 July 2024 - Silt and sand are dumped onto the bank by the amphibious excavator, blocking off water running into nearby farms ~ Image Courtesy of Erik Roithmayr Maggie Fitzgerald Public Information Officer, Office of the State Engineer | Interstate Stream Commission State of New Mexico shared the following with the Abiquiu News regarding the ongoing work on the Rio Chama Channel in Medanales
Medanales, NM – A permit was issued November 20th for a critical river restoration project. Work has commenced in the lower Rio Chama near Medanales to address the severe reduction in channel capacity caused by the June 2024 flood and subsequent monsoon events. The project, undertaken by the NM Interstate Commission aims to restore the river’s ability to handle significant water flows and mitigate future flood risks. This work is a continuation of the emergency response to the June 20, 2024, flood event and subsequent precipitation events that left significant amounts of sediment in the lower Rio Chama near Medanales. The channel capacity in this reach of the river should be 1800 cfs, but the summer’s monsoon activity has reduced channel capacity to approximately 150 cfs. Our scope of work includes 2 phases and will include the reach of the river between the Hwy233 bridge and the Chili diversion. Project Scope and Timeline: Phase 1: Excavation of a pilot channel to accommodate up to 575 cubic feet per second (cfs) of water flow. Phase 2: Expansion of the channel to handle up to 1700 cfs, the target capacity for the reach. The project is being executed by a seasoned NMISC contractor with a proven track record in New Mexico. Our contractor has been in the area and ready to work since early November. A permit under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act, issued by the US Army Corps of Engineers, is required before work can start work in the river. That permit was just issued on the afternoon of Wednesday, November 20, and now work can begin immediately. Phase 1 is expected to be completed by mid-December, and Phase 2 is anticipated to be finished before the spring runoff in 2025. Impact on Local Residents: To expedite the project, the contractor will work from dawn to dusk, Monday through Saturday, until completion. A brief pause is planned between Christmas and New Year's Day. Residents in the area may experience noise disturbances from airboats and other equipment during construction. Sediment Management and Future Flood Protection: Sediment removed from the river channel will be placed on the river's edge and adjacent properties, as outlined in the regulatory compliance permit. During Phase 2, these sediment piles will be graded and shaped to minimize erosion and enhance flood protection for nearby properties. Additionally, the contractor will rehabilitate drainage from arroyos and other return structures. The timely completion of this critical river restoration project is essential to safeguard the community from future flood events and ensure the long-term health of the Rio Chama ecosystem.
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If you want to feel young, get a dog. But if you want to feel old, get a puppy.By Zach Hively By Zach Hively   Ryzhik and Hawkeye. Until we adopted a total stranger into our home, Hawkeye and I both appeared rather sprightly for our ages. He was nine and swam the equivalent of the English Channel that year while chasing tennis balls. I, meanwhile, was as close to 40 as I had ever been, but I did work out twice that summer and cut out sugar for an entire meal. So when this particular pup showed up on my feed (one year ten months, all shots up to date, friendly with senior dogs, willing to help around the house), all I did was ‘like’ the picture. Hawkeye and I had a good thing going. I wasn’t going to muck it up over some Insta model.  But when this particular pup showed up again two months later, I knew he was either unadoptable or meant to be with us. Or both. Still, we did our due diligence. Hawkeye and I went to the dog park in a nearby community to meet this orphan. We spent about 12.4 seconds with the dog before I decided, for certain and without Hawkeye’s explicit approval, to make a lifelong commitment to him. At the time, I didn’t think the pup was a puppy, per se. I thought he was merely youthful, weighing in at a dainty seventy pounds—thus, the “little” in his name, signified by the diminutive -k sound at the end of Ryzhik. This was the name given to him by his Russian foster dad without the shelter’s knowledge or consent. He (the foster dad, not Ryzhik) fed me much less misinformation than one might expect from someone with a vested interest in pawning this dog off on me:
