Thelma and Louise are here....

No pictures yet, but our two turkeys arrived yesterday. They are out in the big pasture with the new geese-- Squanto and Mr. Joshua. Of course they arrived during the biggest snow dump of the year, so they haven't actually SEEN their new yard yet. They couldn't even see their new coop, so I was out with my visiting brother and a flashlight at 9pm catching skittish turkeys and depositing them into their new home. It was a good decision, as the snow was at about 4 inches this morning.

If you were waiting for some fresh powder to ski, now is the time. Not too cold and nice fluffy new snow.

Pictures of the new girls coming soon....

New pictures from the Cottonwood Inn

Here is a picture of the Cottonwood from the Arroyo Seco River, which runs through the end of the new property.
Mr. Joshua and Squanto in front pond.

Picture of new barn as viewed looking east. This was taken about 3 days ago. The windows and doors are now largely in, and it is now a menacing black block of tar paper. Yes, the barn is build from 2X12s.... Locals are calling it the Taj Mahal.
Okay, we just had our first big snow of the year here, about 6-8 inches at the base and 12 up top on the mountain. It looks pretty cloudy this morning, and the forecast is for a bit more snow today. What are you waiting for? Come ski Taos!!
The snow was a first for a lot of the new critters who were all born last spring. Schmoo, Sparky, Snarky, Sid, Nancy, Squanto and Mr. Joshua were all a bit surprised about the situation. All of them seemed to like it, and the dogs managed to find plenty of snow AND dirt. They are only rarely white these days. Here are some pictures of December 12, 2010 at the Cottonwood.

The above is a picture of the neighbor's horse and Sparky. Sparky is in love with these horses, and they seem to enjoy the dogs, too. The picture below is the mighty Arroyo Seco River. I know people from other parts of the country will laugh at our river, but it's the only one we have....

New chickens and a new barn!

Yes, I've finally managed to weasel some new birds!! These ladies came to me from a local who didn't want to deal with her chickens anymore and offered them to me. Of course I jumped for joy. Yes, they've all been named-- 2 Wyandottes-- Amelia and Wilhelmina, 2 Rhode Island Reds-- Charlotte and Emily, 2 Buff Orpingtons-- Fancy and Henrietta, and one Americauna-- Venetia. They are still very timid and don't approach me or the other hens too closely, so we firmed up the goose house (added a roost or two, a few nesting boxes and cleaned out the goosy-ness and that is where they are currently hanging out.
The geese have moved over to the large pasture with the puppies (now at 6 and 1/2 months). Tonight at 6 pm they were all resting peacefully around the shores of Largo Gallina (yes, the name for our new pond, located at the shore of Mount Gallina. Cool, huh??) Anyhow, Brantly and I went to pick up the new hens yesterday after sunset, thinking we would be able to hijack sleeping chickens. We did not know about the chicken coop they occupied.... Their set up was like a jungle-coop, and we had to unscrew portions of the coop and crawl through pallets to get these girls. These ladies may have been asleep when we got there, but they were awake and yelling by the time we put them into the pet carrier.
The barn is now in phase 3 (out of 4) and the second floor is finally going up. With a light snow this morning we were wondering if the second floor might have to wait until next week.... However, the weather warmed up a bit and the workers were able to frame up the rest of the job. Now we just wait for the roofing and hope we can beat the snows.
We started some very late winter grass on and around the new pasture. We're hoping to force out the thistles, rather than chemically kill them. We've spoken to several local (and Oregon-based) organic farmers, and have decided this is the best, if maybe slower, method of weed control. Not only that, but the geese have been going after the roots of anything that grows over there, so they will probably take care of some of the weed problem.

The barn is here! The barn is here!

The long-awaited barn is finally taking shape. Not only that, but we've also begun the 2nd pond, for the ungrateful Cottonwood Inn Geese, Sid, Nancy, & Snarky. Those of you who've been here this year have met the rude brood. These rescue geese are not meek and mild, they have no trouble demanding what they want-- and what they want (as I perceive things) is a larger area to roam, a bigger pond, and a barn. Who are we to deny the geese?

The puppies have already been enjoying most of every day over in the new pasture. They like to run through the pond (or Lake Gallina as we have decided to name this august body of water) and up the dirt mound left by the excavation of the pond (or Mount Gallina, as we are now calling it-- notice a trend here?) Of course they are no longer white dogs, but chocolate-coated mud hounds.

Pictures to come shortly for the new Southwestern room, and for the barn, and for the critters, who are now geometrically larger than the last photos we posted.

