 Courtesy of Arin McKenna, M.F.A., NNMC Staff Writer/Reporter For Immediate Release April 22, 2025 Press Contact: Tobe Bott-Lyons, Northern New Mexico College, [email protected] or 505-795-9147 Northern New Mexico College presents the “Bombs in Our Backyard" “First We Bombed New Mexico” film screening and a discussion about “New Mexico’s Nuclear Weapons Boom” are free and open to the public ESPAÑOLA, N.M. — What happens when the stories of our backyards are left out of history books? This spring, Northern New Mexico College invites the community to confront the legacy of nuclear weapons testing and development in our state—often erased from national memory but deeply felt in our communities. “Bombs in Our Backyard” is a two-part event series that lifts the voices of those who have lived in the shadow of the nuclear industrial complex. Through powerful storytelling, film and dialogue, we aim to spark awareness and conversation around New Mexico's past and present role in the nuclear weapons industry. These events are free and open to the public. The series opens with a screening of the acclaimed film, “First We Bombed New Mexico” (https://www.firstwebombednewmexico.com/) at 6 p.m. Thursday, May 1, at the Nick Salazar Center for the Arts, 921 N. Paseo de Oñate, Española, N.M. The film reveals the hidden history of the world’s first nuclear detonation at the Trinity Site in New Mexico, just one month prior to the bombing of Hiroshima. We will be joined by Lois Lipman, the director of the film, and Tina Cordova, whose organizing and activism is featured in the film. They will be in conversation with Nathana Bird from Tewa Women United. At 12 p.m. Thursday, May 8, we will have an open conversation about recent developments in nuclear activity across New Mexico, inspired by the New Yorker article by Abe Streep, “New Mexico’s Nuclear Weapons Boom.” This powerful piece highlights the growing role of the nuclear industry in our region—and features stories about Northern New Mexico College students and academic programs. We’ll be joined by special guest Alicia Inez Guzmán of Searchlight New Mexico, an investigative journalist who focuses on nuclear issues and the industry's local impact. The “Bombs in Our Backyard” series is sponsored by a New Mexico Arts grant, NNMC Office of the President, Northern Rio Grande National Heritage Area, NNMC Arts & Human Sciences Department, NNMC Youth & Community Praxis Lab, New Mexico Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard, and Bryan Ortiz. The details: “First We Bombed New Mexico” film screening 6 p.m. Thursday, May 1 Nick Salazar Center for the Arts Free and open to the public “New Mexico’s Nuclear Weapons Boom” Community Reading and Conversation 12 – 1:30 p.m. Thursday, May 8 The Small Auditorium @ the Nick Salazar Center for the Arts Free and open to the public  About Northern:
Northern New Mexico College has served the rural communities of Northern New Mexico for over a century. Since opening in 1909 as the Spanish American Normal School in El Rito, NM, the College has provided affordable access to quality academic programs that meet the changing educational, economic and cultural needs of the region. Northern is an open-admissions institution offering the most affordable bachelor’s programs in the Southwest. Now one of the state’s four regional comprehensive institutions, with its main campus in Española, Northern offers more than 50 bachelor’s, associate, and certificate programs in arts & human sciences, film & digital media, STEM programs, business, education, liberal arts, and nursing. The College has reintroduced technical trades in partnership with two local unions and five public school districts through its new co-located Branch Community College, the first of its kind in the state’s history. Northern is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) and has earned prestigious program specific accreditations for its engineering, nursing, education, and business programs. Learn more at https://nnmc.edu/
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Courtesy of Holly A. Wilkie NM Office of the State Engineer Active Water Resource Management (A.W.R.M.) Upper Chama Water Master The average daily flows yesterday at La Puente were 374 CFS. The river has been dropping approximately 16% per day for the last 5 days. At this rate, without precipitation events, we will begin pre-curtailment cuts in the upper Chama approximately April 29 with basin curtailment beginning May 2. There are currently no curtailment-related restrictions in place for the Upper and Lower Chama Basin. The chart below shows current flows at La Puente in red, flows for the past five years, and flows in 2002 and 2018, which are the two comparable drought years on record.  It is possible that snow accumulation over the weekend will slow the falling La Puente flows and postpone curtailment beyond the dates mentioned above.  As always, please feel free to reach out to me, Lower Chama Water Master Joseph Piña, or Basin Manager Lorraine Garcia with questions or concerns. Joe remains the principle point of contact for the lower basin and I remain the principle point of contact for the upper basin. You may also see our new Water Resource Professional Daniel Martinez in the field or deal with him for basin concern.
Upper Chama: Holly Wilkie [email protected] 505/827-3973 Lower Chama: Joseph Piña [email protected] 505/827-6124 Field Technician: Daniel Martinez [email protected] Basin Manager: Lorraine Garcia [email protected] 505/827-6155  Passage of this act is just plain wrong on so many levels. Barriers are being put in place to allow citizens to vote and proportionally more women and people of color.
