Professor of the Year From UNM

Congratulations to my friend Ursula Shepherd, University of New Mexico biology professor who has been named the nation’s “professor of the year” among research universities.  This is an award from the Council for Advancement and Support of Education and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.  The award is considered the nation’s most prestigious undergraduate teaching award.  At least five out of every six students who participated in Shepherd’s National Science Foundation-sponsored biology research trips between 1998 and 2006 have gone on to complete medical school, a professional school degree or a Ph.D.  All this and Ursula and her very talented husband Bill rebuilt an older home in Tunnel Springs area of  Placitas  (right on the national forest boundary) and are great gardeners.  Keep up the good work!

The Magic of Place

I’ve only “really lived” in three places: in Connecticut on Long Island Sound; in New Hampshire in a 200-year-old farmhouse on the side of Moose mountain; and in Placitas on the high desert plain. In Connecticut I know the Sound. I still have the navigational map in my head, though I haven’t been sailing or big blue fishing in years. In New Hampshire I know the land, at least the 350 acres of it that were mine to care for. I know the old stone walls, the various pastures; the hay fields; the slopes of virgin timber; the apple orchard. I knew the creatures that I lived with, side-by-side: the bear; porcupine; hedgehog; deer; fisher-cat; birds and coyotes and their habits and hangouts. In New Mexico, at last, I know the land pretty well. I know the architecture, how buildings were built and how they are built. I know what grows here -- though not all the names. I know the creatures that live here. I even know a lot of my neighbors. I know a little history. I have a history. It feels good. Maybe feeling the magic of a place is really as simple as just feeling good where you are.

Taking The Long View (And A Mountain View at That)

Statistics for House Sales in Placitas 2005 through mid-December 2011

2005    143 houses sold         Average per square foot price $196.48

2006    99   houses sold         Average per square foot price $192.46   Average price: $522,433.

2007    92   houses sold         Average per square foot price $196.00   Average price: $510,843.

2008    78   houses sold         Average per square foot price $183.02   Average price: $514,124.

2009    57   houses sold         Average per square foot price $165.24   Average price: $463,386.

2010    66   houses sold         Average per square foot price $159.98   Average price: $434,345.

2011    62   houses sold         Average per square foot price $151.88   Average price: $445,919.

2011    7     houses  under contract, for which sales have not yet closed   Average SF price $147.49

Sanctuary for the Human Spirit

According to legend, and before time, the Pueblo Indians lived protected and confined in darkness with only an occasional ray of light. Their world changed, however, when a young woman with a restless soul, called Changing Woman, was impregnated by a ray of light. She was pushed out of the darkness and forced to climb the mesas and hills to find those that could accept her. Her lonely journey ended when she met Spider Woman on the summit of the Sandia Mountains. Spider woman became godmother to Changing Woman’s children, the Twin Warrior Gods, who were born on Sandia Mountain. She and their father the sun taught them the skills they needed to rid the outer universe of its dangers. The Warrior Gods had the rainbow as their bow and lightning was their arrows. The feats of the Twin Heroes enabled the Indians to leave their dark world for the warmth and light of the outer world. The gods continue their vigilance from the mountain tops, and Sandia Mountain remains the home of gods.

In the Beginning...

Lucy and the Terrierists

My first year of practice as a real estate broker I repeatedly asked myself why I ever considered trying to make a living in such a strange business?   Now I know that besides all the wonderful people I meet and fascinating property situations I work on, the real answer is that it is so darn weird, unpredictable, challenging, and flat out funny that I just cannot resist being involved.  Real estate is about people and their circumstances in the world.  People suffer when buying and selling something of enormous expense, and often there is some kind of life change that is precipitating the action.  It could be “just an investment,” but if it is, it’s an important one.  It could be a job change, death and estate liquidation, illness, marriage, divorce, children, old age, need to care for someone or need to be cared for.  There are the people one works with for twenty years before the real estate gets straightened out. Better be capable of delayed gratification!  There are the family feuds and neighborhood disputes.  Negotiating those labyrinthine communication minefields is indeed a challenge.  There are the problems an agent has with other agents—oh my.  And through it all is the issue of responsibility and trust. 

World AIDS Day at Anasazi Winery -- Dec. 1, 6-9 pm

To benefit the Zulu Orphan Alliance, a Placitas nonprofit serving children orphaned by HIV/AIDS in South Africa, The Alliance provides shelter, nutrition, safey, medical care, educational opportunities, and acess to counseling and expressive therapies essential to their survival and healing. The Anasazi Winery event will feature wine tastings, food, and a silent auction. A $10 donation is suggested. For more info, call Nancy at 505-867-1382. Visit their website at https://zuluorphans.org.

Building Green

Many Americans are looking more seriously at green construction and/or adding new energy-efficient upgrades while determining value versus cost. Pike Research in Boulder, CO believes that expenditures on energy-efficient home improvements are going to see big growth in 2014. High-efficiency insulation and windows, tankless water heaters, and renewable flooring products are going to be on many buyers' must have lists.