However, there was one great lie. I cannot fault the Russian for it. He was fed bad intel. The lie was this: Ryzhik is not, despite all claims, an adult dog. He might be full-grown; he understands two languages better than I understand one, and he can run a 5K without training; yet he is still, in every functional way, a puppy.  It took both Hawkeye and me until approximately noon that day to acknowledge that we are old men without the exuberance, the spontaneity, and the toothiness of a puppy. It occurred to me that I’d never been on full-time puppy duty before. My parents never did give me a dog of my very own as a child. Sure, I learned the responsibility of feeding their dogs and cleaning up their dogs’ turds before playing backyard baseball by myself. But I then packed up and went to the other parent’s house for the weekend, granting me a break from responsibilities. I had never learned how much energy it takes to wear out a dog-toddler every day of the week without that break—and how much of that energy you lack when that two-year-old doggler wakes you up with a paw to the face, a paw as strong and wide as catcher’s mitt, before the sun rises every single morning—and just why bathrooms have doors in the first place. Perhaps I have it easy. I at least stand a full eight inches taller than Ryzhik and can make a Russian “uh-uh” when he forgets not to play tug-of-war with my forearm. But poor Hawkeye is on his level, and Ryzhik often ignores basic dog communication skills like growling, which Hawkeye does a lot because he is learning, perhaps for the very first time, that he has personal boundaries. At least they have figured out how to play a civilized game. Hawkeye stands in the center of the yard and growls at Ryzhik like he always does, except Ryzhik instigates the zoomies, and every time he passes by the center, Hawkeye growls and snaps at him again, and Ryzhik rockets off in another direction. I know for certain that this is a game because it has not drawn any blood. Then we come inside, and after repeated attempts to puncture my skin, Ryzhik curls up on the couch and smushes his nose until he wheezes. Hawkeye passes out on the rug at my feet for some goddamn well-earned peace and quiet. And me? I freeze, because any errant twitch will ruin the moment. I cherish these gentler times, all the more precious in my advancing years, as a chance to tend to my scratches and look around for my relocated house shoe and bank what little energy reserves I can. Put it all together, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.  You know it’s been a great dog day when this moment arrives. By Hannah Grover NM Political Report  A new agreement allows the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District to store water in Abiquiu Reservoir for up to 10 years as work continues on El Vado Dam.
One reason that the Rio Grande in the Albuquerque area has experienced drying trends over the past couple of years is that the MRGCD has not been able to store water in El Vado Reservoir that could then be released during the summer. In 2022, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation lowered the water levels in El Vado to allow crews to perform necessary safety upgrades and improvements. That construction came to a halt in March and assessments of the structure revealed that steel faceplate and underlying supports in the dam are in much worse condition than previously believed. That meant the existing contract for the construction had to be terminated and the Bureau of Reclamation needed to perform a new evaluation. According to the Bureau of Reclamation, it will be at least three years before work can resume. That left the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District in a bind. The Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority has the rights to store water in Abiquiu Reservoir and, on Monday, the Bureau of Reclamation announced that an agreement was reached that allows the MRGCD and a coalition of six Rio Grande Pueblos to store up to 100,000 acre-feet of water. “The agreement represents a win for all users,” Eric C. Olivas, chair of the ABCWUA’s governing board, said in a press release. “It helps the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority and our customers by requiring strategic releases of stored Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District water to maintain flows at the central stream gage above 200 cubic feet per second, allowing us to continue surface water diversions instead of tapping groundwater reserves.” The agreement is only a temporary solution, though, and the Bureau of Reclamation must still move forward with repairing El Vado Dam. In the meantime, storing water in Abiquiu Reservoir provides the MRGCD with additional flexibility in how it manages water. The Bureau of Reclamation plans to do what is known as a first fill test over the coming months. This will be done to evaluate how El Vado Dam performs when water is added to the reservoir. The Bureau of Reclamation will incrementally raise the water in the reservoir and will assess the dam’s stability and performance at various water depths. Depending on the results of the first fill test, the MRGCD may be able to store some amount of water in El Vado during the safety upgrades. The test will also help the Bureau of Reclamation develop and implement a long-term solution for storing Rio Grande water. The water used for the test comes from the ABCWUA, the city of Santa Fe and the MRGCD. “Thanks to the flexibility of our partners, we can continue our evaluation and repairs of El Vado Dam while ensuring the safe storage of water for Middle Rio Grande irrigators, water users, and for Rio Grande Compact purposes. These strong, cooperative partnerships help us use every drop of water for multiple benefits,” Reclamation Albuquerque Area Manager Jennifer Faler said in a press release.  By Hilda Joy