Proof of citizenship will be required to vote. Got an in date passport? Be sure to bring it and you should be good BUT 50% of the population don't have a passport. If your name is the same on your birth certificate as your current one, bringing a birth certificate might do. Divorced, remarried? To vote you will need to bring your marriage certificate and any proof of change of name. This excellent statement from the League of Women Voters - a bi-partisan organization says it best. ~ Carol Bondy Washington, DC — Today, Celina Stewart, CEO of the League of Women Voters of the United States, issued the following statement in response to the passage of the SAVE (Safeguard American Voter Eligibility) Act in the US House of Representatives: “Today is a dark day in politics. The passage of the SAVE Act in the US House is a direct attack on the fundamental right to vote and a dangerous step backward for our democracy. The SAVE Act is based on misinformation and fearmongering rather than facts, as there is no evidence of widespread non-citizen voter registration or voting in state and federal elections. Instead, the SAVE Act will create new barriers to voter registration by requiring submission of documentary proof of citizenship materials in person every time a voter updates their registration, which particularly harms rural voters, voters of color, married women who have changed their last names, and other voters who have been historically marginalized who already face obstacles in accessing the ballot box. The League of Women Voters of the United States strongly opposes this legislation, which now moves to the Senate. We call on senators to do their job to protect American voters and reject this dangerous bill. The freedom to vote is the cornerstone of our democracy, and we will not stand by while politicians push anti-voter laws that weaken access to the ballot. We will continue to fight to protect the voting rights of all eligible Americans and ensure that every voice is heard in our elections. The League is committed to working with our partners and legal advocates to pursue all avenues in fighting back against this harmful law. We will use every tool at our disposal to defend voters from unjust restrictions and uphold the integrity of our electoral system and democracy.” ### The League of Women Voters envisions a democracy where every person has the desire, the right, the knowledge and the confidence to participate. We believe in the power of women to create a more perfect democracy. Courtesy of John Fleck, jfleck at inkstain  Crews monitoring New Mexico’s Middle Rio Grande reported yesterday (April 14, 2025) that the river’s still flowing past the San Marcial railroad bridge. Just downstream of the bridge, the USGS gage dropped to zero flow yesterday morning. We’re at the pivotal moment when the fact that you have to go out and look, and finding a ribbon of continuous water, however hard to measure with a gage – the river is still flowing – counts as news. The Rio Grande through central New Mexico will begin drying soon from the bottom up, as the meager flows coming in from upstream disappear:
River drying in May is rare and bad. The fact that the river’s on the brink of beginning to dry in mid-April is worse. Water for irrigators Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District water operations manager Anne Marken reported at yesterday’s board meeting on the crazy institutional hydrograph we’re now seeing. Flows are up for now on the Rio Chama, but that extra water won’t be making its way down to the Middle Valley right away. Instead, it’s being stored for use later in the year by the Middle Rio Grande Pueblos, which have senior rights under the 1928 legislation that provided federal funding to create the District works. There’s continuing tension over this, because storing more water to meet legal obligations to the Pueblos (which have senior water rights) means less water for non-Indian irrigators. Lots of cryptic signalling about this debate at yesterday’s MRGCD meeting, but little explicit discussion of the hydrologic, economic, social and cultural tradeoffs involved. This is the kind of tough stuff that has to be dealt with in coping with dry years. Storage in Abiquiu is going up, and the Bureau of Reclamation is adding a little bit of water to El Vado, the busted dam on the Rio Chama that can hold a little bit of water despite its shortcomings. I’m not privy to the internal accounting, but this appears to be Pueblo “prior and paramount” water.  Cochiti releases Also at yesterday’s meeting, MRGCD leadership was unusually vocal about frustration with the way the Corps of Engineers has been managing Cochiti Dam releases – lots of ups and downs that have made it hard to manage diversions for irrigators, as district chief Jason Casuga explained in unusually blunt terms.
As I said, this is the kind of tough stuff that has to be dealt with in coping with dry years. The Bureau of Reclamation has money for some supplemental environmental flow water water this year, imported San Juan-Chama Project water. But there’s very little of that. (The e-flow water helps the irrigators – the fish don’t consume it!) With no water in storage from previous years, Middle Valley irrigators, as we’ve said before, will have a very water-short year this year. What we’re seeing right now may be the most we see this year. Marken: So I wish I had better news, but I I think this could be one of the most challenging irrigation seasons the Middle Valley has experienced in recent history. And you know, as always, I encourage everyone to pray for rain. Interior eyes federal lands for housing By Hannah Grover Courtesy of NM Political Report  Screenshot of the Center for Biological Diversity's "Trump Administration Target Areas for Sprawl Development" map. Center for Biological Diversity Federal lands near Española and Santa Fe could be sold off as part of an effort to increase affordable housing, according to the advocacy group Center for Biological Diversity.
Those lands include places near the Ojo Caliente Area of Critical Environmental Concern, where there are Native American cultural sites and mineral springs, and the La Cienega Area of Critical Environmental Concern. The Center for Biological Diversity mapped out Bureau of Land Management parcels within ten miles of municipalities that have at least 5,000 residents. These are lands that the Department of the Interior has indicated may be sold to increase access to affordable housing. In March, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner announced a partnership to look at turning federal lands into housing. “Our lands are an incredible asset on America’s balance sheet and we’ve been discussing how we can efficiently and effectively steward these underutilized areas to solve our nation’s affordable housing crisis,” Burgum said in the announcement video. Turner said the two agencies will collaborate to determine where federal lands may be available for “tailored housing programs.” Randi Spivak, the public lands policy director with the Center for Biological Diversity, acknowledged that there is an issue with affordable housing, but said she has a “trust issue with this administration.” “We don’t know how much land, ultimately, BLM will sell off,” she said. However, Spivak said the two federal agencies have talked about 440,000 acres. That prompted the Center for Biological Diversity to look at what lands fall within