ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — We have a lot going for us in the Land of Enchantment, including gorgeous mountains and sunshine. You can enjoy both of those at one of our many parks in the metro area. But as you’ve been getting out more, some of you have reached out about the conditions at some of those parks.

At Montgomery Park, the grass isn’t greener on the other side of the Hahn Arroyo. A large patch of yellow grass covers the ground on the north side of the walking bridge. David Simon, the director for Albuquerque’s Parks and Recreation Department, said a couple sprinklers are broken, cutting off water to that section of the park.

He said they’ll be fixed. But what about all the other brown patches? Simon said it’s typical for April, but our parks might need a little more attention this year.

“It was a very, very dry winter, so I think that’s created some extra stress on the parks,” he said. “They’re coming out of dormancy with a little bit less water in the tank.”

The city starts regularly watering its parks on April 1.

“With 300 parks and almost 4,000 acres of parks, we have a lot of work to do to check out all these systems in these parks in a short period of time in the spring to get all the irrigation systems up and running,” Simon said.

Simon also said the city plants different types of grass and some turn green faster than others.

The grass at Jerry Cline Park has seen better days. Someone asked us if the city was planning to tear it out and put in xeriscape. Simon said no, but they have had to limit water because of a construction project.

“We’ll go back and completely recover and restore that part of the park,” he said.

And for our most famous park that will have all eyes on it from the ground and the sky this fall, Simon said the irrigation systems are up and running now at Balloon Fiesta Park.

“We’re very used to recovering the Balloon Fiesta Park grass,” he said. “The irrigation systems are fully functional there now, the watering is happening, and I think we’ll see recovery in the park. Certainly, we want it to be at its best by fiesta.”

Simon said with all the land they maintain, they appreciate help from the public. He asks people to call 311 to report broken sprinklers, or a park that’s not looking healthy.