Image Courtesy of Ted Harsha
Connecting People to Build a Stronger Community
The Abiquiu News is brought to you by Carol and Brian Bondy
Image Courtesy of Ted Harsha
Image Courtesy of Ted Harsha
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February 14, 2025
In Gratitude
We thank Amber Archer of Expressions in Clay for renewing their artist Sponsorship and the Pueblo de Abiquiu Library and Cultural Center
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Amber Archer - Expressions in ClayMy passion is throwing – it has given me a sense of discipline and freedom.”
While traditional raku colors are usually subdued, earthy or matalic, Amber’s are unusually bright and bold, reflecting vivid contrasts of the southwestern landscape she loves. The cracked surface of the piece lends an appearance of age to contemporary forms. Amber’s pieces are hand-thrown and Raku-fired. Dimensions may vary slightly. The Raku process submits ware to extreme temperature shock giving it the crackled appearance and making it unsuitable for long term liquid or acidic food storage. It should be HAND washed. They are food safe. Her studio is open by appointment only via email Her work can also be seen locally at Abiquiu Inn, Bodes and Nest,in Dixon at Metier Gallery and Artful Home Visit Expressions in Clay online |
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Pueblo de Abiquiu Library and Cultural CenterThe Pueblo de Abiquiú Library & Cultural Center (PALCC) is most grateful to our generous (& anonymous) donor for the renewal of our Abiquiu News sponsorship. PALCC is looking forward to a busy 2025 and we hope to see you! We are continuing to partner and work with the Abiquiu community including Abiquiu Elementary, artists, authors, poets, musicians, travelers, engineers, scientists, organizations, businesses, and neighbors to create new programs, events, workshops and more! We appreciate the support we receive from our community and friends, including private donors, Rio Arriba County, and our grantors (United Way, Santa Fe Community Foundation, NM Children's Foundation, El Rito Art Association, and the Catholic Foundation) who have supported and continue to support programs for the Library. As we move forward into 2025, we are excited to continue the good work, and create new opportunities and momentum for PALCC.
To learn more or to support our efforts, please go to http://www.abiquiulibrary.com . Stop and say hello - we are always happy to see you! It's your library! Tues - Friday 12-5 Saturday 10-3 View Vicki's listings online |
Thank you Contributors and Paid SubscribersJaracita Treasures
Tariq S
News and Features
Interview with Mariaelena Jaramillo
After talking to quite a number of individuals from Abiquiú and around for the Abiquiú News, one thing stands out for me: the strong sense of community most of these people have. They want to serve and help others, they put time and energy into supporting those around them, more often than not on a purely voluntary basis. Less concerned with their own dreams, they assist those near them to lead fulfilling lives. Read More
Mayordomos and other acequia advocates from across New Mexico gathered at the Roundhouse on Tuesday, carrying shovels and signs calling on lawmakers to expand a recurring stream of funding for the historic waterways. Read More
In a letter sent Tuesday to the acting secretary for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) and colleagues put forth a list of concerns related to wildfires, including a halt of fund disbursement for forest management and restoration projects, and what they characterized as a universal hiring freeze that includes permanent and seasonal firefighters. Read More
Espanola, NM – Prepare for an inspiring night of music and community! Moving Arts, in partnership with the Los Alamos Arts Council, invites you to a magical celebration featuring the breathtaking talent of world-renowned Russian pianist Katya Grineva. Fresh from her 22nd season at Carnegie Hall, Katya’s spellbinding performance will leave you in awe.
Read More
I want to tell you about the first two times I was murdered.
But first, you need to know about Paige Galvin. Ms. Galvin taught me in sophomore year of high school. I have no idea what she taught me, as far as my transcript was concerned—it wasn’t any of the core subjects. It also wasn’t any of the elective subjects. She taught a practical class, though; a practical class on getting away with murder. Read More Read Zach's follow-up "A Learning Moment"
Windows is messy. So was Oscar. Felix was the neat one. That’s a fair analogy to Microsoft and Apple, Oscar and Felix. They each had their endearing qualities.