the parameters outlined by the two agencies. “We don’t know what BLM is going to do yet, but I think in part, we wanted to do this for two reasons,” Spivak said. First, she said the organization wanted to see what areas of critical importance fall into the criteria for potential sales. Additionally, she said the Center wanted to “send a message” that some areas should not be “tampered with or encroached upon.” The map uses different colors to show areas of critical environmental concern, wilderness areas, wilderness study areas, national monuments, wild and scenic rivers and other BLM lands that have some form of protection compared to other BLM lands. Spivak said if the BLM attempted to sell off lands in those protected areas, the agency would “have a big fight on their hands.” But even if the BLM did not directly sell off lands in protected areas like the Ojo Caliente ACEC, Spivak said the places could be harmed by having houses built adjacent to them. This could increase demands for water resources in the area and lead to more traffic as people recreate in areas near their houses. Additionally, Spivak highlighted recent layoffs at federal agencies including the BLM. She expressed concern that the layoffs will result in fewer resources. “There’s going to be very, very little oversight and enforcement,” she said. While the proposed sale of federal lands is intended to address housing shortages, critics have questioned if that would be the end result. A story by Bloomberg about federal land sales in Nevada that were intended to address the housing crisis found that only a small percentage of the lands sold were developed as affordable housing. Of the 18,000 acres sold in Nevada, only 30 were used to increase affordable housing availability. The plan comes as the Trump administration has targeted programs intended to protect public lands and the environment. This week, Trump announced the recission of the BLM’s Public Lands Rule, which aimed to put conservation on equal footing with other uses such as oil and gas development and grazing. “President Trump is clearing a path to sell out some of the country’s most precious public lands to the highest bidder,” Drew McConville, a senior conservation fellow for the Center for American Progress, said in a statement. “The White House is now targeting the rules that conserve these sensitive lands for future generations – from the migration routes of Arctic caribou to treasured landscapes of the southwest. Gutting these protections may serve the narrow interests of insider oil and gas executives and other billionaire donors, but it squanders America’s public lands legacy.” NM Gov vetoes bill creating wildfire suppression and post-wildfire fund, perplexing sponsor4/17/2025 By Patrick Lohmann Courtesy of Source NM  Smoke from the South Fork and Salt fires blots out the sun Tuesday along NM Highway 70 outside of Tilley, NM. (Photo by Danielle Prokop / Source NM) Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s veto of a bill creating state funds for post-fire recovery and current wildfire suppression “deeply disappointed” House Bill 191 sponsor Rep. Nathan Small (D-Las Cruces), who is also one of the state budget’s main architects. Lujan Grisham said the $12 million the bill authorized didn’t provide enough money to even “put a dent” in post-wildfire recovery. Recovery from South Fork and Salt fires and ensuing floods last year in Ruidoso, for example, will cost more than $200 million, the governor noted in her veto message. Lujan Grisham also wrote that another new fund the bill created, designed to pay for the state’s wildfire suppression efforts, had no money in it at all and instead would have relied on federal reimbursements, “which have only gotten slower in recent months.” Lawmakers approved the HB191 amid concerns about the federal government’s capacity to suppress wildfires in New Mexico and elsewhere, thanks to federal funding cuts, and as the state beefs up its own crews of full-time and volunteer wildland firefighters. Also, most of New Mexico is experiencing above-average wildfire potential this month and through the rest of the summer, according to the latest forecasts. Small, who chairs the House Appropriations and Finance Committee, told Source New Mexico in a statement Monday that the governor’s veto was not just disappointing but also surprising given that the governor’s office was involved in crafting the legislation. As for her specific objections, Small said the $12 million was a “starting point” that nonetheless would have “made a significant difference to New Mexicans who will face the devastating impacts of the next wildfires in our state.” He also noted that while the governor vetoed the bill, she left its accompanying $12 million appropriation intact in the budget. As a result, money will “now sit unused” instead of helping communities respond and recover from wildfires, he said. “Unfortunately, New Mexicans will pay the price for the lack of action this year, but my colleagues and I will continue to fight to protect our communities from the catastrophic wildfires that continue to threaten our people, businesses, and lands.” Source has a pending request to the governor’s office to respond to Small’s comments and will update this story as necessary. State Forester Laura McCarthy, whose agency would have received the post-fire funds defended the concept behind HB191 as a way to budget for wildfire suppression, taking climate change into account and also preserving the governor’s ability to issue executive orders to pay for wildfire suppression on a case-by-case basis. But she also agreed with the governor’s criticism of the way HB191 created a fire suppression fund without putting any money in it. “The Governor’s veto message made clear that without funding for HB191, creating a wildfire suppression fund that relies on federal reimbursements or payments for state crews when they are on out-of-state assignments, does not set the program up for success,” she said in an emailed statement. Without the legislation, the state will have to pay for any costs to suppress wildfires this year through the use of executive orders, McCarthy said. The Forestry Division has said that is the wrong way for the state to proactively anticipate and budget for the “volatile but predictable expense” of wildfire suppression. Executive orders are handled on a case-by-case basis and capped at $750,000 at a time, often requiring multiple orders for the same natural disaster. McCarthy also said recruitment of state wildland firefighters is “going well,” and the state is anticipating full staffing ahead of increased wildfire activity expected in May and June. Despite the veto, Lujan Grisham noted that she signed Senate Bill 33, which creates guidelines and criteria for a new Wildfire Prepared Program, including grants and certifications for property owners to make structures less prone to wildfire damage. The governor said that bill achieves “similar objectives” to HB 191. “I fully support a revamped process to fund both pre- and post-wildfire maintenance,” she said. “I hope the Legislature will provide a meaningful way to accomplish that goal during the 2026 legislative session.” Which bills are now in law? The Legislature sent nearly 200 bills to Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham during the 60-day legislative session. See which ones she signed, which ones she pocket-vetoed and which ones she vetoed with a message. Bill numbers in italics have emergency clauses, which means they go into effect the moment the governor signs them.  (Partial screenshot) Table: Patrick Lohmann (Source NM)Source: NM LegislatureGet the dataCreated with Datawrapper  By Jessica Rath The Franklin Macfie House (Hobbit Hut) was officially added to the National Register of Historic Places on August 19, 2024. The National Register of Historic Places is the Nation's official list of cultural resources worthy of preservation. Authorized under the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Register is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect our historic and archeological resources. Properties listed in the Register include districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects that are significant in American history, architecture, archeology, engineering, and culture. The National Register is administered by the National Park Service, which is part of the U.S. Department of the Interior. Read last year's article follows  Main façade. Image credit: Harvey Kaplan When Janice and Michael Quinn bought their property in Rio Chama near Medanales, they were quite intrigued by the strange and decidedly unique structure which was part of it: a small building without any straight lines. It looked like something that had grown out of the earth, with undulating curves, bulbous outcrops, round and colorful windows. It had been abandoned for a while and wasn’t in great shape; raccoons and other critters had moved in. Janice and Michael didn’t know much about who built it, but one thing was certain: it was something special that deserved to be restored. The Quinns started on a Sherlock-Holmes-inspired journey. Talking to neighbors and former residents, they managed to piece together the story of the original owner and builder of the Hobbit Hut, a man every bit as eccentric and colorful as the building: Franklin MacFie. An artist, musician, actor, performer, who single-handedly built the free-form house all by himself. Well, people helped him, neighbors and friends. But he designed and planned the dwelling all by himself, although he wasn’t an architect.  West side with mosaic and rondel windows. Image credit: Harvey Kaplan. I figured this would make a fascinating story for the Abiquiú News, and the Quinns kindly agreed to give me a grand tour of the Hut. Michael had been hard at work for weeks and months (“forever”, Janice corrected), sealing the roof which had several water leaks and renovating each room, to make it habitable. But first of all they shared some great news with me: on June 14, 2024, the Cultural Properties Review Committee listed the Franklin MacFie House in the State Register of Cultural Properties and recommended that the nomination be forwarded to the Keeper of the National Register for listing in the National Register of Historic Properties. With the help of New Mexico’s State and National Register Coordinator Steven Moffson, Janice and Michael had filled out a lengthy application to have the Hobbit Hut formally recognized as a site of historic relevance. If you’re interested, here is the link to the nomination; it has a lot more information than I could fit into this article.  Southside. Image credit: Harvey Kaplan. Why did they apply for this? I wanted to know. “Frankly, it just seemed like a good idea”, Michael told me. “I don't even remember how I discovered that we could apply – just looking around the internet, I guess. What do we hope to get out of it? We hope to get a plaque”, he laughs. “And then maybe some financial and professional help. Because we do everything ourselves. And we pay everything with cash, so it takes a long time. I think my primary goal is to preserve the building, and make sure that it stays a stable, viable building into the future when we’re gone”. One reason why the site is historically relevant may be the fact that it was built with a unique construction technique: Ferrocement. It’s a composite material which uses a skeletal framework of steel rods which is then covered by fine-meshed chicken wire and burlap, and lastly plastered with a layer of cement mortar. Although this is only between 1 3⁄4 and 2 1⁄2 inches thick, it’s an extremely strong shell: Michael claimed that one could drive a car on top of the roof, and it would not cave! Whether that’s indeed possible I have no idea, but a number of Franklin’s friends have been documented dancing happily on the roof.  Dancing on the roof. Image credit Nancy Barickman, ca. 1980 - 81. I got a better insight into the way Ferrocement was used when Janice and Michael took me on a tour of the house. The most pressing part of the work to be done is fixing the leaks, Michael explained. “This mesh makes Ferrocement work”, Janice added. “That's why it doesn’t have to be heavy concrete but can be thin. So this whole thing is made out of rebar, chicken wire, burlap, and Portland cement. It’s a wonderful way to build actually, and it's waterproof. They still have ships that the hull is built out of Ferrocement. There are huge stadiums in Europe which are built of Ferrocement. It's amazing, eco-friendly stuff”. Ships? Built with cement? This sounded somewhat counterintuitive (and I have to admit that I’m rather clueless as far as engineering is concerned). But sure enough, there’s even a Wikipedia page about Concrete Ships, click on the link for some interesting images. And hereyou can find some other amazing buildings made of Ferrocement. From the outside, it looked as if this would be some dark, cavelike abode. But once we stepped inside, I was surprised to see how light-filled and airy the house was!  Interior, living room with hearth (center). Image credit: Harvey Kaplan. From the entrance, the living areas undulated in every direction, sloping down naturally, following the hillside. There were no straight lines anywhere, and the few dividing walls all had arches and openings. The house looked alive, breathing, moving, changing. I was utterly enchanted.  Interior, living room with hearth flanked by free-form piers that support roof and clerestory. Image credit: Harvey Kaplan. Janice pointed to the ground: “All of this was dirt, which got muddy whenever it rained. Michael worked hard to install concrete floors; that was one of the first things he did”. Next, we looked at the kitchen, and Michael showed me everything that had been done so far, and his many future plans. “The electricity is here for a refrigerator; and there is a sink with a cabinet; and cabinets over there are on the backside of a closet which will be in the bathroom. There will be chairs here and a breakfast table. So, we could rent it out for a couple of months in the Summer; I have plans to put in a mini split system for heating and air conditioning”. “The bathroom will have a shower right here, a toilet there, and the sink, and the washer and dryer will be here, and a water heater”.  