Deb Fearon

I don't keep bees as I never know what the growing season will be like from year to year, but wild bees have been around. Not as many as years past but they do come around. A lot of tarantula hornets.
I've seen a lot less birds this year than usual, there was a strange die-off last fall.
i have a strange abundance of lizards and orb weavers. my greenhouse is so full of webs, i have to carve a path through, sometimes ducking under them.
I feel we've passed the place of normal and what's happened historically and in a new reality where it's vastly different from what we've become used to.

Central New Mexico here, I live atop a historically strong underground aquifer. local agriculture is pivot irrigation, sprinklers and the county sells our water to a golf course in Santa Fe county. Multiple wells have dried up the past couple of years, a neighbor has drilled two new wells in the last 3 years. Hemp farms have started up and closed within a single season because of the lack of water. Thinking of, conserving, planning and catching water has consumed my entire Summer.
I care for two horses that drink a whole lot but I'm determined to make this work. I have a shallow well and it's been good to me, though I only use it to fill the horse trough and the occasional outdoor shower.
I was gifted two 1250 gallon tanks last Spring and I added those to the other 4 tanks I've accumulated over the past 12 years. I'm retired and working with very little money, other wise I'd have installed a kick butt storage system by now. Guess I kind of like the challenge.
I use dish pans to wash dishes and dump them on tree roots. I keep a pan in the shower to catch as much of that water as i can. I only use a composting toilet , it freaks me out all the older women like myself that haul water to flush their toilets cause "outhouses are uncivilized".
This year I've added plastic totes, those small ones to store your Christmas decorations in, all around my round roofs or any place that I haven't gotten gutters up, yet. I even use them under gutter leaks and any place I see drip marks after a rain. my yard looks crazy but I collect enough water to care for a decent size garden and my budding cannabis business.
I hand carry every drop the plants receive so it makes for an intimate relationship and conservation. I'm developing a drought tolerant strain of cannabis and will be encouraging personal growers to do the same.
I live alone so I don't shower much and I can make a pair of jeans last days, haha, a big difference from my youth.
My aged well pump is acting funny and my son and I are watching videos to pull it ourselves. It maybe the well but if it's just the pump, Ill be thrilled. We've set up a system so that water from one cistern is pumped into the house with a small transfer pump and pressure tank so the horses are now my only concern. I'm dreaming ( this is a weird yet powerful way for me to make things happen) of a 40 x 40 foot roof over the existing horse shelter and the biggest tank I can manifest to water the horses from.
I plant only drought tolerant trees and feel the trees are super important to the ecosystem, though my neighbors are cutting their's down as they think the trees are drinking all of their well water. everyone in the neighborhood is on a different page regarding their water use. I went ahead this Spring and planted a bunch of annual flowers, it seemed silly at the time but the bees, birds and moths are happy. I mulch everything as deep as i can to keep the ground from becoming sun baked. paths are raised so water runs off into surrounding plants. I've added fences/windbreaks and things tend to grow better up against the fence and the ground stays moister there.
In a sick way I think about the aquifer drying up and mostly everyone moving away. I can then catch water off of their roofs and let my horses roam and graze. they drink a lot less water when they are able to eat fresh grass. it's a dark dream but also entertaining.

I'm on the high prairie of New Mexico and I'm having a very similar experience to yours. It's heartbreaking to watch all of my trees, roses and shrubs get defoliated. I'll admit to avoiding my yard altogether,hiding in the house and having episodes of depression. I've applied over 35 pounds of nolobait with little results.
I had an episode of grasshoppers about 6 years back where I lost all of the tree leaves and perennials . After the rains and the next Spring some of the plants came back. I call them my survivors and honored their strength and resilience. I was inspired to build indoor growing rooms and fashioned screened in spaces for the smaller trees. This year I'm very grateful for my indoor growing rooms as I still have hope for food production and a place to gaze upon flowers. I've fashioned sitting areas, though cramped, I enjoy my coffee out there and sing little songs to the plants that are growing this year.
I'm afraid I haven't any other solutions to the grasshopper problem. I can only offer emotion support and the vision that this maybe a time of stripping away of everything. Mother nature has great wisdom and though she's terribly out of balance, she is working her magic to bring us back to a new state of creating. I've had to settle great sadness within myself and I'm moving into resolve and discovering my own resilience. these are crazy times to be sure and the lessons are fast and furious.
I held a small ceremony for all the lost plant lives and the leaves of the stronger plants. It's helped emotionally and I trust Mother Nature will present hope and new beginnings.
If I wasn't so squeamish, I'd make a nice organic grasshopper flour, I hear it's very high in protein.

