So much more snow fell after the first night of our cold snap. My little courtyard burro, bought from a roadside vendor up from Juarez, Mexico, stood patiently in the cold, decorated for Halloween, which is tomorrow.
We are still under the governor's lockdown here in New Mexico, so I doubt there will be any trick-or-treaters. We are prepared, just in case! Our neighborhood, Telshor, can get quite a few trick-or-treaters.
We had a very surprisingly early snowfall today, and it is still snowing almost 24 hours later! In fact, it's a record for earliest snowfall since recordkeeping began.
The desert looks lovely in snow, and so do our yards. Unlike many areas of the country, our snow usually is gone quickly and dry conditions reign again, making travel and errand-running easy. And snow shoveling is not something we do here.
Consider retiring to enchanted Las Cruces if you love temperate weather with a few surprises thrown in to spice it up!
Strangely, this year autumn is seeing a flush of growth far beyond the usual amount. We also have snow flurries predicted for today and tomorrow! Most unusual.
This prickly pear in against a walkway wall at City Hall, on Main Street just north of the Farmers Market area. I think you'll agree it has beautiful, delicate colors. When nature combines them, the hues harmonize perfectly.
Thank you for dropping by.
We have many cholla cactuses growing out here, some in the wild landscape, some in medians, and some in the home yards. One of the most popular chollas to grow is the "Teddy Bear Cholla," which is a very deceiving name. While the stickers give the look of thick fur, the painful reality is that it is studded with thousands of these spines.
The Jumping Cholla doesn't jump, of course, but you might think the segments of the cactus actually do, because it's so easy to get stuck by them. They seems to be everywhere, even where you looked just a moment earlier.
Our photo shows the beautiful red fruits of a totally wild cholla growing near the Dripping Springs area, the Christmas Cholla. These are tiny fruits; less than the size of a grape.
Be careful when picking up cholla fruits: They have many invisible spines. You won't see them, but you will feel them.
Come enjoy the wild landscape of Las Cruces, New Mexico.
We had a cool snap about three weeks ago, but now true fall is arriving. It's a relief not to have scorching hot days. Many love the warmth here, but by October, I think even the most ardent summer fans are ready for a change.
Around town, leaves are changing and berries are ripening. These Mountain Ash berries are on the grounds of the Immaculate Heart of Mary cathedral. Beautiful! So much nature to enjoy in Las Cruces. Make southern New Mexico your retirement home!
There are now three hospitals in Las Cruces: Memorial Medical Center, which is the oldest one by far; Mountain View, and now Three Crosses.
Three Crosses is brand new. Its opening was delayed due to COVID, but they had their grand opening a week ago in October 2020. Its location is on an old, defunct golf course that is the bottom of the hilly Triviz/Arlington area -- our hidden gem of a neighborhood.
If you're considering moving to Las Cruces, take a look at this neighborhood!
Our blog will be on a Monday - Wednesday - Friday schedule for a bit, due to the busy autumn season. Always so much to do in Enchanted Las Cruces!
Finally, after the scorching hot summer and the roasting of the green chiles, ristras are for sale!
Ristras are strings of ripe chiles. They are made when the chile changes color. The chiles dry as they hang.
But ristras are not just for decoration! They are used in most Las Cruces homes, pulled off as needed to season beans, salsa, pizza, or what have you. Anything, everything could use a nice bit of red chile!
The most common chile used in a ristra is the green chile, a large "pepper" that ranges from mild to hot in taste. Smaller serranos and other petite chiles are also grown and strung into ristras.
One good-sized ristra will perfume your entire kitchen and den or even patio or porch! It's delightful. With our weather and low humidity, they dry well. Dry outside first, then bring them in. Or leave them outside!
The best price in town is at a shop in Old Mesilla, called Ristramnn. I think everyone pronouces it "Ristra Man" although that isn't plain from the spelling. They have excellent prices. Make sure you get one of THIS year's ristras, though, and not a crispy old one from last year. They have ristras hanging from years ago, so have your eyes open and ask for a "new" one if you aren't sure.
Splurge and get one of the longest ones, if you can! Get several, so that you can have them inside and out!