Interior, view from entrance through living room to rondel on west wall; kitchen (right). Image credit: Harvey Kaplan. By this time, after walking through different rooms and getting a better sense for all the amazing details – there were so many windows, for example, and every one was unique and different, some round, some arched, some colored glass church windows – I wanted to learn more about the man who built this. Franklin MacFie. I asked Janice and Michael how they learned about him, and what they learned. Janice told me: “We loved the Hut at first sight, and asked our neighbor Dean Jeffers who lives below the ditch to the south, what he knew about it. From him and another neighbor (Reynel Maestas, the one whose grandmother had owned all these properties), we heard lots of stories. Dean told us that Franklin had moved to Portugal to nurse his partner Jean Michel Belluc who died of AIDS. And that Franklin had died soon after that! That’s why Michael was so surprised to see a very much alive Franklin at our door in 2008!” They had met him! How exciting! I wanted to hear all about it. Michael had quite a story to tell. “We were sitting in the hot tub. And it was the time of year when the moon comes up and projects light out of all the windows and auto tail lights in the Hut. And we were thinking, ‘It's the spirit of Franklin’. The next morning I was home alone, and there was a knock at the door. And there's Franklin with one of his friends from Santa Fe, and the lady from Portugal”. Michael had told me earlier that Franklin had built a round cement and adobe addition to a house in Portugal (he traveled all over the world), and that he had wanted to show his friends from Portugal the house he had built much earlier in New Mexico. So this was that visit. “I opened the door and there's this guy and says ‘Hi, I'm Franklin MacFie’. I couldn’t believe my eyes! ‘Franklin MacFie! The rumors of your demise have been greatly exaggerated!’ was all I could say. He thought that was funny, and he explained that he was here with friends and he wanted to show them the hut. And if it was okay. I said, of course it's okay. Do you mind if I come along? And so we walked down there”. “They weren't here for very long, I don't think they had much time. But that's when the picture of Franklin and me by the window was taken”.  Michael, left, and Franklin MacFie. Image credit Lena from Portugal. “So that was my first connection with Franklin, before I knew anything about him. I didn't know he was sick at the time. I didn't know anything about him, except that he built that place. Which meant a lot to me. Many years later Carol Bondy was here and we talked about the Hut and Franklin. She did some research and found the WordPress website. And that's when we started learning all about Franklin's eccentricities, his life and accomplishments”. He died shortly after this visit. Please take a look at the site if you want to learn more about Franklin MacFie. It’s a memorial put together by some of his lifelong friends, celebrating the artist, film maker, world traveler, theater director (he organized the Espanola Valley Theater where he worked with teen drama students and played in “Bye, Bye Birdie” in Santa Fe in 1978), an altogether gifted and brilliant man who lived in New York City, San Francisco, New Mexico, Morocco, Turkey, Portugal, and lots of other places. I guess it’s more a labor of love and less of an organized historical document, but somehow this is totally fitting for Franklin’s character.  Franklin in the Hobbit House. Image credit franklinmacfie.wordpress.com/ Janice told me another funny story, which she and Michael heard from Ray Stevens, a life-long friend of Franklin’s. “Franklin and his partner Jean Michel, who was French, wanted to make Camembert cheese. And they had a cow. Jean Michel called somebody up in Wisconsin who made cheeses and who also happened to be French. The story goes that they just talked fluidly in French for like 30 minutes on the phone, and Jean Michel got the recipes. And so they started making Camembert cheese. Jean Michel would go to Santa Fe, with his rounds of Camembert cheese and in scantily cut off leather shorts and sell them to restaurants in Santa Fe”. “And Ray told us that sometimes the cheese wouldn't sell and they would bring it back and mix in some herbs and things, reformat and go back to town to try to sell it again, for even more money!” Isn’t it strange to have such a strong connection with another person's life? To gradually learn more details about a unique, creative, and rather eccentric individual? Some people might think that the Franklin MacFie House is too weird and unconventional and not worth saving. I applaud the Quinns for recognizing Franklin’s vision and for putting so much effort into the preservation of the building. They see and understand its beauty. I hope they’ll get some funding so that they can finish this labor of love sooner, rather than later. If you have questions about the Hobbit Hut, or have personal stories to share, please email [email protected]. And thank you so much for showing me around, Janice and Michael – I’m glad I could learn something about Franklin and his original spirit.  Franklin MacFie and Jean Michel Belluc. Image credit franklinmacfie.wordpress.com By Karima Alavi My last article, Laying a Foundation for the Future, recounted the hard, but enthusiastic, efforts of the early construction crew as they dug the Dar al Islam foundation by hand during Ramadan and built temporary structures such as an outdoor kitchen, and make-shift showers with solar heat. Sleeping in tents, cars, or homes, their work was moving right along. Until it wasn’t. A surprise visit from the New Mexico Construction Regulation and Licensing Department put a quick end to the work. The “Red Tag” came down, and the work was stopped for not having a Construction Permit. Bill Lumpkins to the Rescue By now, Abdur Ra’uf (Walter) Declerck was working as an administrator for Dar al Islam. He quickly learned that, though the Dar al Islam architect was the world-famous Hassan Fathy, the state wasn’t impressed. The project needed to be guided and approved by a New Mexico licensed architect, or it was not to proceed. They needed the help of someone who was highly regarded in the state, someone with status and influence. They turned, of course, to Bill Lumpkins of Santa Fe. Walter was in charge of reaching out to Lumpkins to seek his help. When I asked Walter how that went, his reply was, “I begged.”
Meanwhile, the New Mexico Construction Regulation and Licensing Department grew increasingly skeptical that Fathy’s famous domes, arches, and vaults, all held up by nothing more than mathematics, gravity, and faith, could possibly withstand the vigorous “Load Test” required by the state. Along Came the Egyptians After several months, enough work had been completed on the foundation and the walls of Dar al Islam, to bring in the “big guns” for a nearly two-week workshop on adobe construction. Traveling with Hassan Fathy were two Egyptian masons, Allahudeen and Muhammad, who had decades of experience building with adobe bricks. In fact, they were both thought to be in their late seventies by the time they arrived in Abiquiu. Special bricks were required for creating the many domes in the building. These custom-sized bricks were supplied by two local brickyards, one owned by an indigenous family, the other by a Hispanic family. Dar al Islam purchased an old Mercedes truck to transport thousands of heavy bricks to Abiquiu. The site was ready, and the crew awaited the arrival of the Egyptians. Abdur Rahim Lutz told me that one of the workers, Abdul Jami, picked up the two masons at Albuquerque Airport in his enormous Lincoln Town Car. From that moment on these two men, who literally traveled by donkey much of the time in Egypt, were enamored with what they viewed as the “big American car,” and gleefully managed to jump in again, any time Abdul Jami had an errand to run.
