Blizzard in Denver

Thursday March 26, 2009...

It snowed and the wind blew hard, the snow piled on the street, the scrubs and trees. It lasted 24 hours. The driving was treacherous for most of that time. Then the sun came out. And in a matter of one day, most of the snow has melted away.




When I got my camera out to take some pictures, I discovered that I had not charged the battery since January. No pictures in the midst of the storm...so sorry. I have early morning the day after and Friday afternoon pictures to share. Early morning darkness with the new fallen snow, and some afternoon pictures of blue sky and sunshine.
Jack and I did try to do some business on the day of that storm early hoping to get back home before the brunt of the storm hit. Unfortunately, we got caught in the midst of the fury of the blizzard...harsh wind and snow...on our way back home.Thankfully the with the help of angels, the Highlander's 4 wheel drive and Jack's purposeful driving brought us home safe and sound. We stayed put for the remainder of the day.

Grace and Peace

Colorado New...not so nice... Find

I just love bike riding. I love the places one can go and see while on their bike. In Colorado there is a nemesis to bike riders... the dreaded GOAT HEAD...per Wikipedia "Tribulus terrestris -The nutlets or "seeds" are hard and bear two to three sharp spines, 10 mm long and 4–6 mm broad point-to-point. These nutlets strikingly resemble goats' or bulls' heads; the "horns" are sharp enough to puncture bicycle tires and to cause painful injury to bare feet." My tires found several of these "nutlets" on my last bike ride around the community here. I know exactly where I encountered them...but did not know the lethal impact they would have on my tire. Flatter than flat! I will never ever walk around barefooted now that I have seen the results to my bicycle tire. YIKES!

So off to the bike shop to see what could be done....at home Jack had found two of these little spikes in my tire...the fixit man found 2 or 3 more. We live where they "populate". Hmmm. So he replaced the tube and provided some automatic fill the hole when it happens stuff and strongly encouraged buying a brand of tire called "Armadillo" - very expensive but almost always effective against the Goat Head, and nearly every bike rider in Colorado has them. The bike shop folks were awesome. Gave us a newbie discount, a welcome to Colorado discount and lots of advise on where would be great rides. Scott our friendly chatty gray haired understanding our plight and ages sales guy recommended Breckenridge for a wonderful not too challenging ride along side the river there. Fourteen miles downhill. I think it sounds great. Jack is somewhat more hesitant to do Colorado trail riding in the mountains. This is not a mountain trail per se, I presume similar to the Stowe VT bike trail.

So there you have it. A new awakening as it were, and frankly, I am thankful that my bicycle tire was first to encounter this stabbing experience.

Grace and peace to all

BIRDS IN DENVER

Couldn't help but add a new picture of Tucker .... isn't he just the cutest little boy ......





On to the story.....

Yes, yes we know there are many birds in Denver...especially geese! However; today, to our absolute delight, a bird or two visited our little feeder just off our patio, and Jack got some pictures. Amazing how this little visit boosted our spirits. Not that there was any need for boosting mind you, a wonderful little blessing is welcome anytime!

We are looking forward to consistent warm weather, even some rain, a good soaking would be good for the dry Denver area.

So here is the bird, perched on our new feeder. A local squirrel has also discovered the feeder, but seems the feeder is not conducive to the squirrel's hanging around as it were, and the holes for the seed are situated in such a way as to mandate unusual contortions the squirrel was not able to maintain. Hilarious! Not only that, Jack's quick trot to shoo away the squirrel with a loud boo, fended off the intruder.

**in the original post I had the birds as the main story...but, truly...Tucker is the main story, birds are the delightful sideline!

Tea and Sculpture

Last Saturday on the advise of a local friend we drove to Boulder to visit the Celestial Seasonings Teas Manufacturing plant. A very touristy thing to do, well worth the trip. We packed a picnic lunch and drove the 45 minute route with ease. Tea tasting, visiting the gift shop, Julie OOOooo's and Aaaawww'd over the lovely tea cups and tea pots and all accompanying stuff, the unique tour including a short movie about Celestial Seasonings filled our late morning and early afternoon. On the advise of our factory tour guide we then drove less than 1/2 mile down the road to the Leanin Tree Museum of Western Art. THAT was awesome and made our day more than enjoyable and complete. Outside was a Sculpture Garden...fantastic! Inside were paintings that took our breath away and more sculpture. We are in awe over Gods gift and talent to these artists who capture the essence of nature and western life so powerfully.


Celestial Seasonings Tea Shop - free tasting of every flavor they make is here, along with some morsels of cookies, cake, biscotti and the like for sale.

T'was a very sunny day as we sat outside enjoying the sun and a beverage

Jack with the Colorado sunshine on his shoulders...and it truly does make one happy as the John Denver song proclaims.

Boulder roadway depicting the tree lined road, foothills and Rocky Mountains...these views often wow us.

Mountain Lion sculpture in the Sculpture Garden at the Leanin Tree Museum.