While I was in New Mexico, I stayed at my brothers place. Him and his wife have 50 acres in Stanley.... about 50 miles outside of Albuquerque.
They have an amazing view of the desert landscape. Great sunsets almost every night. They are definitely out in the middle of nowhere. But I have to say, "Somewhere" has been getting a lot closer over the last 20 years or so that they've lived out here.In fact, a Walmart went in about 10 miles from their house. Progress or the end of the world depending on your politics, I guess.
One thing he had that I really want to install at my place was a drip irrigation system.
Oh, and I'd kind of like a new barn with a workshop like they have too. That would be nice. They have 3 horses and one mule in there, along with a brand new 32 horse John Deere Tractor. I'm jealous.My bro is the one that convinced me to get a bee hive this year. Here's a quick look at his hive. He's down to one. One of his hives starved to death last year. That's what we think happened, at least.
He also is trying to turn me on to Wine Making (more on that in my next post...) He's had some triumphs and tragedies over the years. He won best of show in the NM State Fair one year for non commercial wineries - that's kind of a big deal.
He's also thrown away more than one batch after a year of work. It's tough making great wine, especially with New Mexico grapes. But on average, there's more success than failure.
I also got to check another James Beard Winning Restaurant off my list. We went up to Santa Fe for the day, and stopped at Cafe Pasqual's. What can I say, there's a reason the folks at James Beard gave them the award. It's some of the best Mexican food you can find anywhere.
As you can see, I hated it.You owe it to yourself to stop here if you ever find yourself in Santa Fe.
I can also wholeheartedly recommend The Shed. You can't go wrong in either place.
Here's the cookbook if you love Mexican Food:
Over all it was a great trip. I guess this means I'm knocking on 40's door... ouch.
See you next time
