Autumn in Rocky

Wild Basin trail head in Rocky Mountain National Park

We couldn't have asked for a more perfect afternoon to take a picnic into the park. Luckily we found a parking place at the trail head in Wild Basin and ate our lunch while enjoying the gorgeous autumn mountain scenery.

We Miss Her

This photo of Mildred and three of her nine great grandchildren was taken last Christmas

My 95 year old mother-in-law died last week in Elk Horn, Iowa. She had lived in that Danish community all of her life. Her strong and loving presence will live on in the memories of her family and friends and we will miss her.

Double Rainbow

I took this shot from our deck last week. We see the most beautiful rainbows (single and double) in the late afternoons. This one was especially brilliant. I hope our neighbor in the white house checked for a pot of gold!

Bear in Our Neighborhood

My neighbor called this morning to alert me to a black bear in her back yard. Here she is, munching on a glob of bird seed and suet she nabbed from up in the Ponderosa tree. She didn't seem the least bit perturbed by my presence, looking up at me occasionally then concentrating on her snack. This bear looks small enough to still be under the protection of her mother but I didn't see any signs of Mama Bear. It's the time of year when bears eat ravenously, storing fat for their winter of dormancy.

Bear Visits Local Chocolate Shop

Surveillance tape photos

The Estes Park News has a delightful story about a bear who recently broke into the local chocolate shop, ate his fill, and left without doing any damage. Read the story  here.

Getting Back to Normal

Our porch, where we will celebrate the 4th of July

Slowly, we're getting back to normal in Estes Park just in time for the 4th of July. The High Park Fire (12 miles north) continues to burn within the perimeter but is 100% contained as of June 30. Firefighters are making significant progress on the other Colorado fires and there are no new fires. For the families and individuals who have lost their homes, the work has just begun. I'm amazed that the news of our wildfires has reached places as far away as Romania. I had a message from Marta, a Romanian internet friend, who saw the story on her local television station. Thanks for your concern, Marta. We are fine now! Marta has a daily blog, Printesa Visina, that is most interesting.

It's a beautiful day with only a slight haze in the air and no smoky smell just now. Wayne is hiking with his weekly hiking group this morning and I'm planning our 4th of July picnic which we'll eat on our porch tomorrow. It will be a typical all-American cook-out: burgers, corn on the cob, coleslaw, baked beans, and strawberry shortcake - Mom is making that. I'll also make iced tea and lemonade from scratch. Estes Park has cancelled their annual fireworks over the lake because of the extreme fire danger ... wise decision!

Wayne and I are looking forward to several July events. Our children and grandchildren will be here for a few days. Some of the things on our "fun to do" list include: attending a Rockies game, camping, hiking, picnicking, and boating. Just being together is the most fun of all! 

Smoke in the Valley

Smoke has descended into the Estes Valley this morning. With wildfires both north and south of Estes, and no wind,  it's hard to tell from which fire it's coming - maybe both. The haze and smell is getting worse by the minute. We closed the house up early so it's relatively cool and smoke free inside. I took a couple of photos but they don't capture the haze very well. The rain we had on Wednesday and Thursday was most welcome but with the exceptionally high temperatures, things dry out quickly. There are at least six fires burning in Colorado and the threat of new fires is extreme. I keep our grab and go bags ready. Yesterday I signed up with LETA (Larimer Emergency Telephone Authority) which is an emergency notification system. It's a desperate time for Colorado.

Estes Park Fire

Estes Park (Woodland Heights) Fire - home fully engulfed in flames

Estes Park  (Woodland Heights) Fire - helicopter approaches with water bucket

Saturday began hot and windy and, as we watched the smoke billow from the High Park Fire, we got word  about noon that a wildfire was burning in the west part of Estes Park near the Beaver Meadows entrance to Rocky Mountain National Park. Our home is several miles away from the fire site. During the day we got information that the fire had started from unknown causes at a cabin on High Drive. The tinder-dry conditions and hot wind quickly spread the fire to other structures and surrounding grassland and forest. Many people were evacuated and went to the EP High School where the Red Cross had set up a temporary shelter and control center. Wayne and I other Salvation Army volunteers picked up meals at local restaurants to feed dinner to 150 firefighters. By last night the fire was contained and today the firefighters are monitoring hot spots and "mopping up." At least 20 homes/structures were destroyed over a 20 acre area but I've heard of no deaths or injuries. At times in the afternoon we could see smoke from both the High Park Fire and the Estes Park Fire


The immediate crisis is over for Estes Park but with fires burning in many places in Colorado and the persistence of hot, dry, and windy weather, Wayne and I have been making a "fire evacuation plan" in the event that we need to get out quickly. It's hard to think about it but having a plan in place lowers my anxiety. Salvation Army needs volunteers to help with the canteens serving meals to firefighters at High Park Fire. Wayne will probably volunteer for one or more days of service. In the meantime we are vigilant - hoping for the best while planning for the worst.

High Park Fire

This is day 15 of the High Park Fire which has consumed over 75,000 acres, destroyed 200 homes, and caused one death. The billowing plumes you see in this picture I took from my deck are smoke, not clouds. The hot, dry, windy conditions the past two days have intensified the wildfire and firefighters have lost ground. More people have evacuated from the threatened areas today. Officials say that the firefighters can continue to work on containment, but only Mother Nature can extinguish the fire. It will burn for months.

Estes Park is not directly threatened by this fire which is roughly 20 miles north but there has been an adverse economic impact during this high tourist season. I am sad and anxious when I look to the north. Everyone is hoping for cooler, calmer weather and, most of all, rain.

