gifts from the universe

I have a favorite walk here in Abiquiu

I go around the top of the pueblo lands

up along the fence that separates it from the lands of the BLM 

(Bureau of Land Management)

the views from up there are amazing

this mesa has been inhabited for over...

let me tell you how a Tewa native lays claim to the 

land of his ancestors -

"we have lived upon this land from days beyond history's 

records, far past any living memory,

deep into the time of legend...."

it is a powerful place

the first week I was in Abiquiu

a storm came through and the canyons and rivers roared for a day

I knew that was the time to look for artifacts...

I looked very hard for pot shards and arrowheads

I was about to give up

when a tin can poped in the sun behind me

I turned around and saw the can and

then looked down 

and found these amazing painted shards

of ancient pots

Tewa pottery

this a Tewa-Hopi pot

later that evening I was out watching the sunset

I looked down and there was a piece of pottery

and then I followed the vein a ways down the hill and found 

many pieces

my most amazing find was not ancient at all....

there is a field my walk takes me by

I love that field and often stop at the small gate and look in

that day I realized that the rain

had washed down under the fence and into the dirt road

I turned around, looked down

and right there in the sand

was a diamond ring!

and a few feet away another ring, a circle with tiny bright gemstones...

gifts from the universe

xxoo

what a remodeled adobe looks like -

my rental in Abiquiu pueblo

"casita la artista" 



you come in off the street into a little room
probably the oldest room 

from there you enter the kitchen



with a great old wood stove

you go through a sort of hallway room



most old adobe are hallway free 
there are bunk beds on the right
with the bathroom to the left



ok so not really keeping with the old adobe theme



but it is nice, this is the view from the throne

the bedroom



is by far my favorite room

it has a short door to the patio

which is totally enclosed

except for a small door to the street

check out the timber over that door......

 the window at the end of the bedroom faces west

the view out that window is mi favorita

either the sun hitting the mountain in the morning

or the moon at night

it is always fascinating

the house was remodeled by the son after his mother's death

this old photo is probably 

his great grand-mother

 1922 ......

I am honored and grateful to stay in a house with heart

xxoo

 you want to see photos of the HOUSE - right?

this is the location - the riparian zone of the Ojo Caliente River

north to the top of photo

river to the left

check out all the shade 

this house is the "Stella Alire" house

she lived most of her adult life

everyone knows it as her house

no one has been living in it for a few years

the neighbor thinks it is about 80 years old

it has deep window sills

and a few cracks

it is the classic 4 room adobe

with bathroom addition

each room has a door to the other

no hallways

and a little back porch

this is the north side

these are the guys from the local water company

putting my new line in last week-end

progress.....

xxoo

the day of 3 minor miracles

Monday started out normal enough

if you consider seeing a bunch of wild turkeys

on the early morning walk to the Rio Grande

normal

after my walk I was headed in to the 

department of motor vehicles - or whatever they call it here

 to register my truck

I bought this great little truck through friends of friends

before I got here

the title was signed over to me

I got to Albuquerque on a sunday and hoped to register it the next day

nope - next day was a holiday

so I drove up north of Santa Fe to my rental in Espanola

carefully

I kept the tail gate down, harder to tell there was no license....

when I went into the whatever vehicle thing in Espanola on Friday

 they were like - oh no, oh you don't have this,

you don't have that, oh no a deed does not prove your address,

oh no and so on

I was coming back prepared

I had all the right paperwork together

I was there at 8 am Monday morning as I needed to move to Abiquiu that day

oh no, you still need this and oh no, you still need that

and we can't help you

trying not to cry I went back to my casitia 

by way of the small market I like to shop at

(they have great tamales....)

I had to drive up to my next rental about 25 miles away

I had no idea what to do

when I went in the market, 

the nice young girl who works there said Hi, how are you?  

Not good I told her and went on to tell her what happened just now

at the dmv or whatever 

she smiled and said no worries, about a block from here

just past McDonald's is a private place and they can get your license for you

wow

5 minutes in the door and I was choosing my cool new plate

I could finally pack my truck with the tailgate up

and move to my rental in Abiquiu

driving legal - what a huge weight off my mind......

minor miracle number 1

**********************************************

so I get to Abiquiu all happy

pull off the road and check my computer for the directions again

and my computer will not open right

it is in some doloop trying to download some update

from an internet I am long gone from

now I am saying, oh no

I think I remember the directions, right at the Y, third house....

this is not a subdivision - this is an ancient pueblo

I made the big loop twice, up around the cemetery

and back down to the church

here is an old photo of the Abiquiu pueblo - 1915

finally I go to Bode's store, which is down the hill and across the main road

 it has been there for almost 100 years...

I ask a few people, they don't know

finally a nice guy, older, asks how he can help

sure he knows the J. house, knew his mom

wow and then he says he thinks he can fix my computer

sweet - I asked him if I could buy him lunch

he seemed surprised and then said - why not

we had a great lunch

he is fourth generation in the pueblo

he told me stories of knowing Georgia O'Keeffe when she was alive

then he had me follow him right to the house

(I never would have found it) and made sure everything was alright.

he said it's funny, I never go to Bode's and I was only going to be there

5 minutes....

later when I told the caretaker of my new rental about it

she couldn't believe it

she said that he never goes out and never talks to especially new people

and everyone thinks of him as kind of cranky...

I was just lucky

or

 minor miracle number 2

***********************************************

I got to my airbnb rental in Abiquiu early

I had food for the fridge and I was hoping to put it right in

no one was hear when I got here

and I could let myself in

sweet

kinda looked like the caretaker might not have been here

but hard to tell

I put my sheets and down blanket on the bed anyway 

and washed a load of towels

swept a little, but you know I like to clean

hours later, the caretaker shows up

extremely apologetic - I liked her right away, she's cool

and now she thinks I am way cool cause of course I told her I won't say anything

(and Burk if you are reading this pretend you didn't)

so

minor miracle number 3

finally,

it took all day but

it was the perfect night 

I had flowers from the Espanola farmer's market

I was staying in 
a beautifully and loving re-done old adobe house
the evening light was just right

  with a very inviting bed..........

 more about this amazing place in the next blog.....

xxoo