we ride over to a group of houses in the gravel pit, a reclaimed area that has several nice and small earhtships. after a look inside at the beautiful interior full of plants and creative wall decorations, we begin working on the roof scraping down the peeling sealer paint, so that it can be foamed over to prevent leaks. no-se-em's begin to appear, nasty little flies that leave a horrendous mark which cannot be scratched. i take some lemon and spread it over my exposed skin which deters them from landing on me. we are done with the roof in a couple of hours. we return to the original site. the couple from the bay area are not in today. the woman had to fly out for an occaision, so A., the husband took her to the airport. J, B., who is from buffallo, a young guy with extensive tattoes, and myself begin working on the flashing beneath the slanted window of a made to order two bedroom earthship. as the afternoon wears on the temperature hits 94 degrees.

 i haven't been drinking a gallon of water as recommended, because my diet consists mostly of fruit which is about 85 to 90 percent water. the workers here are conventional in terms of diet; no vegetarians out this way.  the crew is very compitent and very concious of the the mission of the earthship which is sustainability.  the heat and sun are intense. every bit of out skin is covered to prevent burning. we shape the metal and secure it in place. this takes all afternoon. 

E. who has been living in the community for 8 years, and works through the entire year be it 110 or 20 below.  he gives us extensive details on everything we are doing as well as on the community, and earthships in general. he tells us about the crew's experience building an earthship in jamaica for a local neighborhood "don". the crew spent most of their weekends fixing up the houses of the manual laborers who had not the knowledge or the materials to do it themselves. one man had waited many years for a roof to be put on an addition so that his blind brother could come and live with him. by mid afternoon, the heat is causing me eshaustion, and i sense that what i'm eating is not cutting it energy wise, my smoothies in the morning and several pieces of fruit, dates and an avocado for lunch are not enough calories. then i remember that a smoothy with certain herbs in the morning might greatly increase my tolerance for working in the heat, so i make a mental note to have one as soon as i get back and then repeat it tomorrow morning. (i do this and the next day i work energetically all day long. this beside experience builders all of whom i am at least 20 years older than.) after work, i drive back toward the gorge and eventually stop at the dance studio to inquire about the flamenco class, but, i am too hot, ehausted and dirty to pursue waiting an hour for it to start, so i put it off, until i feel i have a wired routine that makes my work day easier. 

i drive back to REACH, tired out and slightly missing nice cool, cozy new england, i clean out and organize my car down in the pine covered parking area, and drag myself up to the earthship on the mountain where i  acknowledge the spectacular beauty of the view and the spot. i call my roomate in new england before collasping in bed.  the next morning, we tour E's homestead that is finally expanded after he and his partner have lived in a tiny lofted and round adobe studio without running water or bathroom for 6 years. in the last year they have been able to build a larger earthship like work studio/ living space for doing pottery, jewelry and other crafts, as well as for living, and are expanding on other parts of the property. their homestead is pleasantly green, with a green house and a garden, and some rolling gulliied landscape that makes it seem cozy and protected from the vastness of the unrelenting western landscape. 

I go to work for T, another taurus, and the head contractor on the crew. after the 2 quarts of celery smoothies, i've got a lot of energy and can work well in the heat all day with a good attitude. so, i am encouraged by this, as it is a sign that my natural vegan, high fruit, low fat diet, assisted by some selective smoothie additions, will get me through the three weeks i have left to learn the earthship architecture.

but, this is new mexico, in the summertime, out on the plain, the rio grande gorge splits the earth crust in a jagged serpentine line revealing the clay brown precipices of its history as it plunges down to the sweeping, muddy, mythical river called the rio grande.  the heat is brutal, and unrelenting on days when it reaches over 90. this is the land the hopi wandered through in their final migration to the mesas in arizona.  this is the land of the taos pueblo, one of oldest continuously inhabited sites on the planet.

my jet age immigration from the flowered and wet spring climes of north easton massachusetts to the barren summer intensity of northern new mexico still gnaws at my psyche.  i drive up from albuquerque, through santa fe and stop at ojito farm to look at a casita for rent.  drive back on a 4.2 mile dirt road and meet the owner, who is a devotee of fukuoda's do nothing farming.  we walk his vinyard, look at an exquisite, secluded adobe casita, that would make a great art/music live in studio tucked into a spate of trees next to a river.  then drive up, following the rio grand, to meet K. and S. at a baskin and robbins ice cream store in taos.  my father owned a baskin and robbins ice cream store. he always wanted to build a house from the ground up. i took this as a wink from the universe. a vision of his smiling face comes to me in a dream that night.  K. and S. take me up to REACH, 9000 feet in the mountains above taos, to get settled into the original home of Michael Reynolds, the visionary designer/architect who created the earthship. 

it is a sprawling two story structure built into the steepest part of a jag of the taos mountains, at the end of a steep dirt road that winds up from arroyo seco.  there are several houses here stacked close together, the big difference is that they are built into the mountain, with three side of earth and the south side of slanted glass that gives a view from any room across the expanse of the taos valley and its mountains.  it appears as though none of the trees were cut down to build the house.  the ponderosa pines appear to be growing out of the roof, but, they simply built around them.