30 Years and Counting!

The Placitas Holiday Arts and Crafts Sale is coming up on Nov. 19-20th. This is the 30th year for the sale -- you read that right -- 30 years!! The juried show will showcase dozens of artisans at 3 venues. Get all your holiday shopping done in one place on one day. Can't beat that. Visit www.placitasholidaysale.com for more information.

Cheap and Easy Makes Us Smart and Happy

John Davis, Harry Guffee, and John Bullock

I can't tell you how much fun it is to have talented musicians playing at the local cafe. And the fact that they are all our neighbors makes it even more entertaining. The third Tuesday of the month, our local band, Cheap and Easy, regales us all from 6 to 8 pm at the Placitas Cafe. There's John Bullock, songwriter and guitarist; Harry Guffee, songwriter and bass guitar; and John Davis, songwriter and dobro. It's the kind of evening where everyone can say, "I'm with the band." But that's Placitas for you!

Gardening is Me

Just got the geraniums indoors moments before the freeze. Now the sunroom is full of geraniums in transition and green tomatoes and the refrigerator is full of zucchini. Various chards and herbs are doing fine. A gorgeous chile ristra is hanging in the kitchen.  Beloved Eva gave it to me!  Love that gal!

Another Fine Home Sold in Placitas

With its Top of the World location in the prestigious Overlook subdivision, 8 Six Range Point has that quintessential Santa Fe style that attracts buyers who appreciate this distinctive architecture. The 360 degree views of the Sandias and the Jemez, along with far away mesas, will never get old. A discerning buyer purchased this fabulous home, but there are still many more properties in this place we love.

Recent Sales In Placitas Reflect Uptick in Closings

154 Windmill Trail  is located off of Camino de las Huertas and sold this month. The  custom built home has 3 bedrooms,3 baths, a greatt room, media room, home office, dining room, and gourmet kitchen with granite counters and island, cherry cabinets, stainless appliances,and walk in pantry. The mountain views from this property will surely bring loads of pleasure to the new owners.

The Rains Came

The rains finally arrived at Guillermo's ranch out in Cabezon country.  Year after year, he would hope for rain, but none came. It may be true what they say...be careful what you wish for. It rained a lot in September, and more in early October. The otherwise arid land suddenly got wet and look what happened.  A field filled with glorious golden sunflowers. Of course, it also meant flooded irrigation ponds and lots of soil erosion that left big holes in the ground, but you can't always get what you want.

Gad Zucchs!

How on earth  does one keep up  with the zucchini? We have it for dinner every single night these days  Sauteed, in ratatouille with eggplants tomatoes and herbs, fried, baked stuffed, zucchini bread, zucchini cake, zucchini with collards, chard and meat in a stir fry. Zucchini soup--yum. The pile of uneaten zucchini is just too big right now; our neighbors have had enough. I guess I'll have to compost it. If that doesn't work then I'll have ten times more zucchini in the garden next year.

Deadly Nightshade (AKA Jimson Weed) Comes to Town

I have never had a Jimson weed sprout up on our property until this year. Ours is of modest size. We have only one plant, but I am watching it closely and enjoying it immensely. The Datura plant, sacred to Native Americans and also called Jimsonweed,  is as breathtakingly sinister as it is beautiful since it can cause hallucinations, blindness and death. It is night blooming, and it is visited at night by the hawkmoth which sticks its long proboscis into the flower to drink the sweet nectar deep inside and in the process pollinate the plant. If I had known that the fat green catepillars I gather from our tomato plants were the precursors to the hawkmoth, and my having Datura in my yard, I might not have been smacking them one for gobbling up my tomatoes over the years. Anyway, I’m on an earnest watch for the hawkmoth these days. Hawkmoth also pollinates Desert Four O’Clocks, clusters of burgundy flowers among dark green leaves, which spring up from a large tuber under the ground, grow quickly and spread rapidly, water or no water. They are really pretty.

Lots of Hot Air Here....In the Balloons, That Is!

Even cows can fly here!

It's Balloon Fiesta time in the greater Albuquerque area and our daytime skies are full of color. There is a phenomenon here called the "box" and that allows the balloons to fly north on one air current and then back to where they started from on the other. Placitas is north of the balloon park, and this weekend we had several balloons decide to land in Placitas. In the meantime, we staged the Luxury Open House Tour in Placitas. It was one gorgeous day. We did see lots of our Placitas friends we had not seen in a while. They love to look at their neghbors house, I guess, or pick up ideas for remodelling their own casa.  Luckily they had long distance friends with them. This is the time when all of Placitas has visitors who choose to come here to see, but not necessarily participate in, the festivities. Maybe they will be so entranced they will decide to buy a house and stay. We hope so!