Lavender In The Village

Up early, we left the dogs behind and drove 5 minutes to the 4th Annual Lavender Festival. Celebrated at several locations in Los Ranchos de Albuquerque, a lovely farm community nestled in Albuquerque's North Valley, we began our day at Los Poblanos, a historical estate that houses a beautiful inn, a Cultural Center, and an organic farm. The festival was about everything lavender. We ate organic lavender ice cream, purchased lavender soap and lotion, viewed fields of lavender, and watched children and adults creating dried lavender wands. Morning classes were offered in cooking with and growing lavender. Most wonderful, however, was wandering through gardens amongst peacocks, and walking around a lotus flower pond in full bloom. We even said hello to the chickens. Marcia bought organic strawberries and other fruits. Kelly had a chance to speak with Farmer Monte, who assured her that she could most likely begin working at the farm in a week. (!!)


This is actually a footbath in one of the gardens, so folks could stop and cool their feet. (I saw no one using it.)
These lotus flowers were enormous!
Our second stop, not far up the road, was the Village Green, where we enjoyed an excellent performance by the Watermelon Mountain Jug Band, a grower's market, tons of lavender products, booths occupied by neighborhood businesses, and food concessions offering delicious organic fare and other dishes. Especially delicious was the organic mint iced tea.



Hot and tired, we skipped the lavender sangria and lavender wine coolers at the two participating vineyards, and went home so the adults could nap and the teenager could ride her unicycle. As I close my eyes this evening, I can still smell the delicate scent of fresh lavender.