Feeling sorry for persons who had no place to have Thanksgiving dinner and wanting folks who did have plans for the holiday to get together with others at her home, the late Dawn Sanders on the Sunday before Thanksgiving hosted her annual Thanksgiving Rehearsal Dinner. People came up from Albuquerque and down from near the New Mexico-Colorado state line. Dawn roasted two enormous turkeys, and talented cook Rick Quintana peeled many pounds of potatoes which he cooked in an outdoor turkey fryer and then mashed with generous amounts of butter. One party morning, I went to Dawn’s after Sunday Mass and a stop at Bode’s for a green chile bacon breakfast burrito and coffee. I asked Dawn and Rick if I could help in any way. Rick said, “Oh yes - start squeezing” and sat me down before a bowl and a large baking sheet jam-packed with individual cloves of olive oil-roasted garlic to lace the mashed potatoes—best ever. One year, Dawn roasted one turkey and baked a large glazed ham. Before she discovered and moved to Abiquiu, Dawn owned a deli in Albuquerque that introduced the spiral-cut ham to New Mexico. She developed three distinctive white-sugar glazes for the hams she sold; one, of course, featured green chile and jalapeño peppers. Dawn moved to New Mexico from Texas, where she successfully practiced dentistry for more than 20 years. She was the only woman in her dental college class and was pregnant to boot. Upon moving to Abiquiu, Dawn apprenticed herself to a well known micaceous clay potter and became expert at this challenging art form. In addition to making traditional pots, she created unusual pots. Dawn had many careers. I first met Dawn at one of her Thanksgiving Rehearsal Dinners as a guest of Wanda Roach, one of Dawn’s best friends. Introductions completed, I handed Dawn two pie plates of bourbon-laced sweet potatoes topped with toasted pecan halves. “Oooh,” she enthused, “but only one for the table - I am refrigerating the other for myself for later.” I knew immediately that we would become close lifelong friends. Now, that large dining table was filling up fast. I found a hot plate for the sweet potatoes. Every guest, 50 to 60 or so, contributed something to the feast, Guests who did not cook brought wine or boughten pumpkin and apple pies. Wine and desserts were set up in the spacious back kitchen. Dawn had and needed two. When it was time to eat, guests were asked to take what they wanted from the table and then walk through a passageway to the front wkitchen where Dawn served the turkey. “Light or dark?” asked our gracious hostess. Rick dished out the mashed potatoes and, if requested, ladled on rich gravy from a pot keeping warm on the stovetop. Then guests searched for a seat in Dawn’s sprawling house. Many years, it was warm enough to eat outdoors. Dawn never asked for any particular food, but magically every year the meal was balanced, starting from appetizers. Guests went out of their ways to bring really good dishes and somerimes offered recipe cards to be copied. The big hit one year was an Italian olive oil cake. I copied the recipe and made the cake. And one year, my Brussels sprouts with bacon and dried cranberries disappeared early. A guest said, “I always disliked Brussels sprouts, but these changed my mind about them. One year, I brought a guest, Lou Wise, now back in Oklahoma. He was charmed by Dawn and admired her reason for bringing so many people together in such a unique and meaningful fashion. When Lou left, he took Dawn’s hands and said, “Dawn, you must be exhausted. Leave the pots and pans in the sink. I’ll come over early in the morning and scrub them and do whatever else needs to be done to get your house back in order again.” “Coffee will be on.” An insite into ABIQUIU LIFE Hillda M. Joy Lisa Faithorn and her husband Djann Hoffman had a vision when they moved to Medanales: they wanted to create a community-focused space which would foster environmental stewardship, local engagement, and artistic expression. In 2006, they bought a 20-acre farm by the Chama River, “long and narrow, like most of the farms around here”, Djann told me when I visited them. “We have an acequia that runs right across the middle, a very old ditch from the 1600s. But we didn't really know we were going to bring the farm back to life when we moved here!”  