The Spider Web Maker

Look closely; you will see one of the Orb Spiders that make beautiful and huge orb-shaped spider webs at the corners of my portal.  This guy is about as big as a nickel. It will run away the moment it senses your presence. These webs are a site to behold when the early morning dew is sparkling on them.

Gail McGough-Maduena, Associate Broker

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

Placitas Real Estate Statistics/Placitas in the Spring

Wow, it’s the end of February already. Time is flying and we’re really busy here at La Puerta. Today there are 21 homes and 3 pieces of land that are under contract in Placitas and there are 6 homes and 3 pieces of land that have closed since January 1st. As usual, La Puerta is involved in almost all of the transactions. Our brokers were responsible for 4 sides (either representing the buyer or seller) in the 6 homes sold, 5 sides in the 3 pieces of land sold, 10 sides of the 21 homes in pending and 1 side in the 3 pieces of land in pending. That is significant considering we have only 12 agents in our office! Not bad for a slow market! Spring has sprung. The Junipers are giving us sneezing fits, but Life is Good in Placitas.

Sandy Poling

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

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

Necessity Is The Mother Of Invention

Here I am in Anasazi Meadows (I'm on the left), standing with Diane Schuler, my customer from Wisconsin. Diane's husband, Craig, is a professional photographer, and he shot the photo of me and Diane holding some PVC from Home Depot, which we connected and used to determine where a 17-foot high house might be built on the lot next to the one they are buying. It worked! Necessity IS the mother of invention!

Pepi Strahl
Associate Broker

IT’S BALLOON FIESTA TIME AGAIN!

It’s a lovely time of the year in New Mexico – cool mornings and nights, beautiful sunny days and best of all we enjoy seeing hot air balloons flying around us on a daily basis for a couple of weeks in October. When I opened my living room blind, what did I see but a hot air balloon just below my property. When you see these hot air balloons, you just feel happy! Lynn Koch, CRS

Flea Market to Benefit Casa Rosa

La Puerta Real Estate sponsored a flea market on Saturday, 2/27 to benefit our local food bank, Casa Rosa. We are proud to say that we raised $1,000 for Casa Rosa. They needed to have some electrical work done on their building and Charlotte Lough, director of Casa Rosa, indicated that this money will go a long way towards accomplishing that. Thanks to everyone who participated in this very worthwhile event and thanks to the Placitas community for coming out in droves to buy. Not only did we make money for a worthwhile cause, but we ended up recycling stuff that might have ended up in our landfill. Giving back – it’s a good thing!
~Lynn Koch, CRS, CDPE, Associate Broker & Co-Owner

Placitas Winter Play Ground

As a Southern California girl, born and raised, I love our winters here! Just enough snow to have fun with but not enough to have on the ground all the time and become a real pain like in other parts of the country.. There are usually 2 or 3 days each winter when we have enough snow so that I can go snow shoeing right out my front door. Yesterday was one of those days and my dog Annie and I had lots of fun out in the snow while it was still falling and looking really magical. It is always so quiet when it snows and even the birds are hiding. It is such fun to be able to just go out the front door and not get into the car to drive miles in traffic just to be able to enjoy the winter. We are very lucky to be here!
~Julie Denison, CRS, EcoBroker, Associate Broker

Wonderful sunshine streaming through my bathroom windows at home allowing my geranium plant to continue flowering adding cheer during these cold and sometimes dreary days of winter. This is the joy of living in Placitas--- because even if it's cold, the sun still shines most of the time.
~Lynn Koch, CRS, CDPE
Associate Broker

Lions and Tigers and Bears Oh My!

Placitas is a truly a special place bordering the National Forest with over 30,000 acres of wilderness. There are endless opportunities for hiking, biking or horse back riding within our lovely community. But it is wilderness! And we do have an abundant and healthy population of wildlife. This Bobcat was found taking a “cat nap” on a homeowner’s porch until it heard the click of the camera!
~Mindy Prokos, Associate Broker, ABR

Greetings of the Season!

Greetings of the Season! Paper whites blooming on our dining room table, holiday lights magically transform our cactus into a holiday tree. Tis the season for the spirit of Giving, reminding all of us of family and friends, good times, good memories.... Wishing all Peace and Prosperity for the New Year!
~Mindy Prokos, Associate Broker, ABR

Anonymous Quote: Reputation is for Time – Character is for Eternity

Nandina and Pyricantha

Right when you think there is no more fall color and we're headed for winter, the beautiful Nandina and Pyricantha are really showing off their bright orange and red berries. I don't know if the birds eat them or not, but I'm sure it is very tempting for them with all that saturated color. So tempting if fact I think I'll bring some in for my table decoration.
~Jennise Phillips, Associate Broker

Take Time to Relax

I hope everyone is taking some time out of their busy schedules to relax and perhaps read a good book. I spent last Thursday when it snowed doing just that. I took the day off and sat by a cozy fire and read for a couple of hours. It really helped my energy level the next day.
~Lauren Herman, CRS, GRI, e-PRO, Associate Broker

My Feeder!

As fall arrives, the creatures that I feed seem to come around a little more often and are just a little more aggressive towards each other. This chipmunk (at least I think it’s the same one) and the cute little cottontail (at least I think IT’S the same one) come daily to the feeders in our backyard. As I was looking out the window, I ran for my camera, and this is the sequence I caught.

Just a couple more of the wonderful reasons that I love living in Placitas!
~Eva Marie Renninger, Transaction Coordinator

Friends of La Puerta at Placias Library Hoedown

~Photos by Lucy Noyes, Associate Broker

Bees on Russian Sage

What a beautiful morning it is in Placitas. I’m looking outside my window and watching the bees working away at the Russian Sage. Every day they go to work gathering up pollen. There must be 20 to 30 of them in the bush outside my office window. Once in awhile a bird or two will land on a branch and sing. It doesn’t bother the bees at all. They just continue to press on with their purpose in life.

~Rhonda Leonard, Qualifying Broker

La Sombra

La Sombra. Shade, hammock, mountain--just waiting to be enjoyed on a lazy summer day in Placitas.

Lucy Noyes, CRS, CRB, Associate Broker

A Spring Bath in Placitas

I’m sitting here in our living room, looking at the waterfalls, stream and fishpond in our “backyard”. The roses are beginning to bloom and the cattails and pussy-willow tree are greening up, trying to match the rich colors of the junipers and cedars. Suddenly, a robin swoops down and perches on a piece of reed lodged near the lower waterfall. He looks around and (at least in my imagination) realizes there are no predators around. (He’s oblivious to the gawking, though harmless, voyeur - me - watching his every move in awe.) He begins to preen (Picture 1), deciding that water slowly moving in a cool-looking stream is terribly inviting. He begins to splash the water all over his golden-orange breast and body (Pictures 2-3), until he’s again the ambassador bird (Picture 4), ready to roam, spreading charm throughout. I’m reminded that one should take the time to “smell the roses” and enjoy the wondrous thrill of a miraculous creature taking a solitary bath – another of the many splendors of our beautiful Placitas!

Eva Marie Renninger, Transaction Coordinator