FARM REPORT

I made a turn off of Highway 84 through an archway reading “Ghost Ranch”. Driving down the dirt road, the landscape enveloped me, colors dazzled me, and the quiet peacefulness overwhelmed me.
There was a girl on a ladder picking apples from the trees just past the welcome center. She offered me some and I came away with my white sweater full of little sweet apples that turned into the best apple cobbler I have ever made. She never told me her name but casually said to me, “they have jobs here.” I tucked this information into the back of my head and continued with my day.
Returning to New Jersey, I began to correspond with Debbie Manzanares about the possibilities of a position at the ranch. I was taking care of my mother. She was terminally ill and my life revolved around her care.
As an artist and writer the visions of Ghost Ranch were ever present in my mind. Many people visit this area to learn about Georgia O’Keeffe, when I came here it was the mountains that drew me. Somehow I just knew I needed to spend some time here.
In January of 2010 I returned to the ranch to talk about a volunteer position and went to the top of the Pack Memorial Trail. I had begun learning all I could about the history of the ranch. Returning home after meeting with Debbie Manzanares and Marla Ulibarri I felt more of a connection than I thought possible to Ghost Ranch, but whether or not I was to return was in God’s hands.
My mother passed a few weeks after my second visit to the ranch. She made her transition from this life as I sat with my head on her chest holding her still warm hand. Seven minutes later my cell phone rang, it was Ghost Ranch on the other end of the phone offering me a position here as Hospitality Coordinator.
In my work here, many people ask me how I came to be here and most assume that as I am an artist it was Georgia O’Keeffe that brought me to Abiquiu; but it was not. It was the miracle of the place called Ghost Ranch. While here I have been able to heal from many painful issues in my life just by waking up and seeing what only God’s hands could have created.
My writing has exploded, my painting has evolved in new directions, and my heart has become happy again. This is a wondrous place, a blessed place. I have met world renowned theologians, artists and writers who have taught me much just by being in their space.
It is my prayer that Ghost Ranch will always remain to touch someone else’s life as profoundly as it has touched mine.