Ditch cleaning and wild weather means it’s spring in New Mexico! Because so much of our work is sustained by seasonal cycles, springtime marks an important point of return. Seeds are being sown as we plan and schedule for a fruitful year ahead.

PRUNING AND DITCH CLEANING AT RAEL ACEQUIA

The spring ritual, ‘La Limpia,’ is nearing completion at the Rael Acequia in La Cienega. Our next effort will be to rebuild another damaged section of bank with reinforced stonework. To maintain historic character, all materials including stones, gravel, dirt and sand, will be sourced on-site. Additionally, we are excited to have orchardist Gordon Tooley of Tooley’s Trees out of Truchas, New Mexico, join in the field next week. Gordon and his interns will lead a tree pruning demonstration at the Rael Ranch Orchard.

TEST WALLS AT SAN MIGUEL MISSION

After 13 years of exposure, the test wall at San Miguel has begun to fail. In 2010, the San Miguel preservation project got underway with the construction of an adobe test wall to evaluate different soils for mud plaster. Our goal was to find the most durable material possible. After a diligent search, we found a source for very high-quality soil that was ca. 95% clay. The deposit was on private land below the Sangre de Christo Mountains, above Tesuque Pueblo. While hard to process, this clay proved itself on our test wall. Earthen walls covered with this “gold” in 2011 have yet to be re-plastered and are holding up well - 12 years of durability! Yet our test wall is sadly at the end of its useful life. Only a remnant remains. While the mud plaster has endured, basal erosion has deteriorated the adobes beneath, as the photo demonstrates.

Our Program Director, Jake Barrow, with test wall.

Exterior wall of San Miguel Chapel. After 12 years of exposure to the elements, the earthen render is holding up remarkably well.

LAKE VALLEY SCHOOLHOUSE WINDOW RESTORATION | KIEL HOUSE GABLE END

Last month Cornerstones spent two weeks working on two buildings at the Lake Valley Historic Townsite; The Kiel House and the historic Schoolhouse. Cornerstones interns, Kateri Lopez and Ruben Kimmelman, worked with carpenter, Fred Flores and project manager, Randy Skeirik, to complete the window restoration project at the Schoolhouse. Window trim was painted with a linseed oil paint and reset, and the original wood windows, two-over-two, double-hung sash, were restored and made fully operational using original hardware. The team also set the original transom window above the entrance doors.

At the Kiel House, we addressed an unsympathetic patch of amended adobes on the building’s south wall gable. The amended adobes were removed and replaced with natural adobes that were made to match the color and size of the original bricks. Several of the original adobes on the south wall were also replaced due to severe erosion over the years.

Resetting transom window at the Schoolhouse.

Ruben and Issac removing unsympathetic amended adobes at the Kiel House.

Lea, smiling after laying the last adobe of the repair area.

Cornerstones crew making adobes to match the original dimensions of those used at the Kiel House.

CASITA DESIDERIO Y PABLITA ORTEGA

Limited-Focus demolition work has been completed at Casita Desiderio y Pablita Ortega in Chimayó! Our partners, Avanyu General Contracting, conducted assessments and have carefully removed deteriorated material, saving as much of the original fabric as possible. An excavator was hired to remove deeply embedded tree roots from the site. Now that we know what we are working with, we are ready to move forward with rehabilitation.

A powerful excavator pulled and cleared stubborn roots from the site.

ALAN ASH

Many of you have inquired about our friend, Alan. Alan Ash, Master Stonemason, has contracted with us since 2016 when he led the stabilization of a section of retaining wall on the old La Bajada roadway. More recently, he led the workshops to construct the Agua Fria Torreon, which serves as a prominent forever monument in the village. His work is typically all dry-laid in the European tradition of stone walling. While labor-intensive, the craft is characterized by its longevity- a well-built wall lasting centuries.

In October 2022, while leaving a restoration job out of Deming, NM, Alan was impacted head-on by an oncoming vehicle, narrowly escaping with his life. He is presently in long-term rehab with no guarantee of being able to work again. His daughter has set up a Go FundMe on his behalf. For more information, contact us at: Contact@cstones.org.

Alan standing in front of reinforced bank at Rael Acequia, 2022

NMHPA SURVEY

Finally, Thank you to everyone who participated in our recent survey. Your feedback provided valuable information that is currently under review. Thank you!