Bisbee favorites, Tim and Kathy of Auld Lang Syne, playing with solar power, adding rhythm and joy to the April Open House.
Click here to go to Auld Lang Syne’s website!
Fresh from playing on top of the dome, the rest of the family sings a few songs with their folks under the shade of the ramada.
Playtime equals good food and live music!
Back to work in the dirt. Still feels like play!
Chris working on scratch coat of earth plaster on the new dome.
So, I broke my ankle… but I had these goofballs to take care of me!
Off-roading on my walker, cuz I can’t believe I can’t work!
Grace, Elena, Claire, Nina, Valeria, Kenny and Marcia. This beautiful crew is rocking out the blue plaster… Me and my walker are just there for the photo op.
Chilling in what is now known as “The Little Blue Dome.” So beautiful!
Detail of perfect thrift store plate at entrance.
Starting second coat of plaster between storms.
Claire and Elena are exceptionally skilled with plaster.
Dangerous Industrial Chicks.
Girls love dirt!
Day 1: Great volunteer crew gets it anchored under Kenny’s direction.
Wrapping up Day 2 with Valeria, Kenny, Jacob, Coco, Zach and Catherine.
Up and over the window forms. Center compass keeps the geometry true.
Kenny, Zach, Grace, Amanda and Valeria. Onward and upward with Kenny Quinn’s “quinntraption”!
Marcia manning the compass while sitting on steel support for ceiling fan. Kenny and Grace preparing to close the dome.
Low tech: Rose tossing cans of mix to Grace to fill the last tubes/bags.
TA DA!!!
Dome Number 3!
Celebrating with friends. 10 years of First Sunday Open Houses.
Emma in charge of weeding and entertainment! Indispensable help with monsoon-induced weed jungle. Weeds didn’t have a chance.
Some visitors have had time to create tiles for the ranch. This one is Emma’s.
Sprouting fava beans.
Graphite botanical drawing of sprouting favas.”
… a few days later.
Harvesting prickly pear cactus fruit.
All-volunteer zinnia madness in the garden.
Baja Arizona Sustainable Agriculture (BASA) and their hammer-mill at the Bisbee Farmer’s Market. Time to mill mesquite beans. Yay!
Click to go to Baja Arizona Sustainable Agriculture website!
Harvesting pecans at Ransom Ranch. Extremely gratifying after planting bare root trees seven years ago.
A year of wonderful crops, exciting building projects, and especially great young helpers. Very little would be possible without these energetic young people. I am so grateful for their enthusiasm, hard work, and humor.
Madawna helping install new water line.
Tanvi and SarahJo grouting tile.
SarahJo and Sawzall
SarahJo killing it in the kitchen.
Heroic Coco mastering the dome.
Coco removing the center compass from the new dome.
Nikhil. Boy from New Jersey learning about the desert.
Joe showing us how to chill.
Ohitika girls drumming a blessing for the new buildings.
Nicholas and Sheryl from Native Seed Search, Tucson, getting a Ransom Ranch tour and trading cow peas.
Winter. Time to plan the garden.
An opportunity to build this 9-foot interior diameter dome presented itself in early Spring. Kenny Quinn and I co-taught a small workshop in March with my long-term interns assisting. United World College students volunteered on Day One which got things off to a great start.
Marcia Gibbons | sustainable arts 