So, how does one calculate a detailed, accurate measurement of each circular layer in a dome while assuring that every ring of bricks would be just a bit smaller than the one set in place before? How does one guarantee that perfect reduction in size as the dome reaches higher while growing tighter and tighter toward the top? With a barrel of sand, a stick, and a string. That’s how. Set in the space that would eventually be the exact center beneath the dome was a metal barrel. A tall stick with a string was placed in the middle of the sand that filled the barrel. That string became the measuring tool that determined precisely how far away from the barrel the next circle of bricks would go. With each circle, the string was shortened. With each shortening, the delicate arch of the dome drew inward until the top of the dome was tight enough for just one more thing: a small skylight that topped the dome like a benevolent eye, glistening its sunlight onto those praying below. People have come from across the United States and other parts of the world to study this mosque that is renowned for its beauty, its simplicity, and its connection to similar adobe structures also designed by Hassan Fathy. Determined to bring the art of construction back to its roots, (the use of local materials rather than modern materials such as concrete) Fathy has influenced others around the world to follow his steps. One of his students, the American architect Simone Swan, founded the Adobe Alliance that carried on Hassan Fathy’s legacy. She has visited Dar al Islam several times. “This whole thing was fueled by Islam. It appealed to counter-culture people, those ready to exchange modern life for starry skies, prayer, and nature.” -Rahmah Lutz  Photo: Property of Dar al Islam When the domes were finally completed, one requirement to obtain a permanent building permit from the State of New Mexico was to hire a structural engineer to perform a Load Test on the domes. This involved adding weights to the inside of the domes to assure that the structures didn’t collapse. A familiar touch of skepticism rose again with the arrival of the engineer and his crew. He emptied the building and performed the test. The dome stood strong and solid, so he added more weight as a precaution. Then more. Finally, he made the comment that the domes had passed “with flying colors.” From that point on, the Dar al Islam crew was able to move ahead under the protection of their much-coveted building permit. An Egyptian Mason’s Recipe for “A Proper Tea” Both masons, Allahudeen and Muhammad, expected a steady stream of tea while they worked at Dar al Islam. To satisfy this request, Rahmah Lutz and Khadijah Cashmere alternated between themselves to assure a steady supply of that hot beverage that was drunk by the gallon every day, despite the heat that pressed down on the New Mexico mesa. But there was a problem. According to Allahudeen, American tea wasn’t made correctly. He politely explained the correct recipe for a proper Egyptian tea:
Then, he discovered the tea recipe Rahman and Khadija were following and understood how these elders maintained their energy along with their enthusiasm.
A Chance Encounter During the Hajj to Makkah Many, many years after the construction of Abiquiu’s mosque, Abdur Rahim Lutz made the Hajj, or Pilgrimage, to Makkah. Within the crowd of two million believers, he spotted the familiar face of Allahudeen. Weakened by the years gone by, the Egyptian mason had entrusted his pilgrimage to the assistance of a personal guide who happened to speak English. Within minutes, the man from Luxor, Egypt, and the man from Abiquiu, New Mexico reconnected. When I asked Abdur Rahim what they talked about, his answer was: “Nothing. We just held hands and sat there for a long time, sharing our silence.” That circle of connection, reflected in the very structure of the Dar al Islam Mosque, was joined again in that crowded, noisy place where two old friends rediscovered the intimate power of silence. Please note: If you would like to view the 1980 film, Roofs Underfoot, about the early construction of the Abiquiu mosque and madressah (educational retreat facility), keep an eye on the Dar al Islam website: https://daralislam.org/ The site is being updated, and the video will be added in the process of that update.  In Ecological Garden Design - Part One, I introduced Douglas Tallamy’s proposed Four Universal Landscape Ecological Goals. Dr. Tallamy, a conservation entomologist at University of Delaware, has spearheaded initiatives to promote ecologically oriented home landscape and garden practices which, he says, “… must now take a leading role in the future of conservation.”
“Our parks and preserves are vital, but … they are not large enough and are too isolated from each other to sustain for much longer the plants and animals that run our ecosystems.” Doug Tallamy, https://www.karenbussolini.com/restoring-insects-to-our-landscapes-every-yard-counts/ Tallamy’s Four Universal Landscape Ecological Goals address critical and interrelated aspects of landscape ecology as understood by an ecologist, but in a short form organized for a simpler understanding. The first of these goals is that they “must support a diverse community of pollinators throughout the growing season.” On this point, I found myself wondering such things as ‘How would I even know if I have a diverse community of pollinators?’, or ‘What exactly do the most special ones need throughout the growing season?’ After spending some time looking at various urban ecology studies, and their conclusions, I think it’s safe to say that although very interesting to ponder, such questions really aren’t that productive for the average non-scientist like myself. What does matter is that anyone interested in ecological gardening get familiar with their local native plants, especially local ‘keystone’ species, and perhaps some of their relative value to native pollinators. The rest naturally follows. In a nutshell, a functionally valuable ecological garden within it’s own special ecoregion, and micro-climate, would fundamentally look like, or be, a version of the closest surrounding example of undisturbed landscape in terms of native plant composition - all the way down to cryptobiotic soil. It’s almost that simple, and if you can pull off something like that you’re golden. Ecological gardening all relates back to the native plants that have coevolved with the native wildlife and pollinators (bees, butterflies, flies, wasps, beetles, bats, etc.) to survive within their soil and climate niche(s). “Native plants are core to the wildlife garden. Intentional use of native plants, which have formed symbiotic relationships with native wildlife over millions of years, creates the most productive and sustainable wildlife habitat. While some plants play a singular role for one or limited types of wildlife, others are essential to the life cycle of many species. The local species of these plants vary by ecoregion, that is, areas where ecosystems (and the type, quality, and quantity of environmental resources) are generally similar. Keystone plant genera are unique to local food webs within ecoregions. Remove keystone plants and the diversity and abundance of many essential insect