Brian Warden

Did you know that 18 of New Mexico's State Parks feature beautiful lakes ranging in size from a 3 acre Oasis in the eastern plains to the 36,500 Elephant Butte Lake between Albuquerque and Las Cruces? You can enjoy our healthy desert climate without giving up fishing, boating and water skiing. Also within a two hour drive or less of Albuquerque are Fenton Lake near Jemez Springs, Storrie Lake near the historic Victorian town of Las Vegas northeast of Santa Fe, and Santa Rosa, Conchas and Ute Lake in eastern New Mexico.

About three hours north of Albuquerque, Heron Lake and El Vado lake along the Chama River beckon vacationers. Heron Lake has been designated a quiet lake. No motorboats are allowed, so you can enjoy peace and quiet while sailing, swimming or paddling. The 3,200 acres of water in El Vado Lake, a few minutes south of Heron Lake State Park allow motorboats of all sizes and all water sports. Vacation homes are readily available in the area starting at just over $100,000.

If you prefer, you can live by a lake year-round. Ramah Lake, south of Gallup, offers world class housing west of the Continental Divide.

So if you love to swim, fish and go boating, don't discount New Mexico.

The 2010 Bosque Farms Fair came off as usual this past first weekend in August. Families with young children are the first and main focus of this annual event, and this year was no different. Horse events like western pleasure riding, reining and barrel racing abounded, with several age classes including adults, but only a few of the latter participated. Inside and outside were the usual art displays, canned goods competition, and church and political party booths. Outside was the rodeo arena and the food, lots of it from barbecue to sno-cones.

For us grown-ups, besides the food, there's a great antique car show with prizes for almost every entrant. Lots of memories! This is a fun event, not a serious competition, and the kid in every grownup had a blast looking at these antiques. The police got in on the action with their new stealth Mopar and their batmobile. Bosque Farms probably has more police per capita than any town in NM. The policemen probably should have gotten an award for stading around in navy blue uniforms on a 90 degree afternoon. Everyone of us had a favorite. One woman was heard to wonder how many of the back seats had been used by young couples parking back in the day. Remember those days? A red 1934 Ford Phaeton won best of show. It was before my time as a Baby Boomer. I can imagine that its back seat would have featured the stars above along with passion below.

Laura Warden and I brought up our four girls in Bosque Farms and live here to this day. While they were growing up we Wardens participated in almost every Bosque Farms fair event. Allison nearly won the greased pole climb even though she was up against mostly strapping boys. Elizabeth made top points on her new paint horse Wrangler while one old horse grabbed and munched a blade of grass on the way 'round the show ring. Jessica and Elena knocked 'em dead at the talent show Saturday evening. Even Dad won the best of show in the adult singing competition one time with a performance of a number from Will Rogers' Follies. Please be reminded there's not much adult participation. Maybe not enough! Those days were fun! Maybe someday I'll sing again to set a good example for my grandchildren. Watching children grow up in a safe, secure environment is just one good reason for living in Bosque Farms, New Mexico.

You don’t need much help to grow lush green grass here in the Middle Rio Grande Valley. We have the sun 300+ days per year, the sandy loam topsoil, and the water. Water is the most important ingredient here in the high desert where rainfall is scarce, on average only 8 inches per year. The water for our farms comes from the Rio Grande, which is fed by last winter’s mountain snow flowing downriver. Dammed and partially diverted at a number of points north and south of Albuquerque, it flows into the ditches and floods our fields. All you need to do is water and keep the weed content down. New Mexico enjoys only a few inches of rain annually. Up there on the mesa 3 horses or cattle will starve on 40 acres of desert grassland, whereas they can stay fit on an acre or two of valley green! Almost any crop will grow here. Alfalfa grows at a rate of over 200 bales per year in three or four cuttings, depending on the weather. Row crops do well here, even lettuce, as long there’s shade and sprinklers on hot days. Peppers, corn and beans are a snap to grow. The grass truly is greener here on the other side of the fence! Call or text 505-263-0665 for irrigated farms currently listed for sale along the Rio Grande.

Bosque Farms is in the middle of the high desert of New Mexico. The long trump suit in our playing hand is the Rio Grande River, which forms our western border. Without irrigation water from the river and occasional help from above, our verdant lawns, gardens, pastures and fields of grass and alfalfa hay would dry up. Water is of paramount importance to our farming community. Bosque Farms' motto is “Preserving Rural America,” and at our house we’ve done our best since 1991. We are Brian and Laura Warden of choicesrealestate.com in Albuquerque.

Laura Warden and I grow some fine chemical-free vegetables and grapes here. Bosque Farms lies a few miles south of Albuquerque, New Mexico. We Wardens have no heavy equipment, so our soil is still soft enough to dig by hand with a round shovel. After a rain, even the riding arena soil often trampled by 5 horses is arable. We are able to support our own family on the produce from our half acre garden. What we don’t eat, we freeze, pickle or can. Last year we filled a medium-sized chest freezer and exceeded 200 quarts of canned goods. Jars of pickles were the holiday gifts for over a hundred of our real estate clients, friends and family members here in north central New Mexico. Proudly I tell you that our pickles have been enjoyed as far away as Frankfurt, Germany, not to mention all over the northeast US where we came from 24 years ago.