Bosque Farms, NM

Copyright Laura Warden, Choices Real Estate. Albuquerque Horse Property Specialist.

Did you know that there is a quick and easy way to tell whether the fruits or vegetables you buy are genetically modified?

I didn't. In fact, I've thought for a long time that the government should require GM food to be clearly labeled as such. One of the folks I follow on Twitter tweeted yesterday that there actually IS as way to tell, quickly and easily, and provided a link to all the details. A big thank you to "jandreadis" for the tip, an for the full scoop, see www.plantea.com/genetically-modified-food.html )

According to this article, by Marion Owen, the key is in those lovely little sticky labels they so irritatingly attach to produce in the store. All those little numbers actually mean something, and part of the code they include will let you know whether the produce is organic, conventionally grown, or genetically modified!

Here's the code:

• Conventionally grown produce has a PLU code of four digits
• Organically grown produce has a five-digit code, and it always starts with a "9"
• Genetically modified produce also has a five-digit code, but it starts with an "8"

(So if you care enough about being "green" to be reading this post, be sure not to mix up your 8's and 9's!)

Think you've got it?

Let's try a little test (oh, the former teacher in me just keeps coming out now and again!) Decide whether each fruit or vegetable is organic, conventional, or genetically modified based on it's PLU code!

Of course, I can also be sure of getting high-quality, organic produce by picking it directly from my lush, green organic garden in Bosque Farms, New Mexico!

Interested in finding a home with an organic garden for yourself? Contact me any time for info about available homes throughout the Greater Albuquerque area!

(This information was initially published in the June 26, 2002 edition of the Philadelphia Inquirer.)

Each day lately, I enjoy watching a great example of self-sacrificing parenthood--- in my garden!

A couple of weeks ago, I discovered a pair of little birds who got very agitated whenever I headed over to my beans and pumpkin patch. One or the other of them would fly at me, land nearby and twitter away at me, then run off and start pretending to be a poor, broken-winged bird.

I'd never seen this before, but had read of it, and realized that some birds do this to try to lure dangerous predators away from their nests.

I looked around, and sure enough, right there on the ground in a yet-unplanted section of garden was a little nest with four cute, mottled little eggs in it. In researching, I find that my brave little bird couple are apparently killdeer, so-called for their agitated sounds as they try to persuade me to come attack them instead of their eggs.

I've been gardening around it, yet still, whenever I get within ten yards or so of the nest (a necessity to weed and water my growing vegetables), the parent birds fly or run up at me, then race away, calling to me to follow, as the flutter into their "broken wing" dance, trying to persuade me what great prey they are!

These little birds are ready and willing to sacrifice all for their little nest of eggs. Not a bad reminder for all of us who are parents about how much self-sacrifice is part of the job description...

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By the way, these killdeer have the right idea about one thing-- Bosque Farms, NM is a great place to call home! For more information about homes in Bosque Farms, or Albuquerque area real estate in general, call or email me any time: (505)239-4796 or laura@laurawarden.com.

With all due respect to Robert Burns, a "red, red rose" has always seemed, well, ordinary, to me in comparison with some of the other options that are out there. And while a single, long-stemmed rose, or even a fragrant bouquet is all well and good, there's a limit to their staying power.

Who was it that pointed out the difference between giving a man a fish and teaching him to fish? Well, there's a similar difference between giving a rose (a red, red rose or any other kind) and giving ongoing roses...

My love, (Brian, my husband of 27 years) hit the jackpot with me for my birthday last month by gifting me with not one, not a dozen, but a whole rose bush that I planted in my backyard rose garden here in Bosque Farms, NM.

And I was ecstatic when that bush started blooming this past week-- it's got the most gorgeous, multi-colored roses I've ever seen! The flowers are mainly pale yellow, but with reddish-pink tips. Take a look and see if these don't put those poetic "red, red roses" to shame!