The Trees of Chimayo

Chimay is a census-designated place (CDP) in Rio Arriba and Santa Fe counties in New Mexico. The name derives from Tewa for a local landmark, the hill of Tsi Mayoh. The CDP is unincorporated and includes many neighborhoods, called plazas or placitas, each with its own name, including El Potrero de Chimay -the plaza near Chimay 's communal pasture-and the Plaza del Cerro-plaza by the hill. The cluster of plazas called Chimay lies near Santa Cruz, about 25 miles north of Santa Fe. The deciduous trees that lie in this area down from the rocky terrain hills that surround the CDP all seem to have weather sculpted cruelty dug into their bark that seems more like a gallery than a place for shade.