First Hummingbird of the Season!!!

The first broad-tailed hummingbird of the season appeared this morning - I heard the high pitched whirring of its wings before I saw it. I quickly cooked up some "Hummer Juice" (1 part white sugar to 3 parts water, brought to a boil and cooled) which I keep in the refrigerator. My old hummingbird feeders are in sad condition - broken perches and very faded - but I'm using them until I can get to the store to buy two new ones. Having hummers in the area is a BIG DEAL for me because it means that summer is just around the corner.

Estes Park typically hosts two species of hummingbirds, the broad-tailed and the rufous which arrive later in the summer. Both species are loads of fun to watch. I don't have a recent photo but I'll post one as soon as I can.

The Ducks are Coming

On the first Saturday in May, Rotary Club of Estes Park holds its annual Duck Race. Over 6000 small plastic ducks will be dumped into Fall River for a three mile journey ending at the confluence of the Fall and Big Thompson Rivers in the heart of Estes Park. They are scooped out of the river at that point and the numbers on the ducks' bottoms indicate the prize winners. Each duck costs $20 and, of that amount, $19 goes to one of over 60 charities and non-profit organizations (chosen by the buyer) in the local area. The more ducks a charity sells the more money it makes. The 5% kept by the Rotary Club is used for printing, prizes, and other costs of running the race, which is in its 22nd year. My husband is the Rotarian in the family and for the past few years he's been on the Duck Committee serving in various roles including Big Duck (chair of the event.) I've helped on a much smaller scale mostly entering ticket information into a computer at Duck Central.

Race day, with its carnival-like atmosphere, is loads of fun. Click here to see a video of the 2009 Duck Race. The best part of the Duck Race is the way we all work together for the benefit of our community and it's charities. Go Ducks!

High Peak Camp

Late this afternoon Wayne and I drove out to High Peak Camp, a few miles south of Estes Park, where he had a meeting prior to dinner with a lovely group of people. I took a book, my knitting and my camera to keep me occupied while he was in the meeting. High Peak Camp, owned by the Salvation Army, is in a beautiful location at over 9000 ft. elevation with gorgeous views in every direction. Wayne is treasurer of the local SA extension unit which is an all volunteer group that helps people in need in the Estes Valley. One of the many things they do every year is to send twenty local children to camp for a week where they always have a wonderful experience. What I like most about the local SA is that virtually 100% of the money donated to them is used for individuals and families right here in our community. I took these photos this afternoon.

Elk in Residence

I looked out my bedroom window a few minutes ago and saw snow lightly falling on a congregation of elk (cows and a few young bulls.) They are nibbling on anything and everything including grass, bushes and trees. It's a herd of about one hundred. Elk viewing draws thousands of tourists to our little mountain town of Estes Park and to Rocky Mountain National Park, especially during the summer and autumn. The most spectacular elk event is the "rut" (elk mating season) which takes place during September and October. We don't have to go farther than our porch to see the antics of these huge animals. They can put on quite a good show right in our yard. Many nights we've been awakened by the loud, frequent and intense bugling of the huge bulls. It's an eerie and unmistakable sound.


This young elk was born last spring and will stay with it's mother and her herd for at least a year.


A little rest after lunch


The two horses in our neighbors' corral have frequent elk visitors hoping to snack on their hay - it's in that fenced enclosure with the blue tarp covering it.


While I was photographing the elk, a deer wandered by.

Colorado Blue Spruce Babies

We planted two Colorado blue spruce babies today - indoors in pots until they are big enough and the weather is warm enough to transplant them outdoors. They will live in a sunny window for now getting plenty of TLC from me.

Colorado blue spruce (Picea pungens) was adopted as the official state tree by the Colorado General Assembly in 1939. Colorado blue spruce is a beautiful, hardy conifer which thrives in the montane zone of the central and southern Rocky Mountains. We have several in varying sizes growing on our property. They have a gorgeous bluish green cast. For those of us living in Estes Park, Colorado (next door to Rocky Mountain National Park) growing anything, including conifers, is challenging. In addition to the dry climate and poor, rocky soil are the ever present elk who munch on almost anything that grows so fencing is a must, at least until the tree is quite large. Below are images of mature Colorado blue spruce. Aren't they lovely?

Lovely Leaf Lace Scarf

While caring for my grandchildren, I've had precious little time for knitting. But I did bring my current project and find time to add a few rows each evening after the children are asleep. It's a pattern I found on Purlbee. I haven't done much knitting but I fell in love with the "Lovely Leaf Lace" scarf and was determined to learn how to knit it. Unfortunately, I did a lot of "unknitting" before it got to this point. I reduced the width of the scarf so I could complete it with the one ball of merino/silk yarn that I had purchased at the Wool Market in Estes Park, Colorado last year. The color is a slightly variegated soft jade green.

Happy Birthday, Rocky!

Rocky Mountain National Park celebrates its 95th birthday today. On January 26, 1915, President Woodrow Wilson signed the legislation creating RMNP which encompasses 265,770 acres of mountains, valleys, lakes, wildlife, streams, meadows, plants and more. The views are breathtaking and every season has its special beauty.

From my home in Estes Park, Colorado, the town which borders RMNP, I have daily views of several of the park's mountains. It is an important part of our everyday lives. Our family drives, camps, rides horses, takes photos, hikes, skis, snowshoes, picnics, attends programs and explores in RMNP. We love living in the mountains and we love Rocky Mountain National Park.

(The two photos above were taken by me last summer in RMNP. My granddaughter is sitting on the rock and the second is of an annonymous golden-mantled ground squirrel.)

Lily Lake Walk

Wayne and I took a walk around Lily Lake this beautiful morning.