Cisterns
Our third and final project this year, after fixing the garage and installing solar panels, is landscaping. The first phase of our landscaping project focuses on rainwater harvesting and storage. The crew dug a big hole in the backyard where they installed three 2,500 gallon tanks. As you’d probably expect, there can be great gaps between rainfalls here in the high desert. Our hope is to be able to make it from one to the next by capturing as much as possible for our landscaping needs when it does rain.
A single 2,500 gallon tank making its way into the backyard.
Next week these large tanks will be connected to pipes leading from the roof “canales” and other pipes leading to irrigation outlets as well as our main water supply. Inside the cisterns there will be a float to trigger the system to refill up to the minimum from city water if the tank gets too low to feed our irrigation. Of course, we mostly want to be using rainwater.
It’s the first weekend in September, which in much of the country is known as Labor Day weekend, but here it is more importantly Zozobra weekend. When Reese Baker, owner of The Raincatcher, dropped by on Thursday to talk about landscaping plans the conversation ranged widely, as it always does. Reese is what I’d call a people person and he has varied interests and experiences. We learned that back in his 20s, Reese and his father operated the left arm of the 50 foot tall marionette. He remembers it starting slowly. Once Zozobra was set alight, Reese had to run full speed under falling, flaming debris to make the left arm flail. He had a fireman’s helmet for protection.
Every year the people of Santa Fe write their “glooms” on slips of paper to be placed inside the grand puppet and burned away. In honor of the USA’s 250th birthday, this year’s theme was the “Tyrany of Gloom” and Zozobra was dressed as King George. Torchbearers were dressed as patriots. Attendees of all ages yelled “burn him” as Zozobra flamed. High drama, even if elements of the ceremony are uncomfortable. (Photo to the right is of the 2026 Zozobra burning. I stole it from the Santa Fe New Mexican.)