Come retire to Las Cruces and get in on the fun. Would you hang up a ristra at your new home here?
Catholicism plays a big role in the lives on many in New Mexico and in Las Cruces. There is a vibrant and large Catholic community here, and during non-COVID times, there are many fairs and weekly bingo for those of all faiths or no faith.
In the Mesquite Historic District stands Our Lady of Health, a lovely church building that often features fluttering bright flags and balloons to enliven all who view it. The parish it serves is relatively poor, but rich in spirit. It offers Mass in both Spanish and English.
No matter your faith, you will find a church home in Las Cruces. From Baptists to Buddhists, we have it all, and they are very welcoming to those who relocate here. With a large state university, there are also many esoteric faith offerings you'd usually only find in a much larger city. Truly, something for everyone, religious or not.
Come retire to Enchanted Las Cruces and see for yourself!
While other locales are seeing blooms wither and fade, Las Cruces sees an explosion of beautiful blossoms. The plants seem to catch their breath after the scorching summer, and celebrate by putting on an autumn show.
Other areas may have the beauty of leaves turning colors -- and we do too, by the way, as will be shown in an upcoming post -- but we have the flowers of fall.
Here, clamboring over a wall on a deserted adobe home, is Coral Vine. The beauty of this vine when seen in person is just indescribable. It has such grace of habit, and the vivid pink color is striking.
Also making a good show is Texas Yellow Bells, a plant native to the U.S. It has an airy, upright growth pattern and holds its bright yellow bells out into the sun.
Texas Yellow Bells have a cousin, Orange Bells, just as lovely and with a rich, golden yellow/mahogany shade.
If you love gardening, you will enjoy retiring to Las Cruces, where it's easy to grow so many beautiful and rare plants that bloom almost year around!
Mesquite is the orginal townsite of Las Cruces. It's a neighborhood of small homes and shops nestled against the downtown area. Mesquite Street is the original El Camino Royal, traveled over 500 years ago by conquistadors, priests, and settlers.
Some of the businesses that were established decades ago are still going strong along El Camino Real ("The Royal Road" that eventually grew to be the longest highway in North America, from Mexico City to Canada), such as Nopalito Restaurant, which also has another branch near Telshor. But the main restaurant is on Mesquite Street, across from Beck's Coffee and down from Mesquite Art Gallery, two relative newcomers who appear to be doing quite well. A few blocks down, on the corner of Amador and Mesquite Streets, is Lujan bakery, great for traditional Mexican "pan dulce," or pastries. Get ready, because Mexican pastries are nothing like European or U.S. baked goods. They are much less sweet, and often feature colored flour that looks like icing -- and isn't -- on top. Strange at first, it's easy -- all too easy -- to develop a taste for pan dulce.
The building for Sunshine Grocery and Grill still stands, newly painted, but it isn't a grocery now. Built in 1918, it is a local landmark, and is used as a location for movies filming in Las Cruces.
It will be interesting to see if after COVID-19 runs its course, if the Mesquite Historical District continues to develop as a corridor for small, quirky businesses.
Would you like to live in the Mesquite neighborhood, just steps from the weekly Farmer's Market and famed COAS Used Bookstore?
There are several distinct neighborhoods in Las Cruces, and we have talked about a few of them. One that absolutely must be mentioned is the very old, formerly very modest, Mesquite area northeast of downtown.
Much of the Mesquite Historical Area is undergoing gentrification of a modest sort. There are also some conversions of the small houses into shops. There is a stone coffee house and an art gallery that were homes in disrepair, now quite busy and looking very cute indeed. Some of the homes are very tiny, not much bigger than a short singlewide trailer, although they are site-built. Others are larger, but none are very large. I did see several two-story houses among the bigger homes, and some very small newly constructed homes.
Some of the Mesquite homes proudly display the the Historical Society's plaque, also found on the old-style street lamps. Houses with stoops are rare in the Southwest, but there are quite a few in the Mesquite area.
Don't confuse the neighborhood name with the nearby small town on the way to El Paso!
