Shadow-box of small scene using materials from the desert.
One weekend last fall, while slaving away as a “Work Camper” in the capacity of a Camp Ground Host at Kiva RV Park, I met Martha. She brought some wonderful little shadow boxes of mini-scenes using items she found in the dessert (rocks, twigs, dried flowers, etc.). They were so cool. There was a typed paper pasted on the inside of the top of the box and it was a detailed description of the contents. The more she talked to us, the more interested I became.
Poor Martha didn’t know what she was in for. I had to ask a question, then one more question, ok, a ton of questions. It was fascinating. Once I got all the questions about the little boxes I could think of exhausted, I ventured into her personal profile.
As she talked about herself and answered another hundred questions, I realized this woman was a real desert woman. Incredibly, she had lived out on the desert of New Mexico for 17 years, mostly by herself! She built her living quarters mainly herself, occasionally enlisting the help of her friends.
I was impressed to hear her story because she had a Master’s degree in Psychology. She became tired of the rat race, and decided to head to the desert. Amazing!
Before she left Kiva’s clubhouse, I invited myself over to her place for a tour of her homestead… with Natalie and one other work camper to come along, too! Surprisingly, she agreed.
The drive out there was very interesting… see a snippet:
The homestead visit was more impressive that I had imagined. She had a great little living quarters or house. It was warm, inviting, and filled with wonderful goodies she collected from the desert. She knew the name of every little twig, rock, and plant she had. She heated the house with a wood burning stove, used a composting toilet, had solar panels for electricity, and carried her own water in from a nearby neighbor.
She had built an outbuilding which could store some salvaged materials for new construction and housed a small flock of chickens. The chickens were allowed outside and were kept safe in an enclosure using old tires.
Of course there were places to plant a vegetable garden and flowers. She had tried to build a mud/adobe dog-house for her 4-legged roommate but it wasn’t good enough for Badger so she stored other items in there instead.
By this time I was drooling. This was a person who actually was living a self-sufficient lifestyle. She was a very gracious hostess. We enjoyed coffee and Danishes she made for the occasion. I had to ask one more question. How much did she need to spend a month to live. When she replied $400, I was shocked. She also said she didn’t own anything. The property she was living on for those 16 years belonged to a friend, the water she needed was on a neighbor’s nearby ranch, and the truck she used for transportation was also owned by someone else. This lady was my idol.
I am not surprised that she has such gracious friends for she is a very gracious person herself. I plan on visiting her from time to time to learn more about a self-sufficiency life style and to enjoy time with a new friend.