Microsoft has just released an app for Windows 10 & 11 that cleans itself up. This can potentially speed up your computer and free up some disk space. Read More Previous News and Features
Visitors to Dar al Islam, the site of a mosque and madressah (retreat and educational facility) often ask “why?” Why this place? Next, comes the question of “How?” How was this structure, reflecting the architectural traditions of North Africa, built? What’s the story behind this place that sits upon a mesa overlooking the Chama River and the Pueblo of Abiquiu on one side, and White City, or Plaza Blanca, on the other side? Read More
The departure of Agapita “Pita” Judy Lopez, Georgia O’Keeffe’s former companion and mainstay of the Georgia O’Keeffe Foundation and Georgia O’Keeffe Museum, left big shoes to fill at O’Keeffe’s Home & Studio in Abiquiú.
With two decades of experience in art and curatorial work and seven years at the O’Keeffe, Giustina Renzoni was recently appointed Director of Historic Properties and is ready to take the next steps in projects and operations in Abiquiú at the Welcome Center, Home & Studio, and O’Keeffe’s Home at Ghost Ranch. Let’s get to know Giustina Renzoni. Read More
A bill aimed at protecting public libraries from politically charged book ban attempts is making its way through the Roundhouse.
Read More
While historic snow fell across swamps and beaches in the Eastern United States in January, New Mexico’s snowpacks are looking high and dry at the beginning of February.
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Let’s just get this out of the way: I dance Argentine tango.
Read More
Last Monday, Jan 27th, we experienced a sharp decline in tech stocks, particularly Nvidia, which suffered the largest single-day market cap loss in the history of the stock market. This dragged down other stocks too – the NASDAQ was down over 3% in 1 day! This sort of market decline challenges us as investors to reflect on our emotional reaction to the drop. A reaction of fear or panic probably indicates that you have an overexposed and too risky portfolio. Read More
Question from Darla: Hi, Rick. I hope you can answer a Facebook question for me.
I'm an amateur photographer but I'm hoping to go pro before too long. I regularly upload some of my best photos to my Facebook profile to get feedback from my friends and other photographers. I was chatting with one of my photographer friends the other day and she said once I upload a photo to Facebook they automatically become the copyright holder of that photo and they can do anything they want to with it. Read More 
Dear Community - My name is Emily Arasim-Beltrán, I am a resident of Alcalde, a local farmer, and a graduate student with the University of New Mexico Department of Community and Regional Planning.
I am working on research about the history and importance of rural community grocery stores/general stores in Northern New Mexico, and how we can work together to protect and restore them as places that support our health, culture and economic development. I am hoping to connect with families who have owned/operated local stores (historically or currently) - or anyone who would like to share a story, photo or other input about the importance of these places. Please reach out to earasim@unm.edu - and share this with others who may be interested! Please also consider taking 5 minutes to complete this short (anonymous) survey about food access and grocery stores in your town: forms.gle/q9C9vMJT18EwFX8BA 
Thursday February 20 at Café Sierra Negra 4 – 7 PM
Community Meeting begins at 4PM, Sierra Negra will remain open until 7PM for diners. Show do you envision the future of Abiquiu and surrounding communities? What can we do to promote a stronger sense of community? We’ll provide the space to share creative discussions and we’ll be open for dinner! Thanks for clean up on 554A few days ago there was a big cleanup on highway 554 starting at US84. You may have noticed a great many garbage bags along the roadside. It was an impressive number of bags, and I only drive up to CR142 so there must have been a great deal of trash to pick up. The Abiquiu News would like to thank those responsible for all that work. I saw what looked like a state or county truck, so I'm guessing that was who picked it up. Specifically, Jill Coursin wanted to thank Jerry and James. So, from all of us, thank you for the cleanup job. Fantastic work! Very much appreciated.
We get letters
Abiquiu News needs you. If you are interested in providing local news for the Abiquiu News on a regular basis, drop us a line. Let's talk!
