SKeniley's blog

Living at 6,300 feet, in the high desert of New Mexico, where the 24 hour temperature can vary 40 degrees or more per day and where the seasonal changes can be extreme, being a friend with the sun becomes an important component of your life.

In our small adobe home, we befriend the sun in as many ways as we can. Our home is oriented 10 degrees off of direct south, following instructions that this would give us the best solar gain. The southern side has three large double pane windows and a small two story sun room. An 18" overhang sits above all windows. Because of the sun's height in the summer, the overhang shades the home's interior. As the sun path lowers, more sun is allowed into the interior, as the overhang now provides no shading. Perfect! In the summer, you can sit in the cool shade inside the sun room. In the winter, you can snuggle up and enjoy its warmth.

Because winter nights are the time you want to "hold" the heat provided by the sun during the day, we've done a few extra things. Double-celled insular blinds are lowered as the sun lowers. And, our fabulous mud floors hold the heat and disperse it at night.

The land we live on and have built on over a period of 25 years was known as the Homestead Division of Santa Fe County. It lies southwest from the small town of Madrid which was once a thriving coal town, then a ghost town grew into a hippie haven and finally a still slightly quirky, artsy town. In 1978, the land was rezoned with a 40 acre minimum to protect water rights. It is completely raw land-no power lines, water lines, telephone lines, no county road maintenance.