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Xeriscape Poetry

© Max Dalrymple

The elections have come and not gone. Locally we had some good news. Nationally we need to change our election policies so the brother of one candidate can't order sheriff's deputies to make ballot boxes disappear in one state and hold the country's presidency hostage. Yeah, I'm a New Mexican now and I voted with my district and my state. My candidate won this election, but it looks like history will record he didn't get the office this time. As you know, Xeriscaping(TM) programs are governmentally approved where they exist. It's a good thing wealthy white Florida election officials don't decide 2% of what New Mexicans plant, like they're doing with the national vote. Yeah, if this country's going to improve we're going to have to go back to the one person one vote concept. Nationally. Speaking of history, this election fits the trend, although history books written by a former Secretary of State don't highlight that point. The good thing is that the corruption is obvious and will perhaps be fought more successfully because of it.

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I think it is also good that even with this thirty year drought Tucumcari NM still gets close to normal rainfall, even if our monsoon comes a couple of months later. Those of us willing to invest in rainwater collection systems will probably do fairly well. At least this year.

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My house is slightly closer to becoming a reality so I've been concentrating on design plans this month. I've mentioned some poetry in earlier columns and had forgotten I switched the poetry issue with something more topical last spring. For those of you who missed the "snake" poem, it and some other frivolity is printed THIS month.

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I found Gingko biloba (which grows just about every where) seeds at Thompson & Morgan and they're featuring a very pretty Rudbeckia in the 2001 seed catalogue. You'll find them at http://www.thompson-morgan.com/. If you buy the seeds READ THE COMPLETE instructions first. The fourth paragraph of the Ginkgo seeds tells you to cold stratify them for four weeks, which is a little difficult to do if you've done what I did and already planted them by the time you read the fourth paragraph! A lot of people had good luck with Gingkos in California, but the seed packets indicate you should use gloves when handling the seeds. This changes my recommendation on ginkgo for homes, and I can see why Albuquerque doesn't list this tree as recommended. You may want to consider Gingko, however, in places where there is a lot of air pollution or where people - especially children - are unlikely to handle the seeds.

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