Farm with hoop house. Image credit: Lisa Faithorn. Of course I wanted to find out where they had moved from. It turned out that Djann had lived in El Rito for almost ten years in the 1970s, homesteading and weaving – ("I was a hippie then”, he said). He left for California in 1979, and that’s when he met Lisa. After give or take 25 years they both felt it was about time to leave the state, although they had a lovely house in Walnut Creek. The Bay Area was becoming too noisy and too crowded. They were looking all over the map, searching for the location of their new home. Djann still owned the cabin in El Rito which he and his son Josh had resurrected,, but it was up in the mountains on a bad dirt road. It wouldn’t be suitable for Lisa. “I was working for NASA at the time, on a project based in Houston, and I had to fly there for a week at a time”, she told me. “I needed to be near enough to an airport, and I needed the internet, plus I wanted to garden. The El Rito cabin was too high up in the Ponderosa forest for that. At first, we were looking for a place to garden, not a farm”. Djann found the location where they’re now with the help of a realtor, but he wasn’t sure whether Lisa would like it. It seemed too big, with several studios and outbuildings. But they had dreams of a larger community, of people coming to join them here, and when Lisa met Djann to look at the place she fell in love with it. This is what she told me: “That first summer we arrived in July, and it was hot. We would walk every day, just getting to know the property. And one big field out here was filled with little elm trees because it hadn't been farmed for at least forty years; the previous owners were artists”. “So we were on one of our daily walks, and I actually heard a voice that said, ‘I'm a farm, wake me up’. Now, I don't know if you can put that in the article, people will think I'm a little nuts, but that's actually what happened. We felt like this land spoke to us”. Well, I for one don’t think that Lisa is nuts, because I’ve had similar experiences. I believe that we humans don’t hear a lot of things; partly because of all the noise we make, and partly because we don’t really listen. Lisa continued: “Djann felt it too, and he said, ‘if we're going to do that, we have to do it right: conserving water, using solar energy, and planting organic’. So that's what we dove into”. They hired a neighbor with a tractor who lived down the road, and she pulled all the elm trees out of the field. After a cover crop, Lisa and Djann planted garlic. They got bulbs from Stanley Crawford in Dixon and had great results. There also was a big orchard with about twelve old apple trees, and in the second year they planted lots of grapes which they got from Stan Bader at Las Parras. In addition, they put up a couple of hoop houses and started to grow vegetables, also during the winter. But it was a lot of work for just two people. Lisa explained: “I had a full-time job, and Djann was a working artist. There were only so many hours a day we could dedicate to the farm, plus, we didn’t have much solid knowledge. We decided to keep growing healthy food for ourselves and others, and see what would happen”. Djann was still building furniture and doing pottery. I wanted to hear more about this. “I was building furniture like these pine-slab tables–” Djann pointed to the table we were sitting on, and to another one in the room – “and I've been doing pottery for a long time. I use micaceous clay (which I buy in Santa Fe) and throw by hand, mostly dishes and big platters, and they get fired in a campfire or an electric kiln”.  Djann’s platters and other collectibles. Jessica Rath. “He has a kiln and a pottery studio”, Lisa added. “Part of our vision here was not only producing food, but also art and healing. We imagine this is a center for art and healing and education and agriculture. We've had healers in residence, and we've had artists in residence over the years. People who’ve stayed in our casita fell in love with the place, and some of them were teachers, and they asked, ‘Can I bring my students here?’ And so we had an Adobe class here, we had a yoga class, and we had a group of archeologists stay here”. Djann shared the next chapter in the Farmer Saga. “Two years ago, we met a young couple who had recently moved to Abiquiú. They had been successfully farming in Taos and had a steady market. for four or five years, and did a really good job. They started farming on their new land in Abiquiú, but there were some issues with water rights. A friend told them to contact us because we had an irrigated field and two hoop houses on the land that we weren’t using. So we met and agreed to lease the land to them. They’re in their early 30s , I think, and have incredible energy! They began working immediately, covered those two greenhouses, and within three weeks they had filled them with plants. And in six weeks they were selling produce”. LIsa added: “They're phenomenal growers, they call their business ‘Umami Gardens’. They sell at the Taos Farmers Market, and more recently at the Santa Fe Farmers Market, and supply several restaurants”. Maybe they would be an interesting topic for a future Abiquiú News article! Djann was successfully growing hemp for three years, but then the market tanked because there were too many people in the business. Farside Farm was growing medicinal hemp, and Djann and his friend Cat Stanley learned to produce a painkilling salve. They also developed a mosquito spray that soothes mosquito bites and heals red ant bites. It's made from hemp that is infused into aloe vera over four or five weeks, strained, and then turned into a spray. When it’s mixed with some coconut oil and beeswax, it becomes a salve which is a great topical pain killer and has anti-inflammatory properties. “Actually, somebody bought some of my distilled hemp oil stash a few weeks ago because they're working on cancer tumors, treating cancer tumors with CBD salve”, Djann continued. “We're beginning to develop our own products, which we can soon sell online or around the neighborhood. We had our crop distilled, turned into a syrup, and frozen, so we have enough hemp for about ten years ”. Both the salve and the spray sound amazing. They help with arthritis, with sore muscles, and muscle aches in general.  The main house. Image credit: Jessica Rath. Lisa has her own big garden she tends to. She’s growing vegetables and lots of flowers. “It’s a meditative, healing thing to do”, she said. We briefly reminisced about the different growing conditions in the San Francisco-Bay Area, where we both had lush, beautiful gardens. I remember that I spent a good deal of my time trimming and cutting back; everything was growing so fast that one could easily end up with a colossal jungle. Lisa agreed: “It was quite a learning curve for me, too, making that shift. The climate is completely different. It’s mostly sand here, but we’ve been putting in organic additives over the years, and there are a lot more worms now, and we have many pollinators”. Lisa’s garden is thriving. Djann has a number of other projects he pursues. One of them: he collects pottery, besides throwing pots himself. He has been collecting pieces for over 40 years, and most of them are Japanese, because of his study and practice of Japanese Tea Ceremony. When he lived in the Bay Area he took classes at one of the Zen Centers there. That’s when he learned to appreciate the beauty of the pottery items being used. He’s currently starting to photograph his vast collection. Both he and Lisa have been to Japan several times, that’s where he acquired an eye for good Japanese pottery, Djann told me.  Mayumi Oda print and Djann’s platters. Image credit: Lisa Faithorn. Both Lisa and Djann also collect prints, first and foremost by acclaimed Japanese artist Mayumi Oda. And at this point, I must inject a personal note: my wonder about the serendipitous connections I’ve had with this couple. Lisa Faithorn was a professor at the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS), a university in San Francisco where I got my Master’s and completed the course work for a PhD. I took a class about Deep Ecology with her in 1996 which I enjoyed a lot. Beyond that, I had no personal connection with her; imagine my surprise when I met her again at an alumni event in 2006 or so when I discovered that both she and I now lived in or close to Abiquiú! And when Djann mentioned that he collects prints from Mayumi Oda, I remembered that I had met her several times when I lived in Berkeley/CA. She was good friends with the owner of the futon store where I worked, a Japanese expatriate who had gathered around her a small diaspora of similar-minded, strong and independent Japanese women and their spouses. I connected with them because I had met one of them, a woman I knew from Kyoto, walking down the street in Berkeley. What a small world. Back to Lisa and Djann’s collection of Mayumi Oda prints. Djann told me: “I currently have some framed, and we're working with the Zen Center in Santa Fe, the Upaya Zen Center and Roshi Joan Halifax. She's from California and we've known her for a long time. They've got a huge new Zendo there, and so she's going to sell the prints to make money for the Zen Center. So that's another project”. “Over the years, we collected quite a few other prints, some Japanese, some American wood blocks. I've always really liked wood blocks, and I collected a lot of scrolls which I bought in California. I had a delivery company for medical records where I drove all over the Bay Area”. Lisa elaborated: “Djann had a law degree and was with a law firm for a couple of years, but then he realized that he didn't really like the work. So he started a legal courier business, a delivery service for medical records and legal papers. It was before fax machines. So there was a lot of driving around, and that’s how he started this collection, which he calls ‘Found in the West’. All this is the Art part of the Art, Agriculture, and Healing basis of our farm”.  