Nordic Skiing and Adobe Work in Jacona

Spring temps at Norski

Up skiing again on the Nordic trails this last weekend, both Norski and Pajarito. You'd hardly guess that recent storms had just come through the way the snow looked: Thin, icy, and barren in areas. Disappointing, but how much can you really complain when you have the opportunity to walk out the door and ski your afternoon away, cruddy snow or not.

Christina came with to work on her skiing as well. Earlier that morning she ran a 5km PR on the way to her first age-group title, so now she's got her own running hardware to add to the award cabinet. Brennans taking over people. Watch out.

Christina climbing the front hill

Aspens and the evening sunset

Cold beverages and sunsets - never cruddy

After Sunday morning's loops in Pajarito I stopped off in Jacona to help Will finish the studio he's building. An amazing looking place, even more so when you consider he literally pulled the sumofabitch out of the ground he's building on. He tells me the studio took 2,000 adobe bricks to put up, the unfinished house across the courtyard took 5,000. He spent the summer of 2009 framing and drying the bricks where the studio now stands. I can remember a giant swimming pool looking hole in the ground where the mud came out of.

The unfinished house with framed roof and eaves

From inside. Notice the rain runoff before the roof could be laid in

The studio and courtyard wall

On this day I helped Will and his brother Ezra with plastering and the setting of a bathtub. To plaster an adobe wall you take fine, screened dirt, mix it with water in a wheel barrow, and trowel it on to the wall. Screw up or suck at troweling? No matter, splash a little water on the mud and go over it again. I was a bit slow on my first go-around but Will was clearly a master at this point. He was hard-troweling the kitchen area with a fine finish. That area of the wall will get a coating of linseed oil to minimize dust or flaking.

Wall dorm and potsherds

Roughing out the bathroom fixtures

Will hard-troweling his kitchen

The bathtub and toilet fixtures didn't want to fit into their measured spaces. Will just takes a hatchet to the adobe floor and wall, and Bam!, all fixtures sit according to design. Goats in the yard looked on but I had a suspicion they were staring down our taco dinner. If they were cooler goats they would've lent a hand (hoof) since there was a lot to be done. I'd imagine we'll be eating one of those goats right there in the courtyard some day. Too bad so sad pinche cabras.

Goats are awesome but also yummy

Related Links:
A hat tip to Will's mad carpentry skills

Will Mushen - Mushen Design & Remodel
Santa Fe, NM

And to Ezra's mad plumbing skills
Ezra Hutteren - ESS, LLC - Plumbing and Solar Thermal Systems, Santa Fe, NM