The Property

Agave Ridge Retreat is on 17 acres of mountain property near Silver City, New Mexico. The land is bordered on two sides by the Gila National Forest. You can walk out the back door and in a few minutes reach isolated spots that are rarely visited. You can see distant Arizona mountains from the hills behind the residence.

The driveway entering the property.

The rock face behind the property and the distant walls of Little Cherry Creek Canyon, with the house in the foreground.

The view from the main window of the house.

View from the hill above the house. The symbolic rock formation in the foreground is visible from many parts of the property. The Continental Divide Trail crosses through the hills in the background.

A desert cactus near the front door . This is one of the many beautiful native plants. North slopes are covered with ponderosa pines. South slopes have more open desert brush including Pinyon Pine, Mountain Mohagany, Cholla, Alligator Juniper, and Agave (century plants).

Century plants are the most remarkable feature of the property. Check the link for more pictures of these wonderful plants.

The property is frequently visited by javelinas, and occasionally by mountain lions. Deer live nearby, but we seldom see them on the property. We do see large lizards, foxes, and ravens. We rarely see the small Blacktail Rattlesnakes that live in the area. The property is on a hummingbird migration route, and if fed, they can be numerous enough to be a nuisance.

Weather in the mountains is generally mild. During the summer days can be hot, but not terribly uncomfortable if you carry water and wear a hat. July is usually the monsoon month--a time of magnificent daily thunderstorms that usually last less than an hour in the afternoon. Winter has spells of quite cold weather, including up to a foot of snow and temperatures near zero. The sun usually shines even when it's cold. Even in winter, we see many weeks of mild, sunny weather.