Luis Lopez, NM Yardlist

At the start of the millennium, I bought a house on 1 acre near Luis Lopez, Socorro Co., NM, about 5 miles south of Socorro, with the idea that it would produce a very nice yardlist. It is located along the edge of the agricultural fields of the middle Rio Grande Valley and about 200 yards west of the Rio Grande River. There is little agricultural land on the east side of the river.  The bosque in the area is not the most healthy or extensive, consisting of a 30 yard wide swath of cottonwoods with a salt cedar undergrowth on the west side of the river and a somewhat wider swath on the east side of the river. The irrigation channels (1 feed ditch, 1 drain, and the low-flow channel) for the area are all located on the west side between my house and the river. I moved in on the first of March, 2000. My yard has a number of trees, mostly Pecans with 2 long-leaf pines, a number of volunteer Chinese Elms, and scattered small to medium sized fruit trees (apricot, peach, apple). the back yard is a large open area and I have already installed a small pool with a waterfall and planted a number of berry trees and shrubs (Hawthorne, Com. Hackberry, Crabapple, Sand Cherry, Gooseberry (Golden Currant), Choke Cherry and Honeysuckle, and Pyracantha).

During 2001 and the first half of 2002 I dug the pond shown in the plan below and had it lined in the late spring of 2002.  I filled the pond at the end of July and started stocking it with crayfish and various minnows.  I added a few water plants and did further stocking with channel catfish, bluegill, and fathead minnows in early October.  It took about a year (spring, '03) for the flora and fauna to develop to the point of attracting birds.  

Upper left: looking east near to far:  Luis Lopez (foreground, below hill), ag. fields (chillis, alfalfa, pasture), my house, Rio Grande bosque, creosote scrublands.

Upper right: looking east near to far:  Interstate-25, creosote scrubland, Luis Lopez, Rio Grande Bosque, creosote scrublands.

Lower left: My back yard, looking south. I put a pond about where I'm standing in this picture. It is about 1/4 acre and wraps around the north and west sides of the house. I started digging this in the early spring of 2001.  

Lower right: My front yard, looking northwest.

Upper left: The plan for my yard.  I finished digging the pond, lined and filled it, and built the deck in the summer of 2002.  

Upper right: Looking at the north end of the yard from the road.

Lower left: The hill and stream in the back yard.

Lower right: From the roof of the house, looking northwest.