Summertime in the Midwest

some of our family on Jan and Doug's patio

We just returned from ten days in Nebraska and Iowa visiting family - lots of family! It was a wonderful trip - just loaded with activities. Our agenda included: Parker's baseball tournament in Des Moines; birthday parties for Wayne and Mildred; Carly and Fischer's swim meet; dinner with old friends; lots and lots of swimming; and delicious meals. We stayed with our son and his family in Bennington and with Wayne's sister and her husband in Des Moines. We had quality time with our six grandchildren and got to see some extended family as well.

swimming in the Andersen pool

my granddaughter's dessert invention
Gracie Parfait
Delicious!

New Mexico: Land of Enchantment

Traditional Adobe Structure

There are so many lovely images in my camera of our trip to New Mexico that I'm having a hard time choosing my favorites for this blog. We recently spent a wonderful week on a Road Scholar tour of Santa Fe and Taos, cramming as much as we could into our brief visit. The tour focused on culture, art, history, and literature of the area and we got a good dose of all those and more. We planned this trip with our friends, Linda and Wally, whom we met last summer on our UK trip. Being with them made this trip even more enjoyable and we'll do more traveling with them in the future.

 Chilies hanging from restaurant roof for drying

Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument 

Native Art seen in NM State Capitol

American Kestrels

These homely but charming baby birds are American Kestrels. The nest site is in an out-building at my son's company, SunCo Grounds Management, in Omaha, Nebraska. The American Kestrel is a small falcon which preys on small birds, mammals, and insects. The pair raising these hatchlings has nested here in past years and one of the employees regularly checks on them and takes photos which are posted on the SunCo facebook page. They are waiting for one more egg to hatch.

Beautiful Day for a Duck Race

Duck Race committee members begin race day with breakfast at Nicky's

Wayne and I at breakfast

The 2012 Estes Park Duck Race was a huge success and a wonderful day of fun and hard work. We started at 7:30 with breakfast then got busy selling ducks until the start of the race at 1 p.m. The total number of ducks sold this year was 5713 with over 600 prizes awarded. The weather couldn't have been more delightful and the river was fast enough to carry the first duck to the finish line in just under an hour. The Rotary Club of Estes Park will be giving back well over $100,000 to the participating local charities. 

The crowd is gathering. The red cage at lower right contains the ducks which will be released into the Fall River.

Kris Hazelton, this year's Big Duck with a real live duck!

Ready... Set...

GO!!!

Making a new friend - just ducky

Checking the prize boards for winners

Wayne gathering ducks at the finish line

Helpful little bystanders

View up the Fall River (little yellow ducks in the water)

Wrapping up the race

Blooming Crabapple Trees

The flowering trees come into bloom much later here in Estes Park than down in the valley. They are at their magnificent peak right now. I took these photos in the parking lot of the major shopping area in town.

High Peak Camp

It was a beautiful afternoon to snap some photos at High Peak Camp  (HPC) yesterday. The camp is a few miles south of Estes Park on Highway 7 and to say it is picturesque is an understatement. The clouds are lovely against the intensely blue sky and aspens are beginning to leaf out. I especially love the mill house and its setting. The local Salvation Army unit will send several Estes Valley children to HPC this summer for a week of fun, adventure, and learning. When I'm there it brings back memories of several summers when, as a child, I attended Girl Scout summer camp in Nebraska. They were wonderful times and I cherish those memories as I hope today's campers will.

First Hummingbird of the Season

Male Broad Tailed Hummingbird

When Mom told me yesterday that she had seen a hummingbird at her feeder, I quickly cooked up some *hummer food, filled my two feeders, and hung them on the porch and deck. It was a beautiful day so I had the windows open. I usually hear the hummers before I see them and, sure enough, I heard and then saw one get a long drink. I wasn't fast enough to snap a photo. This was a male broad tailed hummingbird, the first ones to arrive in Estes Park. The females will arrive later this spring and the male and female rufous hummers won't arrive until the first part of July. They are wee but feisty. The image above is one I found on the Internet copyright free.

*I use a ratio of 1 part sugar to 3 parts water this early in the season. When it's warmer, I use a 1 to 4 ratio. I stir it in a heavy sauce pan and heat until it boils. I let it cool then store it in a glass jar in the refrigerator. I've been told NOT to add any food coloring which is not good for the birds and not necessary for them to find the feeders. I bring my feeders in at night so as not to attract bears.

My Favorite Planet

Happy Earth Day!

Eagle Watch

I've spent a lot of time the past few days watching the eagle cam from Decorah, Iowa to the detriment of other tasks. Mom and Dad Eagle are doing a great job keeping the three little eaglets fed, warm, and safe. They've had some owl and raccoon encounters but fiercely defended their nest. Because the nest is close to a fish hatchery, their diet includes a lot of fish. But they have plenty of other food as well. The camera is live 24/7 and has infrared capabilities so you can see them even when it's dark.  Click here to see them - you might get hooked as I have.

The clouds have been spectacular and I've been shooting photos off and on all day when I'm not watching the eagle cam.

Entering Duck Mode

Start of last year's race

Preparations for the May 5 Estes Park Duck Race are in full swing. Wayne has a garage full of little rubber ducks (all counted and sorted and ready to float down the Fall River). He and I have about 1000 new ducks to number (on their bottoms with a Sharpie) to replace the ones lost or damaged last year. The total number of ducks that run the race is typically between five and six thousand.

This is what's going on outside at the moment (4 p.m. April 15). The big fat flakes are melting as fast as they hit the ground.