Oh give me a home....

Yep, you guessed it! I saw buffalo roaming this morning. The deer and antelope playing is somewhat common, but this is my first sighting of (Philmont) buffalo. There is a herd between Cimarron and Raton that I have seen a few times, but I don't often drive that way. In the pasture to the north of base camp and west of the highway a herd of buffalo roams, but usually out of sight from the road. Thanks to a car stopped in the middle of the highway this morning, I saw five buffalo just wandering around...pretty cool! The subject of this post could also have to do with our plans to build a home - something that won't flex in the strong winds we have had lately. I can't tell you how many versions there are, but we think we've settled on one. We have capital for materials, but not for labor, so this will be a labor of love for the two of us. It won't go up fast, but it will go up. We start by going down. The 2011 phase of our plans include digging a basement. Thomas needed some dirt to build up the diversion for the acequias (our flood irrigation system), so he bit into the earth where our home will go. It was a groundbreaking of sorts, but nothing has been done since then. The tractor is in demand these days with getting ditches and fields and water barrels in place, as is our time in getting ready for planting, receiving water, and work.

Thomas coming up the drive with the tractor.

The first little scoop...more to come!