Platters by Djann Hoffman. Image credit: Lisa Faithorn. “I'm so happy to have younger people do the farming now”, Djann continued. “Not only do they have the energy, but they are highly skilled and informed in a way that we never could be, and it's their passion. We've been here almost 18 years now, but the property had been abandoned as a farm for 40 years. It’s good to see it come back to life”. Lisa explained her philosophy to me, as far as the farm is concerned. “I'm an anthropologist and have a PhD in anthropology. After living in Papua, New Guinea with indigenous people and seeing what the Western world was doing to indigeneity, my focus shifted back to the US, social justice and the environmental crisis. So somehow being here in this landscape and providing the way for this farm to thrive and for people to benefit, I hope to counter in some small way the negative forces that have destroyed so much of the planet. My focus was very global for a long time, and living here is a much more local focus; it's satisfying to me to see things come back to life”.  The acequia. Image credit: Jessica Rath. “There are so many young people moving into this area now”, she went on. “We had a wonderful couple live in our casita, they just bought a house. They're in their 30s, they fell in love with this area during the pandemic because they could work remotely. Through them, we’ve met other newcomers, and we noticed that a lot of people moving here are much younger, who are buying farmland and want to farm, not just live there”.
It’s so comforting to know that Lisa and Djann’s vision to have a sustainable farm which supports and attracts growers, artists, and healers is taking shape and blossoming. Thank you for providing us a glimmer of hope when the climate crisis and other realities can overshadow our view of the future.
Abiquiu, NM – The Grand Hacienda Inn on Abiquiu Lake is thrilled to announce that it has been honored with the coveted 2024 Best Craft Lodging Property in the West Region award by Select Registry. The Best Craft Lodging Property Award recognizes properties that exemplify the spirit of independent hospitality and offer guests a truly unique and memorable experience.
This esteemed recognition underscores the property’s unwavering commitment to exceptional hospitality, luxurious accommodations, world-class amenities, exceptional culinary offerings, and impeccable service. "It is an honor to be recognized by Select Registry with this prestigious award," said Carolyn Calfee, owner of The Grand Hacienda Inn. "This recognition underscores our commitment to providing unforgettable guest experiences. We are grateful to our guests for choosing The Grand Hacienda Inn and sharing our passion for this extraordinary destination." “This award is very well deserved and such a testament to the dedication, warmth, and hospitality The Grand Hacienda brings to every guest’s experience,” said Heather Taylor, Director of Marketing for Select Registry. “The hard work and passion from The Grand Hacienda team shine through and this recognition is a true testament to everything they have built and the incredible experiences they create.” Celebrating its fifth season, The Grand Hacienda Inn continues to impress guests and industry experts alike and has become a sought-after destination for discerning travelers. Every detail at The Grand Hacienda Inn whispers of the region's rich culture and history. Authentic adobe architecture seamlessly blends with modern eco-friendly practices, creating a luxurious and sustainable haven. This award is a testament to the hard work and passion of the entire team at The Grand Hacienda Inn. Select Registry is a curated collection of independently owned and operated hotels, inns, and B&Bs across North America. The organization sets the standard for luxury accommodations and personalized service. For over 50 years, Select Registry has set the standard for excellence in personal hospitality at independently owned inns and bed and breakfasts. Today, their craft lodging properties include over 260 boutique properties across the United States. The Grand Hacienda Inn transcends the traditional bed and breakfast experience. This intimate, adults-only retreat perched on a mesa overlooking Abiquiu Lake in northern New Mexico offers unparalleled tranquility. Nestled amidst vibrant red, yellow, and purple cliffs, the inn boasts breathtaking vistas, including the iconic Ghost Ranch. More than just a stay, The Grand Hacienda is an experience and destination in and of itself. www.TheGrandHacienda.com https://selectregistry.com/awards-winners |
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