Would you like to live in a renovated historic bungalow? If so, consider the Mesquite area when you...Retire to Enchanted Las Cruces!
NMSU isn't just an ordinary land grant university: It is truly a haven for its students.
Do you have college-aged children or grandchildren? NMSU offers so much more than many other universities.
It has a huge amount of married student housing, allowing many who would be unable to afford to attend college a huge boost and a way to get the skills they need for a career. From single-family houses to modern apartment homes, NMSU offers daycare right on campus, maintains both a clothing closet and a food bank for "Aggies," and also has student garden plots available on campus.
For single students, they can choose from vintage dorm living or modern suites. Some apartment-style dorms are available with exterior private entrances into each apartment, for the more mature students. Freshmen and those benefitting from more support can choose dorms with a main entrance, house mothers, peer helpers, and laundry service.
But it's the garden plots that amazed and pleased me. There is nothing like growing plants to give a student a feeling of belonging, of being a part of the very land the college stands upon. Little gardens are sprinkled through the entire married student villages. Acres of gardens are along the edge of campus, too. Going to college is hard, but NMSU makes it easier. It may not have the cachet of an "Ivy League" school, but in practical terms, it is unbeatable. And the new medical college is an added bonus!
Retiring to Las Cruces has never been a better idea!
It is autumn and nearly time for the researchers to harvest their crop of experimental chile varieties. The gardens of the Chile Pepper Institute can be viewed from afar, but are off-limits to the public. The chiles will be examined for suitability of their yield, taste, fertility, etc. by NMSU plant scientists. In years past, the public could mingle the chiles, and I saw many fantastical peppers growing, from pitch-black spheres to ghostly yellow horns that almost seemed to be fluorescent. Now, admire them from behind the fence.
The chile garden is next to the Fabian Garcia Botanical Garden, at University and Main (University and Bowman Street of Mesilla Park form its western boundary). During COVID-19, it is closed, unfortunately, but I can only hope and assume this will not be the case shortly.
If you don't love chiles now, you will once you move here. The New Mexican chiles are the main reason our food is so delicious. Come retire in Las Cruces and taste it for yourself -- and attention SNOWBIRDS -- consider making Las Cruces your winter home! We'd love to have you!
Las Alturas is a neighborhood in Las Cruces, known for its wild beauty and large lots. Natural landscaping is a requirement; you will not see lawns, fences, and gardens in this area, yet it was long popular with professors and those who worked at the NASA site, the White Sands Test Facility (part of the Johnson Space Center) northeast of town. Those living there considered themselves quite posh once upon a time. Now, the newest "highly desirable" areas are the Sonoma Springs and Talaveras areas of the East Mesa, but Las Alturas is still a very good and quiet neighborhood.
My husband built the first geodesic dome in Las Cruces, in Las Alturas, in 1973. He bought the land from Shirley and David Soules, who established Las Alturas, and whose son is a popular state politician. Many people came to watch him build it, and it was a popular place to drive by once completed. He went on to build more domes in the county, two of which we know still stand. But the weirdness of his dome was quite eclipsed when the lot next to it sprouted two giant mushrooms -- concrete-shelled homes that look like mushrooms pushing up from the desert.
When we returned to Las Cruces last year, after decades away, we were shocked by the changes and by how big it had grown. However, the architecture of today's homes seems tame compared to the domes and mushrooms built years ago.
When you visit Las Cruces, be sure to check out all of the neighborhoods and see which one strikes a chord with you. Will it be wild Las Alturas, heavily treed Mesilla Park, historic Mesilla, elegant Sonoma Springs, expensive Talaveras, sensible young-family Metro Verde, quaint downtown Alameda area, solid but aging Telshor, or some other niche?
The waters of the Rio Grande river are tightly controlled by Colorado and New Mexico. It doesn't just flow, like a regular river. Reservoirs dot its length, and only a certain amount of water is released each year from these, such as Elephant Butte, just up the road from Las Cruces. EBID, Elephant Butte Irrigation District, controls when, how much, and to whom the water will go. When water is released into the acequias, or "ditches," they call that a "water delivery."