Abiquiu is approx 95 miles away. I've been interested in papercrete construction for some time and would love to talk to you about it! Let me know when your passing through and I'll make a place for you. would love to have you come visit. the landscape in Abiquiu is vastly different than my place but breathtakingly beautiful. good luck in your endeavor!

Hello Andrew, I currently have 5 acres in New Mexico that I need help and inspiration with. My son and I have started many projects with a permaculture ideology. We've been building with recycled materials, planting trees and perennials, collecting rain water, and building earth works around the property. I'd love to have some assistance and have about an acre available to build more living structures and plant more food. I'm pretty laid back and would love to let someone else develop some projects and run with them. I'm self taught with some local classes in building with mud, carpentry, straw bale and gardening in the southwest. I currently have one indoor growing room and plans to build another in order to produce some edibles all years round. I love to cook and have started a large outdoor community kitchen. I dream of having a magical place for spiritual growth, partying, community and retreat. the night skies here are awesome and the quiet restorative.

just throwing this out there....I own 5 acres in the high prairie in central New Mexico and would love some help/company/inspiration and muscle. I'd love to find someone that wants to park their tiny home or RV on the property while we build another living structure. lots of crazy ideas but overwhelmed with the work load and loneliness. There's currently a large rebuilt home, composting outhouse, 3 acre horse pasture, indoor and outdoor gardening area, rain water collection, place for chickens, and a baby food forest that may or may not have survived last year's grasshopper attack.
the property is 50 miles from Albuquerque and 75 miles from Santa Fe. It's in a very poor county, meaning land is cheap and taxes are low. there aren't really any decent jobs nearby so you'd need your own income stream to feed your self and such. this may be a good opportunity for someone that wants to get their permaculture feet wet without the commitment of land ownership.
there is a working well on the property, electricity(though I'm striving to be off grid), wireless internet, and homemade solar hot water heaters. I'm a single woman, 58 with a strong back and good health. My son owns half the property but works in Albuquerque and stays in town. He does come out regularly to build, create,and enjoy the sunsets.
you can see photos of the work we're doing on the Facebook, my user name is Deb Diz Fearon, the photo album is Broken Shovel Ranch. those photos are available to the permies.
Let's discuss the possibilities.

I live on the high prairie of central New Mexico. the pesky grasshoppers have appeared early and in devastatingly large numbers. this is the worse I've ever seen it.
In past years I've used ducks, turkeys and guinea fowl to help keep the numbers down. I can't find any guineas or turkeys that are old enough to turn loose. the hawks keep a close eye out.
My orchard has been defoliated, the entire vegetable garden is gone and now they are munching on the weeds.
we've tried the shop vac in the evening, it gets a lot but man o man there's millions.
I tried a solution of diatomaceous earth, molasses and water, spraying it on the plants. It didn't seem to make any difference.
Any new ideas?
Help?

My son and I bought 5 acres on the high prairie in Central New Mexico. We rebuilt the burnt out house and have planted lots of trees. We sit over a huge aquifer that's quickly becoming depleted with pivot irrigation of alfalfa. I've been able to set up a few large cisterns to collect rain water. Rocks have been collected from the side of the road and used to build one rock dams and berms. It's slow and steady work but I've witnessed great changes, wild flowers, hardy grasses coming back and more shade than when we purchased the land.
my advice, use what you have, start at the top of the hill and don't ask, just do it.