species, which 96% of terrestrial birds rely on for food sources, will be diminished. The ecosystem collapses in a similar way that the removal of the “key” stone in ancient Roman arch will trigger its demise.” https://www.nwf.org/Native-Plant-Habitats/Plant-Native/Why-Native/Keystone-Plants-by-Ecoregion So, the very first thing you can do for landscape is to protect what’s naturally there, and not replace existing plants with something “better” (except invasive plants/weeds). For abused, damaged spaces, the second best thing is to recreate what is around you, or ‘rewild’, as best you can (beginning with eliminating invasive weeds). I’m particularly interested in how visual ‘framing’ and simple augmentation of preferred natural landscape features through design can help make rewilding and wild chaos, or even perceived ugliness ‘interesting’ and/or beautiful. There’s a really great article on visual framing here by Joan Iverson Nassauer here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1U9NexhxJB30NLVKqBCut7_aQH_5JcH06/view For what are essentially garden spaces that will see ongoing human cultivation, there are a few additional pointers. These are special environments that ecologists are particularly interested in because they have increasing value as surrogate native habitat for that which has been, or will be permanently destroyed. 1) Bringing in pollinators begins with not destroying them through so much harmful maintenance: fall and spring clean up should be light (insects overwinter in plant debris); pesticides should be avoided; weedwacking should be avoided, etc. 2) Try to follow the 70/30 rule: Limit non-native plants to 30% of cultivated space. It seems that this same 30% should be targeted at providing nectar flowers during midsummer when wild plants are less productive with flowers. Maybe it’s your herb and veggie garden (mostly non-natives in this category) to native vegetation ratio. Whatever that looks like, it’s important for insects to be able to complete their lifecycle(s), and yes they can die of starvation. 3) Don’t take things too strictly, or quickly, and rip out healthy non-native plants because something has been put down as a general rule. Even a nice old healthy ‘trash’ tree such as an elm might be providing something very important for the time being. Lawns are not automatically wicked. 4) Be aware that the more elaborate hybridized flowers (double or more petal sets) are generally less useful to insects. “Several studies have shown that the explosion of petals that may delight gardeners can actually reduce the attractiveness of that flower to pollinators. This may be a result of lower nectar production as the plant puts its energy into making petals or it may be simply that the insects can’t get to the nectar or pollen. If you think a beautiful flower is one with a bee or butterfly on it, choose the simpler single blossoms as you make your plant selections.” https://extension.oregonstate.edu/gardening/pollinators/less-showy-flower-petals-mean-more-pollinators 5) Outside of invasive species, no one is saying that non-native plants are BAD, just that native plants are better from an ecological standpoint. One trick I’ve found that helps people tolerate some of the more wild and rangy natives is to combine them with closely related ‘nativars’ or with similar but fancier genera. I guess it’s kind of like hiding the monster in a pile of plushies. Planting a slightly ‘weedy’ looking Velvetweed (Gaura parviflora) with Whirling Butterflies (Gaura lindheimeri), or planting basic annual sunflower with a fancy hybrid sunflower works beautifully . 6) Layer. This happens to capture some seasonal patterns of dominant pollen sources as well. Taller fruit/nut producing trees and shrubs tend to flower first in spring. Here, that will be things like chokecherry, golden currant, serviceberry, new mexico privet, cottonwood, oak, willows, boxelder maple, wild plum, silver buffaloberry. In late spring-midsummer, it seems the wildflowers dominate. Some important ones are: penstemon, coreopsis, milkweed, clover, globemallow. In Fall, it seems many of the rangeland shrubs like chamisa, sage (all types), and snakeweed are taking over in flower and pollen production. Marilyn Phillips of The Abiquiu News Bloom Blog put together a great image catalog identifying local native flowering by month - linked here: https://www.rockymountainsflora.com/news/abiquiu/abiquiu-july.html. It’s a great tool because it allows someone less familiar with plants by name to explore ecological design planning with plants in bloom and serving pollinators across the months of the growing season. It’s just so much better than trying to decipher descriptives like ‘early spring’ or mid-summer’. We need more of this. Also, do check out one version of the Homegrown National Park keystone species by ecoregion chart here: https://www.nwf.org/-/media/Documents/PDFs/Garden-for-Wildlife/Keystone-Plants/NWF-GFW-keystone-plant-list-ecoregion-10-north-american-deserts.pdf. It’s really interesting to see how many insects depend on native plants. Fasten yer seatbelts: squalls be not just for pirates anymore. By Zach Hively Listen up: under any of the available definitions of the term, I am the only man of the male gender in this vehicle. It’s a wonder I checked the weather before we left, considering I knew that two far more responsible non-men of a non-male gender would be escorting me. Had the weather looked bad, I would not have dared to speak up first about maybe considering possibly staying home. Snow does not intimidate us men of the male gender. Instead, I would have waited for the other two to make the smart choice. Then I would have tried to earn brownie points by Trusting Their Intuition and Supporting Their Decision. And then I would have suggested we get takeout. So, to recap: the call to drive from Colorado Springs to Denver—and back again!—with a thirty percent chance of just 0.01” of snow was both entirely sensible and entirely not mine to make.  Detroit Electric auto on promotional tour through mountains. Cress-Dale Photo Co., Library of Congress Free to Use & Reuse. Anyway, there we are, dancing in Denver, an hour from our beds and a freezer stocked with late-night tater tots. And our designated navigator shows me the notification on her phone: a winter squall has blown across the interstate corridor, and everyone is advised not to brave it. What else can one do with a squall but brave it? No, for real. I don’t know what a squall is. But if pirates in the 1760s can survive them--without the aid of weather apps and G-maps—then we, who have celebrated International Talk Like a Pirate Day since approximately the 1770s, should be able to trust that it’ll all blow over in the next couple hours. Again: the two people here who are not men of the male gender are making sensible, informed, modern-day choices, which I endorse. These two drive this route every Tuesday night, except for six of the last eleven Tuesdays when the forecast looked sketchier than a raccoon with a switchblade. It just so happens that on this Tuesday, G-maps is now reporting that some semis have jackknifed on the interstate. These are causing delays but no real concerns. Semis are always jackknifing on interstates, even in purported