Before I met Steven, I lived for a few years in the town of Bernalillo. Across the street from Our Lady of Sorrows church there is a former convent which was used as an art gallery at the time, and I lived in an old adobe barn behind the convent. It was a beautiful property, though a bit rustic. There was a fruit orchard, grassy lawn, and two big old mulberry trees that were planted by the nuns around the turn of the century. The barn roof leaked occasionally, but because of the adobe construction it was wonderfully cool in the summer and comfortable in the winter. It had a very nice view of the Sandias from the front door, and a horse pasture across the side street.
Steven, Clare & I went for a drive Sunday and stopped to see the place. I'm still recovering from the shock! The barn is still there but is boarded up and looks like it will be demolished soon. The metal roof has many, many holes in it and is flapping eerily in the breeze. Even more alarming is that the entire yard - the grass, the orchard, the two huge, lovely mulberry trees - is gone. I so didn't expect that. The place looks desolate. And the horse pasture is now a Flying Star! I had been away for ten years and EVERYTHING had changed.
