Well, I grew up on a farm so had all the experiences of helping out around the farm as a kid. We still live near my parents and I have a very hard time living in town. When my husband was in the military (16 years ago), I looked at the map before we even moved near the base. I looked for the most rural small towns I could find that were close enough to the base and that is where we rented! I still was so homesick for the country though! Of course, it didn't help that we movd all the way across the country and I didn't see my family much for 3 years! We have 20 acres now and love it. We just moved here not long ago, so I don't even have chicks yet. I had them where we lived before but when they got old they went to my folks to 'live out' their days scratching in the dirt, as I knew we were moving and I couldn't take my coop. Husband is building me one this Spring so I can get more. We have 2 dogs, 5 cats and 1 very old horse at the moment. We hope to get some piglets to raise over the summer for meat. I guess you could say farming is in my blood, although with 20 acres we would probably be considered hobby farmers now. But I do have a life long background in farming. Karen

I remember seeing a documentary on hay harvesting and the original use for that piece of equipment was in the paper industry. They use it to move large rolls of paper about-then it was used in the flooring industry to move rolls of carpet and linoleum around. Each used some modified version of it. As a boy I remember setting on the international harvester baler and tying the twine as the bail was compressed. Those were the fun times that later grew in to dreaded have to do work in my later years.

When I have used "almost compost" I get more squirrels and critters poking around in the beds searching out the kitchen scraps I bet. I don't mind that as much around shrubs and such, but around my flowers and SFG veggies I don't like the critters digging. This spring I "stole" yard waste bags from my neighbor who had raked up the "thatch"/dead grass from his lawns - he uses Milorganite as lawn fertilizer/no pesticides - and I used 1-2 inches around my SFG veggies and it seems to be working nicely as a mulch. Also used some bagged fall leaves - sucked them up with leaf vacuum out of the bags and it made a nice mulch.

You might inquire at Mountain View Market 1300 El Paseo, phone 523-0436. They are an organic grocery, so someone there might be able to suggest where you can get organic hay/soil. Also, I would bet that Sierra Vista Nursery on NM Highway 28 in La Union near the Texas border, could also help,874-2415. Good luck. Anyone who won't shop at Wal*Mart gets my admiration and assistance every time. We need more newcomers like you. Welcome!