first-world nations. So we head home. We reroute on some familiar-to-the-driver-who-is-also-my-girlfriend-so-of-course-I-trust-her back roads. G-maps says it’ll take us nearly two hours to get home that way. Not bad; where I live, I drive nearly two hours to stock up on bananas. I ride shotgun, despite being—as established—the only man of the male gender present. What can I say? We buck tradition. It looks as though the sailing be smooth, yarrr; there be no sign of squallage outside of some snow being stuck to these here metal street signs. Until, very suddenly, there be. We spot a short line of stopped taillights ahead. The taillights are easy to see, because we are not near any other source of light for miles on this two-lane back road. Our Backseat Navigator says that G-maps says there isn’t any significant delay. Then we hit ice. Our captain, my girlfriend, keeps going. She passes some of the stopped cars because, if we stop, we maybe can’t go again. Then we have to stop because a Ryder truck is skidding sideways up ahead. So we stop. On an uphill. With drop-offs on either side. And a pickup truck stops right behind us. And a sporty little Lexus, almost certainly with features like “turbo,” gets cute trying to go around the Ryder and slides off the road at the top of the hill. We are—in a family-friendly word—stucked.  Automobile stuck in ditch on road. George Grantham Bain Collection, Library of Congress Free to Use & Reuse. So stucked. A stream of cars with the same idea as our squall-braving captain passes us in the icy left lane, only to get stucked themselves behind the Ryder truck they could see from half a nautical mile away because we could see it from half a nautical mile away, only it wasn’t quite so stucked yet when we saw it. As if all this weren’t treacherous enough, the wind is quite possibly still squalling out there, too. (I don’t know the threshold for squall winds.) All the cars now stuck in the left lane, many of which (entirely coincidentally I’m sure) have Texas plates, are interfering with the valiant windblown attempts to winch the Lexus out of a ditch. The car thermometer appears stuck at 25°F. I don’t believe what it reads. (That’s degrees Fahrenheit, not degrees of the F-word I am hearing many times from the rest of the crew.) It's not safe, or even possible, for us to turn around. No room to try going forward, because we have no room to slide backward. Oh, and I should mention that of the three of us I am dressed most appropriately for our predicament: I am wearing slacks, not engineered for winter squalls but at least my legs are covered. And I, as passenger, have one critical responsibility: I must choose whether to ration the water remaining in my bottle for the hours, possibly days, of being stranded to come; or, to go ahead and, erm, make the bottle available for all three of our uses, which we might need after finishing the water left in it. Some hours in, time has ceased to have any more meaning than the tater tots we cannot reach. This is when our captain looks deep into my despairing eyes and asks me if I will drive. I—again, the only man present—am man enough not to give any answer at all for some long, stone-faced, manly moments. And then I am man enough to say, “I will … if you really, really, REALLY need me to.” It’s true that I would. It’s also true that, with me at the helm, we might remain completely stucked on that hill. Even after the sun rises and the ice melts. Even after tow trucks have cleared all the Lexuses and Texans. Because I carry a truth deep within me. And I watch as our captain realizes it, in real time. Her face dramatizes a masterclass in rational thinking. She learned to drive in Michigan. This car is her car. Her insurance rates are herinsurance rates. And her valiant passenger, in car and in life? He learned to drive in New Mexico. Albuquerque has, according to legend, only one snowplow—and most winters, one snowplow too many. She might be wearing a pink and turquoise skirt. But, avast ye hearties, she is also the only one here wearing pants. She doesn’t ask me again.  Race car driver Joan Newton Cuneo, seated in racing car. Harris & Ewing photograph collection, Library of Congress Free to Use & Reuse. But that’s not to say I am worthless.
As a matter of record, I have a litany of motivational phrases that I am certain everyone in this car appreciates. I also now have an empty water bottle that comes in very handy. Right after I brave the squall to dump it out—a squall that is definitely still squalling and definitely well under twenty-five degrees—the Ryder truck gets enough unstucked for the rescued Lexus to blow by it and for our captain to find just enough traction to get us up the hill and holy fishtails we are on our way. We are on our way very slowly, but we are moving. Our Backseat Navigator continues reassuring us with G-maps’ time estimates, which we ignore because even while being perilously stucked it told us we’d be home soon. I now become, functionally, the Lane Assist Feature. The squall winds are blowing squall snow across the icy squall road, making for some vertigo for the captain. “You’re good” becomes my mantra. “You’re good, you’re good, you’re good, you’re good, you’re good, you’re veering left but you’re good, you’re good, you’re good,” and I’m soon so lost in tracking that hidden white line that I forget to keep using my motivational phrases. This is the most alert I have ever been in a vehicle moving less than ten miles per hour. I know I’m going to brag about our captain after this one. I’ll write about it so the whole world knows she saved our lives. When we make it to safe haven, I’ll tell everyone about how, right before we returned to the interstate, we passed a sign that warned of a downhill ahead with an 11% grade, which I didn’t even know was legal, and how apparently snowplows can’t handle 11% grades as evidenced by the road being suddenly and distinctly buried in thick white garbage, and how our captain feathered the brakes to her own chant of “Oh Fahrenheit oh Fahrenheit oh Fahrenheit oh Fahrenheit” until we made it safely to the bottom with no help whatsoever from the Lane Assist Feature. I swear I will tell that part of the story very flatteringly, if we make it home alive AND are all still speaking to one another. Which we do … … at 4:15 in the morning. The whole one-hour drive took five and a half hours. Five and a half hours. I, being the only man of the male gender still present, do the manliest thing I can think of and make everyone tea. Plus, we be hungry after braving that squall. We deserve chicken nuggets with our tater tots. Too bad none of us wants to ever look at anything frozen ever again. Yarr. Behind the Scenes If I remember rightly—which I may not—some of the last words my girlfriend murmured to me before we finally fell asleep around six that morning were You’re allowed to write about this. So I did. But it took a while, because this is not quite the usual style here at Zach Hively and Other Mishaps. And in case this was lost in the attempts to be lighthearted about a very not-lighthearted night: she really did keep us alive. For which I say to her: thank you. I like being alive with you, very much. |
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