Life on the High Plains

 It was sad waking up to the news that Pope Francis had passed away. He seemed to be a godly man who lived by his Christian values.  Always kind, generous and inclusive of all humans.  He brought some reform to the Catholic church although they still have a way to go. Wouldn't we all be so lucky to celebrate Easter one day, give a last message to the world, and then passing away the next morning?  You will be missed Francis.  Let's just hope the Conclave picks another progressive pope. Easter was very quiet this year. I hadn't planned to even cook an Easter meal, but at the last minute we went to the store and bought all the fixings. Here's my once every two or three years potato salad.  I prefer to buy the pre-made from the store, but this year I had a special request for my homemade potato salad.  I will admit it's a lot better than the pre-made.  I even put eggs in since they were down to $4.12 a dozen last week. Irv likes my homemade apple pie...

It's finally beginning to look a little bit like Spring here on the high desert of Colorado.  My tulips from Amsterdam have bloomed! I can't get too excited though because a storm front is moving in later this week and we'll back down to lows in the 20s and highs in the 30s and snow!  I hope my beautiful tulips thrive in the cold. At least we don't have tornadoes here, thank goodness. Has spring arrived at your house? Linking with Skywatch Friday

 Recently I browsed through some photos from 20 years ago.  It's hard to believe that much time has gone by. I'm throwing in some shots from Christmas 2004 which we apparently spent in Arizona.  Nothing better than big smiles on my girl's faces and look at that precious grandson. It's always fun to go to the zoo lights at the Phoenix Zoo, definitely the best I've ever seen.  I can't believe how heavy I was back then.  After leaving a job that truly made me truly unhappy in 2006, I lost 50 pounds and for the most part I've kept it off. Jillian with one of her best friends, Ashley.  This photo brings back happy and sad memories because we lost Ashly a couple years ago. Here's our sweet little Keira not long after we adopted her.  She was a gift from heaven because she was born on the day my mother died.  What I would give to have one more day with my mom.  I hope she knows how much I loved her and that she is missed every day. Here's Jillian wi...

Last Fall I started volunteering for two of our local nature centers.  I looked for a long time to find the perfect place to volunteer and I think I found it!  A couple weeks ago they hosted their annual volunteer recognition dinner.  This is a group shot of the staff and volunteers who showed up.  Being a tall girl, I'm way in the back in front of the really tall dude in the yellow shirt. They catered in a delicious Mexican meal and even invited everyone to bring a plus one. We even had live music.  A couple volunteers perform in the band and they all show up to many of the outdoor activities that the nature centers host. Volunteers were recognized for the hours they contributed in 2024.  I didn't start volunteering until the first week of October last year, but I still managed to get 40+ hours in before the end of the year.  This year I'm aiming for 200 hours. The county runs both the nature centers, but all the activities are funded through donation...

 Although we've lived in Colorado for almost 30 years, we've never made a visit to the Great Sand Dunes National Park. A couple weeks ago we were in the area and decided to stop in for a quick visit.  We had to stop at the welcome sign for a photo.  It's always great how strangers will take your photo if you agree to take their photo.   Pulling up to the entrance station I was surprised to see one of my former supervisors from Yellowstone collecting entrance fees.  She transferred to the Dunes to get out of fees and work in Public Affairs.  She said it was her first day in the booth and she was out there because of "staffing issues".  We all know what that's about, don't we?  (My ranger friends who lost their jobs on February 14th have been notified they're being rehired.)   I wasn't sure what to expect at the Dunes.  It was much larger than I expected. I, of course, had to find out how all that sand got there.  It was thr...

One of my favorite things to do is to go for a hike surrounded by trees and running water. We live on the high desert of Colorado so to find trees and water we have to drive at least 25 minutes or so. Our go to place is the regional trail at the closest County Park.  It's also the park where I volunteer at one of the Nature Centers. It's not especially beautiful this time of year.  It won't be long until everything starts turning green and the blue herons return. Aspen is always up for a quick dip in the creek. At the nature center I volunteer for they always have interesting articles and stories to help keep the volunteers motivated.  One I read recently was especially interesting.  I've always known that being outdoors make me feel better--mentally and physically. There was a study done that says 20 minutes 3 times a week in nature will lower your body's primary stress hormone, cortisol.  It should be a stroll and not a workout and disconnecting from other int...

You have to love spring weather on the front range of the Rockies.  Intense winds and dry grasses.  On March 13th they combined with a spark to form the Meridian Fire.  Irv was driving home from golf around 12:30 and he saw where the fire started--someone's backyard and it was heading northeast.  We both have the Watch Duty app on our phones and it started sending our alerts.  We weren't too concerned at first because it was a good seven or eight miles to the west of us.   We were in a pre-evacuation zone though.  Irv hooked up the horse trailer just to be prepared.  I packed an overnight bag and then looked through the house to see what else we might need.  All I grabbed was our computers and our fireproof safe which contains our passports, our wills, and some other important papers.  I was going to grab one of my paintings if it came to that, but I really couldn't think of anything else to take.  I've digitized the majority o...