A practical travelogue and memoir set in the Mesilla Valley, sharing what it takes to make a life (and garden) in Southern New Mexico.
In these pages, a health-seeking ranchwoman recounts her move to a dry, sunny climate near Las Cruces, El Paso, and the evolving Rio Grande region. The book blends personal experience with big changes in irrigation, farming, and rural life, offering a grounded look at how one family learns to grow crops, raise poultry, and cope with floods, heat, and drought.
From riding the Organ Mountains’ shadows to tending roses and sunflowers, the narrator details everyday challenges and small triumphs. Readers meet practical farming advice, candid observations about climate and soil, and the rhythms of life in a valley shaped by water, cattle, and community.
- Personal reflections on adapting to irrigation farming and water management.
- Garden and poultry notes, with practical tips and humor about gardening in a high desert.
- Vivid descriptions of the landscape, climate, and local towns as they change over time.
- Stories from the early days of regional development, including milestones in irrigation projects.
Ideal for readers of memoir, regional history, and nature writing who enjoy a down‑to‑earth perspective on life in the arid American Southwest.