Filled with “honest” writing and “wise” observations, “Russell’s well-written essays describe her life as an urban immigrant to the rural Southwest” (Library Journal). In 1981, newlywed Sharman Apt Russell moved with her husband to an agricultural valley in southwestern New Mexico, hoping to create a simpler life. From building their adobe house to the home-birth of their firstborn to growing their own food and navigating the seasonal flooding of the Mimbres River, these luminous essays chart Sharman’s journey toward self-sufficiency in a land as mythical and remote as the image of the prehistoric fluteplayer found on the pottery in trading posts throughout the Southwest. Replete with wisdom and a reverence for the Native American people whose relics Sharman discovers everywhere on the land around her, this award-winning memoir pays tribute to the power and grace of nature, our deep connection to our prehistoric past, and the beauty of living in communion with the land. “A fine contribution to the literature of the modern American Southwest . . . [Russell] achieves just the right mix of fact and metaphor, humor and poetics.” —Booklist “These essays say much about the difficulty of maintaining an alternate lifestyle.” —Publishers Weekly “A lovely little book. To be kept and read and read again.” —Tony Hillerman, bestselling author

Reprint of the original, first published in 1881.

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1911 edition. Excerpt: ... the long quest "Has the longest prayer of man been answered to thee, Stranger, and hast thou thy friend?"--Amiel'a Journal. Feiend, I have found thee not; I have not heard Thy voice, nor touched thy hand, nor seen thine eyes Grow clear with that great speech which needs not words: Yet do I seek thee--asking of the stars, Low-swung across this desert sky of mine, If anywhere they shine on one who goes Swift-footed to like end on kindred road. Yet do I seek thee--asking of the wind, Old Master-Singer, singing down the world, Mingling all music in his endless song, If he has caught some word, some tone, of thine To stir my silence like a trumpet call. I seek thee where the tall pines laugh and lean Against the sun, against the storm and cloud; For thou art strong like them and swift to joy; Strong to endure; deep-rooted into life; And glad of earth as of the blue above. I seek thee where the patient grasses go Across the hills; their patience is as thine; Thy quiet surety that Life's barrens yet Shall blossom; yet shall yield their fruit and seed; Not less, nor less approved, measured at last, Than lavish harvests won by lighter toil. I seek thee where the wild floods whirl and swing Through riven canons, mad to reach the sea; As some great soul that dares to know the all--The worst, the best, the farthest bound of life; Holding the pain and passion little price For one strong leap beyond the utmost verge, One mighty hail across the infinite. Friend, friend, I seek thee; holding that high quest Better than all earth's finding. Go thy way Swift and unhindered under thine own star; Along whatever way thy feet must take Past high and higher, on to higher yet; On to the farthest peak thine eyes can see;--I seek thee, seek thee; call to thee ..".

First published in 1980 and now available only from the University of New Mexico Press, this classic compilation of New Mexico folk music is based on thirty-five years of field research by a giant of modern music. Composer John Donald Robb, a passionate aficionado of the traditions of his adopted state, traveled New Mexico recording and transcribing music from the time he arrived in the Southwest in 1941.