert dusk... 

another perfect sunset at boston hill

half-moon rising 

as we dreamed about less perfect things than the magic that is known as nightfall, we hoped for an adventure, looming on the horizon, drawing us back towards the western-setting sun... and so it is told: next weekend we are going to flagstaff, arizona! road trip season begins again (...i only took 4 weeks off)! more details on the budding aspens, honey-pots, and good people and places to behold us!

yay for finding a fellow life-adventurer!