In October, we took a double hit from the remnants of tropical storms Raymond and Patricia. While the Llano turned into a river, my ditch works were busy. I estimate that my earthworks captured and filtered between 50,000 and 70,000 gallons of water into the ground.
The Arrival
In July 2025, I traded 15 years on my family’s ranch in northeastern New Mexico for a single acre of raw land here on the Llano. My name is Jeremy (some friends call me Raven), and while I’ve spent the past 15 years as a ranch hand, writer, digital creator, and web designer (and yes, I sell rocks on the internet), my true north has always been the soil.
Even prior to ranch life when I was a manager and regional corporate trainer for a $100 million/year automotive retail service company, I found time to garden. My ex and I were converting our suburban yard into a productive mini farm. You can read about it here, but please don’t judge as I haven’t written there in 16 years.
I arrived here in a bus—a vehicle originally intended for travel back in 2010 when the housing crisis upended my life. Instead, the bus became storage on the ranch. Now, it’s my command center as I work to prove that “sustainable living” isn’t just a buzzword; it’s a survival strategy for the high desert.
Roots and Resilience
My foundation in horticulture didn’t start with my vocational certification; it started in the dirt with my great-grandmother, my grandmothers, and my mom. I grew up watching both organic and “chemical gardening”. My parents moved to the ranch in the mid 90’s and built beautiful sandstone raised beds fueled by expensive fertilizers, pesticides, and hours of hand tilling.
I spent years advocating for a different way: permaculture. I wanted to work with the earth, not just extract from it. My mother eventually became a believer in these organic inputs, and with her blessing, I began documenting our permaculture journey in 2023. Tragically, five months later, she passed away from lung cancer. Nature’s Vessel is, in many ways, the continuation of the conversation we started.
Finding the “Vessel”
The domain NaturesVessel.com sat dormant in my portfolio for years, waiting for a purpose. When I looked at the challenges of Rio Grande Estates, I realized the name was perfect. A vessel isn’t just a container; it’s a life-support system.
I chose my specific acre because of a “flaw” that most buyers avoid: when it rains, this land runs deep. While others saw a drainage problem, I saw a resource. Upon moving in, I immediately began digging swales, berms, and pits.
I Want to Catch the Sky, but…..⬇
Here’s video I shared with my rockhound community during tropical storm Raymond. https://www.instagram.com/p/DPtfFvQkdNO Note Potentially Offensive Language
The 70,000-Gallon Greening Battery
That water is now a “moisture battery” beneath the surface, waiting to power a future garden, a food forest, and perhaps even a pond. My first “homestead” claim—a Zuni bowl of okra—grew beautifully. But the local cows (my unofficial inspectors) kept them topped off for me. The okra finally froze the week before Christmas.
Calculating Water Catchment
Using a rough approximation for catchment that includes observed rainfall totals on my acre and runoff from the hillsides and upstream (unknown variables), Google and I made the above estimate of 50 to 70 thousand gallons during that week.
1 Acre + 1 Inch of Rain = 27,154 gallons of water.
Rain Fall Calculator: https://water.usgs.gov/edu/activity-howmuchrain.php
The Path Forward
I am here to document, to teach, to share, and to learn. Nature’s Vessel is a hub for the 87062 community to share. And for potential new neighbors to see the raw reality of off-grid life on the llano—the successes and the frozen okra alike.
Join me for my first local workshops:
- When: Late February / Early March
- Focus: Composting, Hugelkultur, and Water Management on the Llano.
- Time/Date: TBA Sign up for our newsletter to be the first to know.
Let’s stop fighting the desert and start building the vessels to hold the life it offers.