Cold and crisp!

Yep, winter is here. We've begun construction on the new barn, and are shortly moving the two puppies (now approaching 70 lbs each at around 5.5 months) and 3 geese into the pasture. It's been a long haul, fencing around 2 acres with wire that is buried 8 inches and 7.5 feet high. The barn plans continue accordingly-- we should be up and barn-y by the end of December. It has been cold, cold, cold. That hasn't stopped us here at the Cottonwood-- we've started remodeling on our "Buckaroo" room, which we have renamed the "Southwestern". Why? Well, we felt the changes to the room-- pine flooring, bar seating area, and (drum roll) the new patio off the room, including an adobe fireplace and two person hot tub in a latilla-enclosed rooftop oasis-- embody the Southwest experience. The view from the new Southwestern patio is absolutely AMAZING! The stars go on forever, and the 6-foot latilla fence blocks any street-level light interference with star-gazing. This is the room to have on your next visit. Check back on the website soon for more images....

Barny Sharp Talons, who are you?

Yes, it's been driving me nuts. I keep thinking-- "The Chicken Bar, who mentioned the Chicken Bar??" Well, I've got "innkeeperitis, and can't remember anything (beyond this morning's breakfast, and even that is touch-and-go....)

So, put me out of my misery.

Other than THAT, we've had a GREAT late summer/fall. The rejuvenation project next door (the new 3 acres) continues apace. Today the pergola for the casita went up. We have decided to call the little house "Casa Cordova" after the gentleman who lived there alone for so many years. We think he would really like our efforts to shore-up the house and husband the land.

Speaking of husbands... Brantly went out last week and bought over 25 trees, mainly fruit trees. We have planted them all in a double row along our western fence line. They are a mixed bunch, and we are hoping to eventually harvest apples, peaches, cherries, and apricots. In addition to those trees, friends of ours-- MaryAnn and Kaseem, brought over 3 poplars and an "antique" apple tree from the Hacienda Martinez. We're very excited about the apple and have decided to baby it along in the back yard for the first year.

The dogs continue to grow at an alarming rate. We think they are about 40 lbs each, as Brantly just about gave himself a hernia loading them into the Scion today, to take them to their monthly vet visit. Schmoo has turned out to be a superb guard dog. He sleeps most of the day (drooling) and wakes at dusk to keep vigil over the snoozing birds. Sparky mainly just watches Schmoo, wondering why he is doing what he is doing. And the geese, of course, torture and bother the dogs at every opportunity.

Many thanks to our fabulous guests this month-- especially Ann Marie Trapp, who brought me (after much begging and nagging) one of her wonderful water colours. The photo does NOT do this beautiful painting justice. Also much appreciated were the new additions to my "Hen Library," provided by Flora MacDonald and Peter Kelley, and Sally and Jim Blagg. It's true, a chicken fanatic can NEVER HAVE TOO MANY CHICKEN-RELATED ITEMS!!!!!!!


It's finally cooling down here, and a great time to visit before the winter snows. I can't think of a more lovely place to be than Taos at this time of year!

New happenings at the Cottonwood Inn

Another month is almost gone here at the Cottonwood Bed and Breakfast. It's been a hot summer, but the recent rain (1 inch last night alone!) has done a lot to cool things down. It was nice to be in the mid 70s today-- much more like normal in Northern New Mexico.

This summer's projects have been big ones: cleaning up the new lot, re-building the little adobe house, training the 2 Great Pyr pups, and making the goosers into NICER GOOSERS.

Well, let's start in reverses order... the rescue geese are just as ornery as they ever were. Snarky, however, is absolutely lovely!! He looks like a Stevie Nicks pillow with two cute orange legs. He is still deathly afraid of all humans, but is now occasionally nipping at Brantly's shoes (a good thing).

Also, we've had some success training the new pupsters. Both Sparky and Shmoo now know how to sit, beg, come, beg, and (this is really exciting) herd the girls!!! And, of course, beg. Okay, by herd the girls, I mean get them all back into the pen. This is quite an accomplishment for a couple of boys who are only about 12 weeks old.

The little adobe is just about there. This week we will apply the last exterior coat of stucco, and stain the concrete floor (purple!!) We put part of the septic in today, and are about to level and clear the last of the junk away.

If you haven't been here to see these new changes (dogs, geese, and acres) what are you waiting for?? The weather is beautiful, the grass is green, and Taos is as cool as ever!