Spring in the Garden

The front garden at the Painted Pony Resort is one of the first things guests see when they arrive so it is an important visual component in the presentation of the estate.  The goal is that when arriving guests round the corner of the driveway and catch their first close up view of the main estate buildings they ask themselves "what is this doing out here?".  A nice presentation is the first reward for those driving into the bubble and as a consequence a good deal of time is spent working in garden to insure it is visually pleasing and inviting.  Currently, the Ocotillo are in bloom and with their large red clusters of flowers they are particularly enticing.  Commonly used as living fences in the desert, Ocotillo are visually unique succulents. The local hummingbirds also find the flowers enticing and they can be seen gathering nectar from the individual flowers.  Note, that the Yucca are also starting to bloom (in the background in the first photograph below) and should soon be filling the garden with large white flowers which should attract the yucca moths.

A 10 -12' high specimen of Ocotillo

Ocotillo flowers

Another grouping of bright red Ocotillo flowers

Lunar Eclipse 2014

Astronomy is favorite pastime of some guests at the Painted Pony Resort and the resort attracts astronomy groups looking for clear night skies with southern views.  The San Simon valley, lying between the Chiricahua and Peloncillo mountains in southwestern New Mexico, provides such an observing opportunity.  All-Star Telescope is just one of the groups making yearly visits to PPR for the observing opportunities in the remote high desert.  During their visits, the 50x50 hanger is converted into base of operations for the astronomers while the wives and other family members enjoy the comforts of the estate, creating an environment where everyone is accommodated and feels comfortable.

Not being an astronomer, but with the encouragement of guests, I tried my hand at some simple photographs of the first lunar eclipse of the year visible in the U.S..  I took the opportunity to get out with my simple point and shoot digital camera, view the eclipse, and try for some images.  The full moon rise over the Peloncillo moutains was large and bright and even without a tripod several photographs were captured.  Somewhat later once the eclipse started it became more difficult for the auto focus to settle in on the moon and only a couple of images were captured.  Clearly a tripod would have been a useful addition for night time photography of an object as close and bright as the moon.  In comparison to images taken from the resort that guests have shared, these first attempts only offer a faint imitation of the beauty of the night sky visible here.  Fortunately lunar eclipses are regular occurrences and there will be other opportunities to try again.

Moon rise in the San Simon valley.

Partial eclipse.

Working with Mud (mud through time) Cultural Resource Inventory VI

Mud, wet clay, plaster, daub, whatever you call the material it has been in use for thousands of years.  Humans have created all sorts of things with mud over time from utensils to housing.  Considering the utility of the material, mud/clay is a just not for making mud pies.

The cultural resource inventory at the Painted Pony Resort identified a small prehistoric hamlet on the property and in an attempt to date and identify the residents, a single room was cleared of rock in hopes of identifying the floor and finding a piece of diagnostic pottery (more mud).  While no diagnostic pottery was found evidence of stucco plastering was recovered from the collapsed walls.  The masonry walls of each room were covered in an early form of stucco, presumably to keep out the wind.  While other Mogollon cultural groups built solely with adobe (mud), the Mimbres built with stone which was skinned with locally obtained clay.  The source of the clay was identified with the discovery of large modified flakes in several pits/arroyos which served as digging tools to excavate clay for various uses in the hamlet, plastering walls and pottery.  The 2 fragments of stucco show that small rocks were added to the mix before applying to the masonry walls. 

Clay pit with a prehistoric digging tool.

Daub (left) and adobe fragment from a wall.

This clay source was also tested for its suitability for pottery by creating a crude vessel which was then fired in a fire pit kiln at the Painted Pony Resort.  Not being a potter the esthetic results were less than ideal, but the coil and scape method used by potters proved suitable for making something that resembled an ashtray created by a 4 yr old.  Firing the piece of plainware resulted in a well hardened piece with a nice ring when tapped and one that did not melt in the rain like earlier attempts.

First attempt at firing pottery.

Skipping forward in time about 800 years from the prehistoric uses of mud a more modern example of stucco work involves the rustic cabin at PPR.  After installing the split heating/air conditioning units in the rustic cabin, the exposed piping required covers.  Decorative pilasters were built and attached to the walls which were then covered with stucco.  Modern stucco differs from the early stucco material used on the rooms of the hamlet and is a processed material instead of locally obtained clay, but the process of mudding the exterior of a structure has not changed.

Modern stucco pilaster on the Rustic Cabin at PPR.

 So, across a time span of approximately 800 years things have not changed, we are still playing in the mud.

Inspirational Words