Chimayo

Leisurely drive back to Chimayo today.
Rugged landscape with single foot paths
where so many recently traveled.
Outdoor Stations of the Cross near a
full newly melted mountain stream, and
El Santuario de Chimayo Shrine.
The blossoms are out on the trees now,
and tulips and jonquils are blooming near our door.
M

Cougar or Jaguar?

Cat fighting a snake
composed entirely of tiny glazed mosaic tiles
near Guadalupe Street
and Paseo de Peralta.
M

Playing Favorites

What is your favorite place?
When I think of my favorite places
they are usually concrete, specific locations,
at a certain time of day,
certain season,
with specific players "on stage" with me.
And yes, I have several:

First on the list:

Maderia Beach, Florida
on the gulf coast
of the Atlantic ocean,
the way I remember it;
not the way it has been bulldozed
and built-up now.
Very late summer,
or very early fall; the beach is quieter,
children are back in school,
but velvety sand holds warmth of the season,
digging toes into soft, cream-colored blankets of sand.
Very early morning, before even the sunrise,
when blues and pinks and purples of the ocean match
their dark reflections in early sky.
Walking along that magic area between
dry and wet
warm and cool
with bits of tiny shells
caressing my feet and ankles
as they swirl in a tide.

My challenge to you?
Let me hear your thoughts
and votes
for
your
favorite place.
M

The Lady

Lady of Guadalupe near downtown Santa Fe;
this image is made up of more than 40 separate glazed tiles .

Happy Retreat

Road Trip North With Connie

Good Friday, and Easter this weekend.
Thousands of New Mexico residents
make a yearly pilgrimage north of Santa Fe
to a religious area called Chimayo.
Although most try to arrive by Good Friday,
even the day after Good Friday
we saw many walking alongside both major highways
and simple 2-lane roads
to reach their destination.

From an article at:

www.holychimayo.us

Chimayó Easter Pilgrimage

During Holy Week
thousands of pilgrims journey to El Santuario de Chimayó,
a tiny shrine in northern New Mexico.
They leave from their homes,
or their cars parked on the roadside,
to walk 10, 20, 30, or even 100 miles to reach Chimayo.
In the darkness before Good Friday,
pilgrims line the highways north of Santa Fe
carrying crosses and glow sticks.
By Easter Sunday tens of thousands of worshipers
pass through the doors of the little chapel,
built almost 200 years ago
on a site that is sacred to many Pueblo Indians
and descendants of Spanish settlers.
Somewhere around 1810,
a Chimayó friar was performing penances
when he saw a light bursting from a hillside.
Digging, he found a crucifix,
quickly dubbed the miraculous crucifix of
Our Lord of Esquipulas.
A local priest brought the crucifix to Santa Cruz,
but three times it disappeared and was later found back in its hole.
By the third time, everyone understood that
El Senor de Esquipulas wanted to remain in Chimayó,
and so a small chapel was built on the site.
Then the miraculous healings began.
These grew so numerous that
he chapel had to be replaced by the larger,
current Chimayó Shrine -- an adobe mission -- in 1816.
Believed to be built on sacred earth
with miraculous healing powers,
the legendary shrine El Santuario de Chimayó,
is probably the most visited church in New Mexico.
The crucifix which began the original shrine
still resides on the chapel alter,
but for some reason its curative powers
have been overshadowed
by El Posito, the "sacred sand pit" from which it sprang.
Each year during Holy Week thousands of people
make a pilgrimage to Chimayó to visit the Santuario
and take away a bit of the sacred dirt.
Pilgrims walk a few yards or a hundred miles.
Many claim to have been cured there of diseases,
infirmities and unhappiness.
The walls of the sacristy are hung with discarded crutches
and before-and-after photographs as evidence of the healing.

Santuario de Chimayó
Chimayo, NM 87522
www.holychimayo.us

We did not travel to Santuario de Chimayo today,
as the village is filled with pilgrims for this Holy weekend.
Instead we traveled nearby and witnessed several;
searching and hoping for help and peace,
in their quest to reach Chimayo.

Stopped at a rural road-side cemetery
where one grave has been decorated
with stylized motorcycles,
while other graves could only be
decorated with rough carved, wooden crosses.
The cemetery has a glorious view of the mountains,
and although lonely, is peaceful.

Views from Connie's Retreat tomorrow.
M

Full Moon Rising

Nature Conservancy Trail,
near Two Mile Reservoir.
Part of Dale Ball trails
Santa Fe, New Mexico

Road Shot to Albuquerque

Next week - I promise to get out of the fast-moving car
and take some "still" photographs of this wonderful land.
M

Black & White #2

I love second-hand stores....
M

Black & White for Tonight

J went for a hike with Krista from Tony's class,
and Tony's dogs; Changa & Cappie came along.
M

Finding Santa Fe Street Art

"A Chicano kid grows up with walls of many kinds around him.
When somebody is born into that situation,
there are several things he can do.
He can ignore the walls and sink into apathy.
Or he can become violent and try to blow up the walls.
But there is a third way, a way that people have used for centuries.
And that is to perform a kind of ritual magic
to neutralize the force of the walls by decorating them
with signs, symbols, and art.
Chicano street writers choose this third way."
- Gusmano Cesaretti, Street Writers (1975)



My goal for the next 8 months
is to find and publish as much Santa Fe Street Art as I can find.
Let me know where to find more, and what you think.
M

Albuquerque to Santa Fe

Snow Day

Our first experience with a "snow day" in Santa Fe
6.5 inches since last night.
Schools were closed, but with temperatures in the mid 40's
today, most of the snow is gone this evening.
Also my first official day of employment.

M

I've also posted J's studio's Blog site -
currently only work by the instructor,
but may have student entries in the future.

Olympics

Yesterday I had an early front row seat
to the 2008 Summer Olympics.
A foreign swim team comes to our town
for high altitude practice.
I was able to watch
elite swimmers at work at my pool.
In my front row seat.
I have never seen
that level of swimming in my life.
Wow.
I love this town.
M

Santa Fe Numbers

Santa Fe City estimated population in July 2006: 72,056
Santa Fe County population: 142,407

Santa Fe County

Median resident age:	39.8 years
New Mexico median age:	34.6 years

Estimated median household income in 2005: $45,177
(it was $40,392 in 2000)

Santa Fe	$45,177
New Mexico:	$37,492

Estimated median house/condo value in 2005: $282,700
(it was $182,800 in 2000)

Santa Fe	$282,700
New Mexico:	$125,500

Median gross rent in 2005: $861.
Percentage of residents living in poverty in 2005: 15.6%


(Information from: www.city-data.com and www.quickfacts.census.gov)

M

March...

A birthday sunset for Mackenzie and Allyson...
Have a great day on your day!
M