If you have a story to tell, send it in. If you want, interview your friend, relative, teacher, co-worker. If you think it would be interesting, I bet other people would too. Give it a try and send something in to us. Carol Bondy Scene Around Town
Sunrise on the Ranch ~ Imuge Courtesy of Peter Nagle
Moon and Venus over Pedernal recently. In the darkness a glimmer of light ~
Image Courtesy of Lauren Banner
Ted Harsha, Greg Lewandowski, Matt Schulze
Click to Read
Art, Music, Film and Books
https://abiquiuartistsmarket.com/shop/karen-butts-photography-studio/
The Locals’ Picks Book List
Zach Hively Casa Urraca Press has created a place for locals in our area to recommend books to each other, and a place to find book suggestions with a personal touch.
Have a book to recommend? Send it to Zach at casaurracaltd@gmail.com – title, author, and the reason you suggest it.
The full Locals’ Picks list is available to view here on Bookshop. A purchase from Casa Urraca's link helps support independent bookstores. Abiquiu’s Casa Urraca Press earns a commission from every shopping trip that starts with the above Bookshop link—you can shop the entire Bookshop site in addition to the locals' picks. Plus, a percentage of every book (at least 10%) goes straight to independent bookstores. This is an opportunity to support small businesses with the same convenience as large online retailers. Abiquiu Book Club
The group has compiled the list of books they plan to read for 2025. Check this out and mark your calendar if you wish to join in the discussions.
March - Violeta by Isabel Allende (6) April - Goodnight Irene by Luis Urrea (6) May - Whiskey Tender: A Memoir by Deborah Jackson Taffa, (5) June - The Women, by Kristen Hannah (5) July - Theo of Golden by Allen Levi (5) August - The Music of Bees by Eileen Garvin (5) September - Cher Ami and Major Whittlesey by Kathleen Rooney (4) October - James: by Percival Everett (4) November - All Fours by Miranda July (4) December - Anthropology of Turquoise by Ellen Meloy (4) January '26 - Eventide by Kent Haruf The group meets the last Tuesday of each month. Books are recommended by the members. All are welcome to join. Please call Analinda 505 927-6220 if you have questions 
For the Birds
EventsPlease remember, events will go in for a maximum of three Fridays before the event. Send text, word or publisher file and a separate image, please keep images below 1 mb and send to info@abiquiunews.com. Vertical PDFs or JPGs will be edited for space. Send by Wednesday Noon for inclusion in that Friday's News.
8th Annual Rio Chama Congreso - Water after Wildfire
9th Annual Rio Chama Congreso
following 2-3-2 Events at Ghost Ranch Event Center February 27, 28, March 1, 2025 Save the dates! You won't want to miss this joint meeting of the Rio Chama Congreso and 2-3-2 Partnership. Join us for three days of learning and connecting about the state of the Rio Chama watershed. On Thursday 2/27, the 2-3-2 will host a meet and greet in the evening, before the Full Partnership Meeting on Friday 2/28, followed by joint field trips looking at projects in the Rio Chama watershed and an evening premier of the first episode of "Thinking Like Water" and discussion, and the 9th annual Rio Chama Congreso on March 1. Congreso participants will have a full water and riparian health agenda, including a keynote presentation from Mike Hamman (former NM State Water Engineer), water and fire outlooks for the year, legislative water update, and panels featuring irrigators impacted by the flooding in 2024 on the Rio Chama, discussions on restoration projects in the watershed, and lots of opportunities to network across the watershed. We welcome everyone to join us as we explore the 2025 Congreso theme of "The River and Watershed, Top to Bottom." And, of course, we will provide food! Share the invite and RSVP today! Email sage@chamapeak.org with any questions. 
Announcements and Classes
All three weeks in July of Fire It Up! Art Welding at Ghost Ranch with Connie B. Burkhart & David Kadlec are now open for registration! The ranch’s online booking system is down, please call 505.685.4881 or 505.685.1019 to register.
