Enchanted by NM

Hello! I thought I would try my hand at writing a blog about something that I am quite passionate about, and that's the Land of Enchantment otherwise known as New Mexico. There are perhaps thousands of reasons behind that, so I have a multitude of topics to draw upon especially since I was a "Jersey Girl" who found NM and was fortunate enough to be able to move here. Needless to say I LOVE NM!

I have been collecting Native American jewelry since I was about 13 years old. It all started when my mother's younger sister, my Aunt Betty, introduced me to turquoise and Native American jewelry during my first visit to her in Oregon. I was hooked! I loved the artistry, designs and stories that were interwoven into each piece of jewelry. My Aunt was able to share her love of the art with me and each time I visited her, my collection grew.

I found that there was such a rich history behind Native American art and jewelry that was just so interesting, I just had to know more about it. I also was literally enchanted by the "space" and sky I encountered whenever I headed west. Remember, I'm from New Jersey where it's densely populated throughout the area. There are areas that are beautiful and I was fortunate to live is some of those areas, however; I grew up surrounded by tall trees. Yes, they did turn wonderful shades of red, orange and yellow each fall, but they also limited the amount of sky one could see. So traveling west enabled me to really feel as if the world opened up to me. I could see more sky than I had ever experienced before.

My Aunt eventually moved to New Mexico and so my adventure to the Land of Enchantment began.

This is the view from Acoma Sky City NM looking at Enchanted Mesa. Notice the beautiful sky and lack of any traffic!

As an adult, I had the opportunity to work with someone in Albuquerque, NM. I noticed balloons on the horizon and was mesmerized. He informed me that if I liked what I saw, I should return to Albuquerque in October for the International Balloon Fiesta where there would be literally hundreds of balloons participating in mass ascensions each morning. We happened to be discussing this in a place called "Old Town" where we were surrounded by dozens of Native American craftspeople who were selling their creations from blankets under a covered walkway in front of a local restaurant. My first thought was, "When can I make reservations to come back?"

My Aunt had moved to Roswell, NM which is several hours south of Albuquerque, but that provided an excuse to explore more of NM each year. I started to photograph the Balloon Fiesta each fall and then galivant around NM exploring Native American Pueblos where I met numerous artisans and learned more about their artwork, and enhanced my ever growing collection of jewelry.

As a college professor teaching in Philadelphia, PA and then Hamilton, NJ one might think that there wouldn't be a place to wear Native American jewelry, but I didn't care! I wore my jewelry as it was my style! My learners always were curious as to where I shopped and when I told them, the stereotypical questions started to erupt:

• can you drink the water there?

• do you need a passport to go there?

• isn't it all desert there?

I let them think what they wanted to but I continued to make the trek each year for the next 30 years! I always felt the most comfortable in NM and stated that when I retired, I would move to NM. Well, I retired in 2020, sold my NM home and moved to NM! I couldn't be happier!

Here's a wall of bolo ties from Tanner Tradition in Ruidoso, NM.

I now live in NM and do not regret my decision to move here one bit! Sometimes, you just have to trust your instincts. I love the climate, which is a temperate one that has virtually no humidity. That's quite different than the humid summers I was accustomed to in NJ. There are also no mosquitoes here! This of course means that one can peacefully sit outside in the evening and enjoy the beautiful sunsets without having to swat!

These wild horses, yes wild horses decided to meet in my yard one afternoon.

The only traffic jams I have experienced are due to the elk, wild horses, or wild turkeys that decide it's time to congregate on the roads. I much prefer that to 6 lane highways.

Maybe that's why I'm enchanted by NM.