Sailing on Cochiti Lake

Sailing on Cochiti lake this week was wonderful.  We over knighted on our friends big sail boat.  The night skies were beautiful and the morning was cool and calm.  This lake is 30 minutes from our house in Placitas.

Gail McGough-Maduena, Associate Broker

Young Buck Still in Velvet

Thanks to Tom Ashe for these extraordinary photos taken at his house in Ranchos de Placitas -- with his iPhone!  WOW!!

Pepi Strahl, Associate Broker

Air Quality -- Santa Fe, Albuquerque and Placitas

The annual “State of the Air” report published by MSNBC this week on the best and worst places to live in terms of air quality, stated that both Santa Fe and Albuquerque were among the top 25 cleanest U.S.  cities for long-term particle pollution.  In fact, Santa Fe was second best in the nation and Albuquerque placed 17^th.  Since Placitas is in between and a bit higher in elevation than Albuquerque, we don’t get the pollution they get when there is an air inversion.  And according to the American Lung Association, Sandoval County, which includes Placitas got an A rating for air quality.  So I surmise from all this that Placitas is among the top communities in America with excellent air quality, which makes it a terrific place to live.  We who are here already knew that but it’s wonderful to be verified nationally!

Sandy Poling, Associate Broker

You know it is spring when the bees are bringing several different shades of pollen. I tried to get a picture of them coming back to the hive showing their pollen sacks filled but they don't stop and pose for me. I will have to work on that. The colors range from white to almost a chartreuse green and it is a combination of the elm trees, juniper and wild mustard, I am sure there are other things opening too but these are the ones I know. There are lots of fruit trees that will be opening soon and they will be getting the pollen from those too. That old saying "busy as a bee" is really true!

Julie Denison, Associate Broker

Great Skiing in New Mexico Close to Placitas

Wow, what a great winter it has been! Snow in the mountains means great Southwest skiing -warm, mild sunny days, and Rocky Mountain powder. From Placitas, skiing is abundant! Sandia Peak, 30 minutes to the tram and a glorious ride to the top - Santa Fe Ski Basin, just over an hour - Taos and Angel Fire, 2.5 hours. Not to mention Red River, Pajarito and Sipapu ski areas. Here's a great website for additional info: http://www.skinewmexico.com/ .

Load up on sun screen, head to the slopes and no snow to shovel at home!

Jennise Phillips, Associate Broker

La Puerta's First Decade Anniversary Open House

La Puerta was very happy to celebrate our 10 Year Anniversary. And how did La Puerta do it? By reaching out to the community and inviting the whole town! Not quite everyone showed up, but we did have a good time and look forward to 10 more years. Pictured are flowers from a new Placitas resident unable to attend, Sandy Poling with Joe and Lea Blaha, Lucy Noyes with Dave Ewing, and Donna Ewing with Julie Dennison.

Jennise Phillips, Associate Broker

Our Bees In The Winter

The bees seem to be doing well so far this winter and even with a covering of snow, as you can see from this picture, they keep themselves nice and warm. They snuggle up together, all 30,000 or so of them., The ones in the center move to the outer edge and work their way towards the center again, that way everyone stays warm even when it is really cold outside. On days when the sun is out and it is warm enough for them to go out for a bit, they are doing housework and cleaning up the hive by removing dead bees and taking them outside. The bees that have this job are the mortician bees.

Julie Denison, Associate Broker

Beautiful Mornings and Rainbows

It was a beautiful morning,
Clouds filled the sunny sky overhead,
Soft rain came down,
All was peaceful,
The clouds cleared away,
Topped off with a rainbow.

Gail McGough-Maduena, Associate Broker

Bees In Bed for Winter

This will be our first winter with the bees and I am hoping to see their smiling faces next April when we open up the hive to for the first time since the fall. With the major wind storm that was forecasted for Thursday, December 1, I became concerned that the top would fly off and the girls would freeze so I tied it down. It is now covered with 2 inches of snow, a nice blanket I am sure. It is kind of white on white but here is a picture of the hive in the snow. Julie Denison, Associate Broker

Food Truck at La Puerta Real Estate Services, LLC
Oh Yay! Oh Yay! We have a great new addition to the Placitas Food Scene! Kimberley Calvo, a seasoned chef and Placitas resident is parking a food truck in the west La Puerta parking lot offering lunch and dinner Tuesday through Friday and breakfast on Saturdays, though this schedule is not yet set in stone. She's just started this week and welcomes feedback and suggestions. She is very excited about her new venue as are we, here at La Puerta. Her food is fresh and seasonal, tending towards organic as much as possible and definitely healthy and delicious. The menu changes regularly so we won't get bored and she may be posting her menus on her website. She says she'll also have a selection of kids' food so when you're driving starving children home from town, you can stop by and pick up a healthy meal for them without your having to rush to prepare their dinner while they're becoming little grumps. We welcome Kim and her assistant chef Alan to our neighborhood and hope you'll all come out to support this fine new local endeavor.

Sandy Poling, Associate Broker

Double Rainbows and Golden Valleys

Although Hawaii officially claims the title of “The Rainbow State”, our high desert Placitas area furnishes some beautiful rainbow views to rival the loveliest of Hawaii’s rainbows. One recent morning this October, the residents of Placitas were treated to this double rainbow against a sky still filled with darkness from the refreshing nearly-all-night rain it followed. In addition to the vibrancy of this rainbow, the sun coming up over “our” Sandia Mountains also gave a spectacular golden glow to the Rio Grande valley to the west – allowing us all to imagine that our pot of gold was close by. We Placitans must be among the most fortunate people around as far as natural high desert beauty is concerned, and I, for one, am very thankful for this beauty!

Eva Marie Renninger
Office Manager