once again the shadows of the jagged taos mountain peaks spead out across the valley letting me know i am up early.  it is 6am.  i had a long, elaborate dream last night whose meaning yet escapes me.  i check a website for astrological commentary on my week.  i grab an orange and use the dry toilet, whick is part of the containment idea.   everything in an earthsip is contained, used, recycled, transformed.  while sleeping the 3 foot thick tire walls  packed with adobe and tin cans keep the ship cool, even though is was in the 90's up here all day.

i sit on my bed and connect breathing for 15 minutes without moving.  when done i sit motionless, in complete stillness, silence and peace.  then i ask questions about what i am doing, but, i do not attempt to answer, as, i know that the presence which i have connected with in the silence and stillness will begin to show me signs pointing me toward answers.

i make and drink a quart of celery, apple, lemon, and cilantro smoothie. then i do yoga on my two blankets near the cistern that catches rain water directly from the sky and supplies all the water needs of humans, and plants for many months.  the cistern is topped off, as it violently hailed and rained here on saturday.  i eventually leave the mountain top enlivened by my breakfast smoothie.  i pop some tea in a bottle of hot water.  it takes me 8 minutes down a very steep dirt road to get to my car.  i drive out toward arroyo seco, stop at the gas/market at the big intersection and fill a quart container with ice, as, i have forgotten to bring water for the day.

i pull into the earthship visitor center and ask where we are working today.  for the first time i see michael reynolds talking with one of his crew.  he has just returned from montana, where they were building a ship.  he has long grey hair, leonine like.  he is a leo.  appropriately, because this is the land of sun.  i will meet him in the next couple of days probably.

i go out the highway to tres piedras and take a back road into the new world earthship community to the work site.  we start in with adobe plaster on the inside of the U shaped modules.  fortunatelly because it hits 91 degrees by 2pm.  we are only in the sun when mixing adobe and wheel barrowing it into the dwelling.  it is cool mud and a pleasure to shape onto the tire walls.  once gets the rythmn and applies the mud like a sculptor, shaping the walls organically.

the two young ladies from oklahoma who have been working elsewehere show up to work with us.  tomorrow the whole crew will be on this site. 

a very long haired man in his 40's comes by and gives them a flier.

he is a musician and is appearing somewhere in taos

during lunch E. and H., a long time couple living in the community tell us about an eccentric millionaire who had an enormous ES built that was supposed to become a yoga retreat.   he was the heir of an amusement park fortune and  his extravagant and foolishness quickly put him in bankrupcy.  now the place is forclosed on, but, they we're happy he had been there because, his money kept the company afloat, and the workers employed during a lean spell.  the ship is empty and jsut down the road.  so soon i will go in and take some pictures of it.

between the heat, the long drive, the whole hearted uniqueness of this whole episode in my life,  i find it hard to concentrate;  fumbling around and distracted.  solution:  being where you are, one of the most difficult things to do in our hyper stimulated, inauthentic, and failing culture.

the clouds start showing up and by 4:30,  they are much welcomed.  and the previously simmering plains become the heirs to crystal clear air,  the tall line of spectacular mountains, and large billowing clouds, with a balmy breeze rushing across them.  i take off my shirt and stand in the breeze, not wanting to go inside with the rest of the crew to drink beer. i linger in the transforming landscape drive back toward the gorge, stop at the dance studio to watch a flamenco class, and then drive up the mountain.

I've made it to saturday.  sleeping until noon, i got up in real daze.  i'm physically taxed to the limit. but now, at 6pm after resting all day, i'm feeling like a human being again.

m. reynolds coming out to the sight everyday to gauge progress.  he is about to leave for australia.  lots of lectures and such to architecture students and organization.  company is only working on 7 earthships at present.

the dry, searing new mexican landscape takes its toll on one's spirits.  however, when i reach the earthship in the mountain community, after the arduous, steep climb, ususally with a pack full of stuff, the serenity, quiet, and peace buries all the struggle at the job sight.

this weekend i'm all about rest, and, watching the endless sky from the top of this mountain.  not a whole lot of poetry coming out of this gig at the moment (i'm sure its there unconciously).  but, i know that i'll learn something earthshattering here when its over.  

i've been talking to an east coast friend who is selling her house and wants to build an earthship in south america, so, that encourages me.

To the left are the feet of the taos mountains covered in ponderosa pine trees. at their base are dwellings of all sorts with fields that i can clearly see, marked out with tree lines. farther away are the tribal lands of taos pueblo where there are a lot of trees on the flatlands and a great deal of cattle grazing. a large line of mountains curve around in front of me across the expanse of the valley. they continue diminishing on the horizon toward the southeast. the huge gorge cut by the rio grande river is discernaible out on the mesa as a dark line. as it turns toward the south where it confronts the chain of mountains, one can see the dark line widen and one can make out the wide gorge that continues on alongside the road south of town that goes to Santa Fe. A hundred miles or so in the distance, maybe farther is another chain of mountains that are very high, out to the south west. dos piedras and thres piedras, those unique hills south of the earthship community are prominent on the mesa. thunder clouds all around.  

the rain water catchment cistern is full to the brim.  every time it rains, it tops off and the excess spills into the indoor garden and then into the outdoor garden.  when it rains here it dumps a lot of water in a short tim, usually preceded by a few slaps of thunder.  the clouds course the huge sky over the valley, you can see the sheets of water in tremendous grey spills, covering the town of taos and the surrounding mesas long before it gets here.  like some kind of  celestial sprinkler system, but, of course far more dramatic and beautiful.  ya think?  well thats the water i'll be showering in tomorrow morning.