Photos of the interior of the lodge at las Golondrinas.
Month: November 2014
Cranes and Heron on the Rio Grande
I took a walk yesterday afternoon and got cranes and a heron on the Rio Grande just before sunset.
The Blacksmith at las Golondrinas
The Blacksmith at las Golondrinas pumps a giant bellows to stoke the fire. The blacksmithing process involves a lot of back and forth between the tools, the bellows and working the hot iron for it cools and goes back into the fire.
Quarai
Quarai is about 10 miles straight north of Abó, and about 20 miles from Abó by taking Hwy 60 east to Mountainair, and then Hwy 55 north to Quarai. Quarai was a thriving village when the Spanish arrived at the end of the 16th Century, and was the seat of the New Mexico Inquisition during the 1600’s. Records show that the Inquisitioners in New Mexico at that time were fair and compassionate, and used the sophisticated Spanish legal system to protect the Indian’s civil and property rights.
Like Abó, the church at Quarai was oriented on a north/south axis and there is a Kiva on the east side of the church. Unlike Abó, the Kiva is square. The design of the church at Quarai has a traditional layout, but still had a flat roof. Its ruins look very much like a castle standing on the east side of the church, looking toward the west. The last photo is of a sketch on the site that depicts what the Pueblo would have looked like in the 17th Century.
Blind Attack
Just when I thought it was safe to walk by the window….
Lighted Landscapes
Abó Ruins
The Spanish came into the Salinas Valley to the east of the Rio Grande Valley in what is now central New Mexico in 1581. The Franciscans began Christianizing the residents of Abó in 1622 and built their first church in the last half of the 1620’s. The remains of the second church built at Abó (pictured) have a sophisticated buttressing to stabilize the high walls that was very unusual for architecture in this area in the 1600’s. Abó was abandoned between 1672 and 1678 after a series of disasters struck the Salinas Valley.
A couple notable features about these ruins are 1) the church is oriented north and south instead of the east/west orientation commonly found in old and new Catholic churches in New Mexico. 2) There is a kiva on the east side of the church. Kivas are used by the Pueblo Indians for rituals and spiritual ceremonies generally associated with the Kachina belief. While the Spanish christianized the residents, they also let them practice their own rituals and spiritual ceremonies.
Still Blooming
As this America Rose continues to fade to pink, the other three buds finally bloomed, as it begins it 4th week of blooming since I first photographed it: http://photoofthedayetc.com/2014/10/25/fade-to-pink/
While this rose has been really hanging in there over the past few weeks, I have been busy over the last couple of weekends: I repaired the dryer and got the parts to rebuild it while I had it apart, and then we went on a photo excursion over my birthday weekend. This past weekend I helped my neighbor with computer and network issues, rebuilt our furnace, picked up several bags of Halloween candy for half price (after Halloween sale), developed three rolls of film, went to a concert by the NM Philharmonic, got a new old scanner set up and tested, installed a new, larger hard drive in Laurie’s computer, and made prints from some of the negatives I developed. Now it’s back to work after a productive weekend.
Day of the Dead
¡Feliz Dia de los Muertos! Happy Day of the Dead! May all souls past and present be at peace.
Psycho Kitty II — Halloween
When I thought it was safe to get in the shower, Halloween comes along, and Psycho Kitty strikes again.
Off Center & Not Even 