Baby, It’s cold outside! I don’t mind cold weather unless it’s windy. Check that. I don’t mind cold weather in New Mexico! I get to work around 5:30 wearing layers and by noon, I’m usually fine with a light jacket. Our winter weather here in the high desert is often very warm. If it is 55° and not windy, standing in our intense desert sun is super warm! The threshold for dormancy is 50°. Since our days can be very warm, full REM sleep for our trees and bugs is difficult to achieve. What does that mean to us? Imagine yourself without a good night sleep, waking up every little while. The trees wake up in a groggy state and reach to the nightstand for water. Water your trees! December is the month we expect to pay less attention to our yards and more attention to decorating and Holiday parties. Water as much as possible around your decorations. Overwintering. What does that even mean? Overwintering, while it sounds like overeating (we are all familiar with that term, especially this time of year), in reference to our trees and bugs, it is more like a question. How did you do over the winter? The weather throughout the cooler months affects how trees and bugs overwinter. Dry, warmer weather can mean that trees do not wake up in the spring. Imagine yourself when your sleep is interrupted throughout the night, waking up in the morning seems impossible. This is why we say to water your trees. At least when they wake up through the winter, they can reach over to the nightstand and get a drink. Temperature fluctuations, especially in October/November and February/March can put trees into shock. When the temps get to be in the high 60’s or low 70’s during the day and at night go below 30°, trees can die or partially die, not because the cold is too cold but because the warmth welcomes them and the cold betrays them. We know this fact when it comes to fruit trees but we are often surprised when our deciduous trees don’t wake up. Bugs can go in and out of dormancy as well. Bees will forage when the temperature is above 60°. We have plenty of those days in our winter. Dry, warmer, winter weather often means that bugs emerge with higher-than-normal numbers. As much as I HATE to wear long pants, we need winter. The colder and wetter, the better. It’s Christmas time. I have lived in New Mexico my entire life. My family has been here for more than 400 years. I grew up on Posole, tamales, pastelitos, and biscochitos for Christmas. Luminarias never cease to fill me with awe! Big New Mexican families are hilarious! Especially in the kitchen. Every sentence mixes both languages. “Jita, dame la spoon.” All the women wash the dishes together. That’s where you get the best chisme. Most of the foods we eat do not have hard and fast recipes. Even measurements for baking are often eye-balled. Not me. I measure. But our moms and grandmas did everything by feel. Pon mas flour! Everything also came out perfect. Every time! Now we use recipes and the kitchen is the place we discuss everyone else’s cooking. “Too much masa in the tamales. Burly (Northern New Mexico vernacular) any carne!” “The posole was canned!” Did the biscochitos have Crisco? Tan Loca!” “Pumpkin pastelitos! No aye mas prunes?!” “Her biscochitos are delicious but she uses la machina (cookie press)”, like these are betrayals of our New Mexican roots. Liking them is even considered a bit of a betrayal. So funny! My husband learned all my mom’s little tips like how long to knead the masa and what to add when the masa is too course. As a result, he makes tamales like my mom’s. My family loves them. My sister makes biscochitos just like my mom. For my family, there is no cutting corners. We proudly praise the LARD! Christmas can also be a difficult time for many. Be extra kind. We have no idea what someone else is going through. If you are having a difficult time, do something for someone else. Serving someone is the best gift you can give yourself. Goodness is everywhere. Keep your eyes wide open! Happiest of Holidays to you and your families. May your stockings be filled abundantly and your biggest problem be overeating (not overwintering).

If your leaves droop or curl, add water. If the tree is not growing, add water. I go to homes and find that their irrigation systems are set up to water for “20 minutes every day” or “40 minutes 3 times per week” or any of many combinations. Few people know how much water their trees are getting. If your trees are struggling, do the math. A 2-gallon emitter run for 30 minutes gives your tree 1 gallon of water. If you have 3 emitters, they will get 3 gallons of water. THIS IS NEVER ENOUGH WATER . Most trees have roots that start around 6” below the surface. Three gallons of water will never get to that 6” level. Watering this way 7 days a week means that you are not giving your tree enough water 7 days a week . The water you are giving is completely wasted. Here are some common issues: • Emitters too close to the trunk. Trees get water at the outer perimeter of the tree, the drip line. • Emitter volume is too low. Trees need large volumes less frequently rather than a small volume frequently. • Emitters do not put out the volume as indicated. This is often due to calcium buildup or low water pressure.

There are so many various infestations of bugs throughout the city. Elm beetles, Cottonwood beetles, Chinche bugs, Bagworm, Boxelder beetles! All these things have one thing in common. They cause little to no damage to your trees. They are leaf-eaters and leaves come back, but they are nuisances! They try getting in the house, on the picnic table, in the pool, everywhere! Treating the Elm and Cottonwood trees can be expensive and while treatment will kill the bugs that try to eat the trees, they will not kill the bugs that are trying to get in your house or lay around on your chaise lounge. You will still have a problem. Keep the doors and windows closed. Call your pest control company to protect your house or use over-the-counter household bug spray . They have a short season and soon they will be nothing more than a bad memory. Weed killer is by far the number one thing that is hurting and killing trees in our communities. I took this picture at a house a few weeks ago.

The lyrics to the childhood song I sang all the time have rung true this spring. Weather is always a huge factor for trees and shrubs in our environment. The last 10 years we have seen many drastic changes. This year, many trees died from freeze. Not freeze from winter. Freeze from spring. Our daytime temperatures warm up, welcoming new growth. Then nighttime temperatures zap the trees. It has always been a factor for fruit bearing trees, but now it has really affected many tree varieties.