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION: Join our “welding-in-the-round” community and experience the thrill of metal art welding surrounded by the incredible beauty of Ghost Ranch. Learn the basics of oxygen acetylene welding and brazing, MIG & stick welding, plasma cutting and other metal cutting and forming techniques to make functional pieces and metal sculpture. Create your pieces using scrap metal from ferrous (iron) and non-ferrous materials that are in our ‘treasure’ pile. All materials are provided, but you will want to bring your own snug fitting leather gloves for comfort and dexterity. Please read the welcome letter for more class details and daily studio schedule info. The Ghost Ranch legacy of ‘Wretched Welders’ is honored to be offered for over 45 years, come be a part of the family! Open to all levels of experience age 15 plus. DATES: July 6th-12th, 13th-19th, 20th-26th Hoy Recovery Seeking New Board MembersHoy Recovery Program, a non-profit substance abuse treatment program located in Velarde, NM is seeking new Board members. If interested please send email to Eugene Gutierrez, HR Mgr.
E.gutierrez@hoyrecovery.org www.hoyrecovery.org
Movement to Strengthen and Invigorate
Winter invites us inward for reflection but also calls for balancing warmth and energy. This class offers a fun mix of yoga postures and inspired movement focused on physical strengthening, conditioning, balance and ending with a feel good stretch and relaxation. All levels are welcome. Thursdays at Soulfire Studio or Virtually 9–10 AM ($10 per class) ✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨ Soul Deep 1:1 Immersion This is your time to receive, restore, and go Soul Deep. Indulge in a personal mini retreat designed to renew and empower you. This sacred space blends self-care with authentic connection, helping you realign and leave feeling deeply refreshed and inspired. Your Immersion Includes: Sacred Ceremony & Intention Setting: Begin with clarity and purpose to guide your experience. Personalized Yoga Practice: Tailored movement to meet your unique physical, emotional, and spiritual needs. Guided Yoga Nidra: Deep, conscious rest to plant intentions and cultivate manifestation. Reiki Energy Session: Energy healing to balance, bring integration and empowerment across all levels. 3 Hours | $225 (In person or virtually) ✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨✨ Contact Joy for details or to reserve your spot at 802-855-3003 or joyousOM@gmail.com Soulfire Studio is located at 247 NM 554 in Abiquiu |
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FiaThis blonde bombshell was just described by one of our volunteer dog handlers as "The world's most perfect dog." Come to the shelter to meet 8-month-old Fia and see why we can’t stop singing her praises! Fia loves treats and pets, sniffy walks, exploring new places, and this gentle yellow Lab mix loves people as much as she loves other dogs! She has some training under her belt and she was a star student of the world at her first ever adoption event. We are open to walk-in adopters Monday-Saturday 11am-4:30pm!
www.espanolahumane.org 505-753-8662 
CometComet is a 5-year-old supernova with a personality as cosmic as his name! His adventure began when a kindhearted Good Samaritan spotted him strutting onto their property, boldly trying claim it as his own galaxy. Though his diplomacy skills were a little questionable (cue the dramatic growls), his heart was clearly in the right place. Thankfully, they scooped him up and brought him to safety, where his true affectionate nature immediately shined. This celestial sweetheart absolutely adores human attention and isn’t the least bit shy about demanding it. He’s a pro at making the softest, dreamiest biscuits with his paws and has mastered the art of the dramatic flop—his signature move to summon unlimited pets and adoration. While he’s still navigating his feelings about other cats, his love for people is infinite. If you’re searching for a cute companion with a heart as big as the universe, Comet just might be your guiding star!
Monday-Saturday 11am-4:30pm! www.espanolahumane.org 505-753-8662 
Wanting to rehome our friendly and well mannered 2-year old female Mastiff/Shar Pei cross. She is a loyal pet who likes people and gets along with other pets but has a tendency to go on walk-abouts looking for adventure. She is a good watch dog and will bark at strangers but is not aggressive. She is paper trained if kept inside but she spends most of her time outside. She knows how to sit, shake paw, down, roll over, and likes her belly rubbed. A forever home with a fenced area is best for this big girl. She is spayed, vaccinated, and chipped. To the right home we will offer her very large Igloo doghouse for a small cost. Located in Abiquiu. Call 505-412-8220 if you want to come meet this sweet pup.
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