Don't Have a Plow Guy Any More

I was just reading something about a plow guy in New England. I love that phrase, "the plow guy." We used to have a plow guy when we lived in New Hampshire, and he was an important part of our life because he meant that we could get out into the world again after the snowstorms came.

Waiting for the plow guy; buried Volkswagens in our New Hampshire driveway. Of course, the plow guy would plow only the driveway. It was up to us to rediscover our little cars under all that snow
and dig a path from them to the scraped driveway. All this might be happening before driving to work on a Monday.
Is it any wonder we love being retired in the desert Southwest?

Now that we live in New Mexico, I guess the plow guy's place has been taken by the adobe guy, who is an important part of our life here in the desert because he knows how to keep our adobe buildings from melting back into the earth when the monsoon rains come.

Waiting for the adobe guy; melting adobe garage wall

In some parts of the state, women traditionally did the adobe maintenance, re-plastering the old walls by hand with new mud every year. Where we live we have the adobe guy, who has saved our poor old neglected garage by spraying the adobe bricks with a stabilizer. Remember, we only got here last November, so we weren't responsible for the condition of the garage. We are working through our list of home improvements as fast as we can.

Adobe detail; part of an earthy lifestyle in the desert

And before you worry about us living in a big, messy mud puddle--the adobe bricks of our main house are covered firmly with an earth-colored stucco that keeps the whole business from melting away in our spectacular summer rainstorms. 

Another Use for Earthen Construction

Yakhchal; ancient earthen refrigerator

In my search for information about adobe structures around the world, I came across some fascinating information about ancient "refrigerators" in Persia (now Iraq) called "yakhchal." They were being built by 400 B.C. and were used to store food and ice during the blazing desert heat of summer. Circular structures made of mud brick, they often rose as much as 60 feet above a massive interior ice pit. They were arranged so that cooling breezes entered them, and had an exterior groove to allow a continuous trickle of water to spiral down the outside walls, cooling the interior even further.

There was a trench around the bottom to capture any meltwater from the ice. This water would freeze during the cold desert nights, then was broken up and transported back down into the ice pits.

For more photos, information, and diagrams of yakhchals, see Yakhchal: Ancient Refrigerators.

The adobe walls of our adobe house--our own earthen structure--keep out the desert heat, too

Adobe Homes on The Zees Go West; An Index

Adobe Homes: Where Can You Find Them?

Don't Have a Plow Guy Any More

History of Adobe Construction

A House Made of Mud

Inside the House Made of Mud

Kibbutz Lotan

Living in a Little Adobe House

Our House, Part 1

Our House, Part 2

Using Natural Elements to House the Homeless

Living in a Little Adobe House*

Thick, thick walls made of earth and water and straw
connected to the earth they were made from
the same color as the garden soil.
Deep windowsills
the firmness of cool tiles underfoot
rounded corners
kiva fireplace burning fragrant wood
bancos to sit on
vigas and latillas up above
nichos in the walls.
A peaceful quiet, held and contained.
Warm in winter
cool in summer
windows looking out at desert willows and cottonwoods
and maybe some hollyhocks.
A strong sense of shelter.

**********
Kiva, bancos, vigas, latillas, nichos: See the glossary of New Mexico architectural and decorating terms at http://www.jkhomes.com/byjohn.html

Books About Adobe Houses:
Adobe Houses for Today, by Laura Sanchez.
Behind Adobe Walls, by Lisl Dennis.
The Small Adobe House, by Agnesa Reeve.


Children’s Books about Adobe Houses:
Grandmother’s Adobe Dollhouse, by MaryLou M. Smith.
This House is Made of Mud/Esta Casa está Hecha de Lodo, by Ken Buchanan.

Adobe Homes on The Zees Go West; An Index

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*Dedicated to our little adobe house in Las Cruces