The Mesilla Valley depends on the river water for irrigation of its chile fields, onions, cotton, alfalfa, and of course, the world's largest pecan orchards. Pecans take a lot of water to fill out properly.
During the summer, many people float down the Rio Grande on innertubes. Some use kayaks or canoes to navigate. Only a very shallow draft will allow you to float, as the river is only inches deep in some parts in this area. Families picnic by the river and kids splash and play.
But when autumn arrives, the irrigation slows and then stops, because water is no longer released into the river. The farmers can't use the water for crops or livestock during the fallow time of year. In the photo above, you can see the wide river showing patches of dirt and mud as the amount of water released into it slows to a trickle. Now the ancient acequias (some over 300 years old) and irrigation ditches will stand dry and empty, usually filling with tumbleweeds by spring, when EBID personnel will clean them in preparation for the spring deliveries of water.
You can walk for many miles along the ditches in the Las Cruces area, or along the banks of the river. With our beautiful weather, it is usually a daily choice to get some exercise and be out in nature along the ditches.
Consider beautiful Las Cruces for your retirement! Enjoy seeing the Rio Grande -- Brave River -- as it marks our seasons.
NMSU, the large state university located in Las Cruces, is open despite COVID-19 this semester, at least so far. Usually, avoiding University Avenue while college is in session is a good idea, especially around lunch time, but with such reduced numbers attending, traffic remains light and unchallenged by students pouring across every corner by using the automatic crosswalk lights.
The NMSU campus is just gorgeous. It is shady (always a good thing here) compared to the surrounding area, and has numerous interesting flowers and foilage plants. It is kept immaculately clean, trimmed, and swept. It's a beautiful choice for a walk any time of year.
Beauty is hidden around every corner: Either flowers blooming in profusion, the surprise of a muskrat pond, expanses of lawn (very rare here), antique buildings, Spanish-style architecture, and more.
For seniors interested in keeping our minds sharp, sit in an undergraduate classes just like a regular student, for $5 per credit hour, up to 10 hours. You earn the credit, just as usual, but are on a non-degree-seeking track. If you want to seek a degree, you can, just pay the regular tuition instead of the reduced rate.
The photographs show autumn's bloomfest of the Esperanza plant, also called Texas Yellow Bells. They are found all over the older part of campus, with blooms in the millions during the early part of October.
Come retire here!
The landscape in Las Cruces is punctuated by soaring palms, their fronts stirring in the desert wind. Unlike tropical palms swaying above a bay, our palms grow straight upward and do not bend in our sometimes-fierce winds.
Some of the palms are date palms, and long trusses of ripe dates fall into your yard, ready to eat. Others you will see here, usually the pride of the whole landscaping, are Mediterranean Palms, which are good for petite yards at only 20 feet high at maturity, and California Palms, which soar into the sky to 40 feet.
The NMSU campus has many mature palms gracing its lovely grounds.
The tallest palm here is the gorgeous Mexican Fan Palm, which dwarfs many others at 100 feet tall. These stick up all over town. These are the palms you see with a large "pineapple" growning beneath the fronds -- the "pineapple" is the cut ends of the fronts forming a bulged out area that looks like a giganitic pineapple.
If you want a very short palm, consider planting the Pindo Palm, which also produces delicious fruit. A palm that is short for about ten years before suddenly elongating is the Canary Date Palm. Finally, the Windmill Palm has a very wide crown and is short until about its tenth year. It's a show-stopper with the breadth of its fronds, which are also a lot larger than most palms'.
A mature palm adds value to homes here. When you move to Las Cruces, consider adding a palm if your yard doesn't have one!
In the very old and quaint San Albino Catholic cemetery, the old world and the new mingle in strange and wonderful ways.
Handmade crosses with carefully painted on names and dates stand next to elaborate displays incorporating yard art, statuary, benches, and armfulls of flowers. An open Bible in stone is set on bare grround, and nestles against a grave covered entirely in huge white roses, each larger than a dinner plate. Angels kneel and pray while skulls smile eerily yet serenely above them.
Living in Las Cruces, you experience the Old World, and the New, each at ease with the other.
Discover retirement living in Las Cruces!
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