----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Tom Bri" <[log in to unmask]>
> So, my survey.> Where and in what circumstances do you live in?

I live in S. New Mexico in the Chihuahuan desert next to Mesilla, NM. 
Mesilla is the Spanish word for "little table" - a mesa is a table of land. 
It is about 40 mi. N. of the Mexican border.  We have many different 
elevations here because of the mountains.  The actual microclimate in which 
I live is Mediterranean.  I'm 3 or 4 minutes away from NM State Univ. which 
has a large experimental plant farm a block from my condo.  Scientists come 
here from Israel to study our climate - what grows successfully here - 
because our climate is so similar to theirs.

Our condos were built for the Univ. profs & their spouses so that they could 
come home for lunch.  We still have several very old, retired profs here. 
The condos were built on the property of an old late 1800's Mexican Catholic 
nunnery; the adobe nunnery itself is next door; we live in their garden/tree 
park.  When this area joined the U.S. the nuns began to starve, took to 
begging and eventually went back to Mexico in the early 1900s.  Our small 
area is an oasis in the desert; the nuns had a gardener who planted dozens 
of fruit trees and a few nut trees so we are a haven for wildlife that hunts 
in the desert & spends the nights with us.  Recent housing development has 
forced many creatures into a smaller & smaller area.  Prior to the convent, 
Don Juan de Ornate rode through here on "The King's Road"  from Mexico w/ 
hundreds of cattle/horses/people/carts; the cart tracks remain all the way 
North to near Santa Fe and are one of the U.S.A.'s most endangered 
historical places.  Prior to the Spanish 500 yrs. ago, this entire region 
was part of Apacheria; it is hard to imagine what the Apache must have 
thought when the Spanish arrived - with cattle, sheep and horses!  The 
people in the mountains were known as Mimbres & on the plain were known as 
Mogollan (hope I don't have that backwards).  I have many arrowheads, 
pottery shards, etc. collected by old (now deceased) local people and one 
day my estate will give the little collection to a friend who is a wildlife 
photographer (Frank Parrish) who is starting a museum here.  The area was 
once home to major mega fauna such as saber tooth tigers, lions, camels, 
cave bears, huge bulls, etc.  Prior to this area being Apacheria it was a 
great oak forest; the Rio Grande was moved (with human help) from its orig. 
location about 4 blocks East of my condo to it's present location West of 
me.  Prior to the oak forests this was the home of many massive dinosaurs, 
whose footprints are still visible in the surrounding mountains a couple 
miles from me.  Prior to the dinosaurs this was a huge inland sea.  Old 
timers tell of walking out into the desert & finding shark teeth.

Political statement:  one problem w/ constructing a fence along the border 
w/ Mexico is that not only would it (possibly) keep out illegal human 
immigration but it would also stop the animals that have crossed freely from 
Mexico to the U.S. and back in their seasonal and territorial migrations. 
Wolves, coyotes, lions even jaguars are going back and forth now.  People 
here are divided on whether they want the state of NM to include some of its 
earlier inhabitants.

>
> What foods grow near you that you eat?

There is a lot of farming in the Mesilla valley & a huge battle wages on 
between the farmers who use a lot of water and the developers who want to 
turn this into the next Phoenix or Tuscon.  The area is known for chilli 
peppers, cotton and pecans.  We had the most pecans last year in the U.S. 
and we were 2nd to Australia.  We have a good co-op and a year round farmers 
market where I can always buy fresh, organic local foods:  fruit & veg. 
Pure meat is easy to get too but not available in the stores - we need to 
buy it from a natural pet food store where they get fresh meat from a 
butcher in the mountains near the Gila forest who buys grass fed range cows 
that do not get pregnant the 2nd year running.  All cuts at dog food prices.

I grow my own herbs & tomatoes.  The "park" of the orig. convent is about 
50' from my front door.  It has tall fruit trees that are ancient & produce 
small abundant apricots, plums.  This week I made apricot chutney & wild 
plum chutney.  My neighbors grow pecans, peaches, pears, plums so I keep 
receiving gifts of fruit.  Also, the condo assoc. has mature pecan trees & 
we harvest in January.  Each unit gets a delivery of about 15-20 lbs. of 
pecans annually.

I eat wild agave nectar as a sweetener; it comes from Mexico.  Doesn't raise 
the blood sugar.  I'm getting more interested in what the Apache women did 
w/ local plants.  Interesting study.
>
> What animals?

We are an oasis in the desert:  lots of mature oak trees arching over the 
road & forming a tunnel.  We have large numbers of white wing doves, huge 
vultures w/ 6' wingspans (they spread their wings in the tree tops in the 
morning to sun themselves so they don't get sick from fungus or something), 
many humming birds - some stay here all summer - but a huge number migrate 
north through here & then back south in the fall; we all feed them & grow 
plants they love - we do our part to keep them fed on their long journey! 
Monarch butterflys migrate through here also as well as snow geese and many, 
many other birds.  I see eagles & other birds of prey from my backyard.  A 
great horned owl lived on my porch roof but left and was replaced by a 
desert grey fox who runs around on my roof & jumps onto the porch at dusk. 
We have bats and some insects due to the irrigation canal next to the condo. 
I live a block from the University horse center where they raise quarter 
horses.  We occassionally get javalina (wild pigs).  Lots of coyotes of 
course, very few bobcats.  Too many desert skunks.  Tons and tons of 
lizards, toads, tortoise (I rescued one from the highway last week), skinks, 
snakes (further out in the desert - not by my condo), even a large 
California salamander who lives in my backyard.  Further out on the desert 
are wonderful quail and more road runners than I have in my yard - I see 
them once in a while also lions.  Raccoons come nightly.

I went to the last NM wild horse roundup a few years ago; got some good 
photos.  Horses stunted from lack of food/water; yearlings looked like 
weanings.  The cowboys told me that w/in three weeks of their capture and 
having been touched for the first time by a human hand, little children can 
ride the horses....the horses are so grateful to have regular food & water. 
They "choose" to be domesticated as per Stephen Budiansky.  I was able to 
get an old stallion that had never been touched to walk up to me and blow a 
greeting in my face after only about 5 minutes; quite a thrill.

I live a few miles from Oryx (from Africa), prong horn antelope, bears, 
deer, elk, etc.  Whenever water gets scarce, these animals come down out of 
the mts. into the desert.  I saw a big bear last yr. on a small 2 lane road 
coming out the mts.  I sat next to a few of Ted Turner's cowboys at lunch 
who said that the bear was looking for food & water because the mts. were 
dry.

I do feed the birds some seed but mostly I provided a herbicide, pesticide 
free environment filled with Mexican plants that thrive here & provide 
natural food & shelter.  I put out terra cotta trays in the yard & fill them 
w/ water daily; it's wonderful to see all the creatures that stop to drink.

It will be incredibly sad to see what happens to the flora & fauna as 
developers have siezed this area and are committed to stripping the land & 
getting as many people fitted onto it as they possibly can.  And then there 
is the possiblity of a wall closing Mexico off...

Kath in NM