About Me

Coco is a pen name I'm using to honor the spirit of the many feisty females in my family's past. The images of Coco are of these women and those they loved. I credit them with my quick temper, devotion to place and attraction to strident political debate.

I've studied some agricultural sciences, a little about alternative energy and conservation, a little land use law, a lot of southwest history, city and regional planning and history of city and regional planning. I can fold maps.

I like movies of Fellini and Altman, the Coen Brothers and the Wachowski Brothers, writings of Wendell Berry, Edward Abbey, Annie Dillard and Annie Proulx. Italy and Roman antiquities. Places and placemaking at all scales - from interior design to community economic development. I see fractals in everything and can always find north.

Hunting and fishing shaped my family history. So did horsekeeping and stewardship of certain unforgettable animals - including some that I've since eaten. Not the horses or dogs. Yet.

I find many popular expressions of animal rights activism to be misguided - arising out of a disconnection from the land and principles of right-scaled agriculture and animal husbandry.

I have elaborate dreams about the circus and simple nightmares about chewing gum.

I enjoy politics, places and personalities in the Middle Rio Grande Valley region and I'm in love with New Mexico high-desert communities. I also have a thing for Umbria, Italy and Southwest Colorado.

Feisty family females loved traditional celebrations and events like dances, matanzas, mardi gras, tailgating, rodeos, circuses, races, horseshows, packtrips, camping, picnics and the cocktail party. I try to maintain my appreciation for many of these arts.

Especially making the martinis.