The Agave

This agave or commonly called century plant is blooming on my street. There are two of them blooming right now and they are spectacular with the spike rising 30' above the plant. It takes all the plants energy to produce this once in a life time bloom and then it dies. Does the plant really live to be 100 years old before it blooms? I'm afraid not, they are usually in the 10 year old range, but it may happen at anytime. Even though the host plant dies the agave is self spreading and usually has many smaller plants continuing to fill the landscaped space.
~Jennise Phillips, Associate Broker

Placitas Appreciation Day

Saturday, June 5th was one of the hottest days on record for June. We reached 100 degrees! It was also Placitas Appreciation Days which was held at The Merc. This is the fourth time I have attended it and it is always so much fun! Teresa (our Transaction Coordinator) and I served up over 200 snow cones. Jim Maduena and Ken Koch helped us most of the day. It was great serving up icey treats on such a hot day! Lauren Herman, Gail McGough-Maduena, Julie Denison, Lynn Koch and Jaime Coulter also helped. Teresa's husband, Loren Morrison, my husband, Vince Leonard, and Jack Hostetler grilled over 400 hamburgers and 200 hot dogs. The Merc supplies the meat, buns and all the toppings each year. There were a lot of people who had booths and there was wonderful music at Blades Bistro. What a fabulous day thanks to everyone who attended and to Tom Ashe who always makes this happen every year!
~Rhonda Leonard, Qualifying Broker

Yellow Flowers

The frequent spring rains have produced an abundance of yellow flowers. They are in very large patches on fields and hillsides. These little ones make the yellow masses we see all over right now.
~Gail McGough-Maduena, GRI, Associate Broker

Mother Nature

Everyday when I walk out of my office in Placitas I experience another beautiful scene. Brought to me by Mother Nature.
I love living here in Placitas, in the Land Of Enchantment.
~Gail McGough Maduena, GRI, Associate Broker

Hey! Who's the new guy hanging around in the tree next to my outdoor shower? It's the first time I have seen a roadrunner in our meadow. EE Gads A Peeping Roadrunner!It's time to close down the shower for the coming winter anyway. I wonder where the roadrunner will go for the winter?
~Gail McGough Maduena, Associate Broker, GRI

Welcome Guests!

Sometimes while at dinner time in Placitas we have some uninvited but always welcome guests. These wild horses came to join us the other night to munch on the weeds and grass at my daughter's home. It was fun to enjoy our meal while they enjoyed theirs!
~Julie Denison, CRS, EcoBroker, Associate Broker

Spring has finally Sprung!

Wow, Spring has finally REALLY sprung! The hills by my house are carpeted in yellow flowers. The purple and white flowers and the Indian paintbrush make a beautiful accent to the predominance of the yellows. I don’t know the names of all of the wildflowers, but I’m sure Lucy does. I’ll have to ask her. It’s so fragrant it’s hard to believe we’re in the desert. Of course, east of the S curves, it’s really the mountain foothills eco-system and not the high desert and that higher elevation is definitely more colorful. Another wonder is that Las Huertas Creek is running vigorously and that is VERY good. We got such a good snowpack this year. I hope the creek runs for awhile. It’s good for the wild ones. So even though the winds are howling, at least the sky is blue, our world is fragrant with the scent of fresh flowers, the creek is running and the wild horses are thriving. Life is Good in Placitas!
~Sandy Poling, Associate Broker, e-PRO,