Archive for the 'Agriculture' Category
Monday, February 1st, 2010
Picacho Peak
Picacho Peak, 4959 feet, about 7 miles from Las Cruces. (Click for a larger image.)
The old village of Picacho is located southeast of the peak, at the edge of the Mesilla Valley. Picacho was a stage stop on the Butterfield Overland Stage Line, the first stop after Mesilla. From Picacho, the stage climbed the mesa and went around the north side of Picacho Peak through Box Canyon. This lead to a very difficult route through several mountain ranges, but was the only route on which water could be supplied at the stage stops, which were located about an hour of travel time apart.
From Mesilla the stage stops to the Arizona border were: Picacho, Rough and Ready, Goodsight, Cooke’s Springs, Mimbres, Cow Springs, Soldiers’s Farewell, Barney’s, Steins Peak.
The Butterfield Stage began operation on September 15, 1858, with stages leaving San Francisco and St. Louis, the two ends of the line, on that day. Mesilla was located about the middle of the route.
The Butterfield Stage was put out of operation by the start of the Civil War.
See also:
Stage Coach from Mesilla - Unfulfilled Promise
Mesilla Stage Coach - More
Tags: History, Mesilla, Stage Coach
Wednesday, September 30th, 2009
This Year’s Chiles
Are ready and are being picked.
Many say the best chiles in the world come from Hatch.
Don’t believe it. The best chiles come from Mesilla.
Tags: Chiles, Chile Rellenos, Peppers
Wednesday, October 1st, 2008
Reflections in a Pecan Wood
Research has indicated the best way to irrigate pecan trees is flood irrigation. This may appear to be an inefficient use of water, but this method leads to deep irrigation that encourages the tree roots to grow deeply. The water available to the deep roots reduces the need for surface irrigation.
In Doña Ana County we have over 18,000 acres of pecan orchards. So this time of the year the back roads of the Mesilla Valley stretch through thousands of pecan fields being irrigated.
The symmetrical planting of the trees creates endlessly fascinating views. But when you add the spectacular effects of sunlight glistening through the leaves and branches, and the reflections in the waters below, you have some of most remarkable visual delights ever seen.
These photos were taken today of a pecan field being flood irrigated. Click on each image for a larger view. It’s almost impossible to determine where reality ends and reflection begins.
Other pecan posts:
Pecans — The Cadillac of Nuts
18,000+ Acres
Pecan Harvesting
Pecan Pruning
Tags: Flood Irrigation, Pecans
Monday, September 29th, 2008
Man Killed by Chilli
“An aspiring chef died after eating a super-hot chilli sauce as part of an endurance competition with a friend.”
“Andrew Lee, 33, challenged his girlfriend’s brother to a contest to see who could eat the spiciest sauce that he could create.”
“The fork-lift truck driver, who wanted to cook for a living, prepared a tomato sauce made with red chillies grown on his father’s allotment. After eating it, however, he suffered intense discomfort and itching. The following morning he was found dead, possibly after suffering a heart attack.”
“He apparently got into bed at 2.30am and started scratching all over. His girlfriend scratched his back until he fell asleep. She woke up and he had gone. It is incredible. Who would have thought he could have died from eating chilli sauce? We don’t know of anything else that could have caused his death. The postmortem showed no heart problems.”
Source: The Times Online, September 29, 2008
Sunday, September 28th, 2008
Chiles Being Picked
The chiles are being picked now, which is done by hand for most varieties. These photos were taken while other parts of the field were being harvested.
Tags: Chiles, Chile Rellenos, Peppers
Tuesday, February 27th, 2007
Mount Bhut Jolokia
Just as soon as Bhut Jolokia is identified as the hottest chile in the world, someone steps forth to conquer it.
Guwahati, India - A woman from India’s north eastern state of Assam is hoping to set a world record by eating a maximum amount of chilies in the least time. If successful, Anandita Dutta Tamuly will also be the world’s first person to eat a massive quantity of the world’s hottest peppers.
Tamuly is extremely confident of besting the pepper, because she’s an experienced summiter already.
“I have created history on Indian television by munching 60 of the chilies in two minutes. I am more than confident of creating a record once I reach London.”“I have been eating Bhut Jolokia since my childhood and never felt the hotness in my mouth. I can even break the chilli and splash it on my eyes. I tried this on TV and had no problems whatsoever.”
The Assam government will pay for her trip to set the record. The previous world record appears to be 8 jalapenos in a minute, a pretty small bump compared to 60 Bhut Jolokias and a little Bhut Jolokia eyewash.
One consequence of the chile’s new fame is its price is climbing.
“We never thought Bhut Jolokia was so hot until news came in that this is the world’s hottest chilli. Now we have hiked the prices by Rs.50 a kg and people are buying it like hot cakes,” said Nalini Ram Thakuria, a vegetable vendor in Guwahati.
Note: In New Mexico, it’s spelled “chile,” not “chili.”
Tags: Chile, Chili, Bhut Jolokia, Anandita Dutta Tamuly
