A friend of mind, an avid hiker who gets out on Colorado's trails very often, recently shared with me a couple of photos he took at Lake of the Clouds in the Sangre de Cristo Wilderness. The photos are of the same scene, taken ten years apart. The first photo was taken in 2013, the second one in 2023. I was shocked when I first saw these photos. I'm still shocked whenever I look at them. I know these forests, as I've been hiking and backpacking the wilderness trails of the … [Read more...] about What a Hotter World Does to Forests
Nature
Putting the Garden Back in Kindergarten
Governor Polis’ efforts to bring free, full-day kindergarten to Colorado’s public schools have been in the news quite often the last several weeks. Currently, Colorado only pays for half-day kindergarten. Those districts that do offer full-day kindergarten pay for it with funds designated for other programs, with local property taxes, or by charging families. Polis recently stated, "It's time to make the state a full partner with our (school) districts. We simply need to ensure that kindergarten … [Read more...] about Putting the Garden Back in Kindergarten
Vuja de
I’ve been writing about various facets of the natural world for the newsletter of the Nature education non-profit I started in the Mountain Park in Beulah, my small southern Colorado town, for a long time. The recent issue that was just published begins the eighteenth year of the Mountain Park News. I can recall writing articles on all sorts of birds and wildflowers, bears, trees, mountain lions, pronghorn, bobcat, pleasing fungus beetles, squirrels, owls, biological soil crusts…but, … [Read more...] about Vuja de
40 Day Love Fest: Daily Marriage Practices for Easy Living
Forty years is made up of a whole lot of individual days. It is what happens routinely in those days that add up to make a life, or a marriage. Sure, vacations are nice, breaks from the routine, opportunities to do some different things and see some different places. But vacations are just that - temporarily vacating the familiar. Then it is back to the familiar. One of our philosophies of creating a happy life, and marriage, is to make the familiar - the everyday days with the everyday tasks … [Read more...] about 40 Day Love Fest: Daily Marriage Practices for Easy Living
40 Day Love Fest: Kindness Guides Our Days
This song sums up what we strive for...in our day to day connection. ps Let us know if you love this song by David Wilcox as much as we do. Dave and Helene Van Manen celebrate living intentionally together for 40 years with honoring 40 days during the summer of 2016. They have joined forces to raise children, create music, build a community non-profit and more. Kindness is one of the secret ingredients in their recipe for loving. … [Read more...] about 40 Day Love Fest: Kindness Guides Our Days
40 Day Love Fest – Our Magical Mystery Marriage
We've been talking about how to honor and celebrate our 40 year wedding anniversary (which we cannot even believe we are saying "forty"). We originally thought we would take 40 days off (one for each year), but that did not work out with our work schedules. So we grew that idea into creating the "40-Day LoveFest," which will consist of doing something special each day for 40 days to celebrate these 40 magical years, including taking time each day to remember the years, the ups and downs, the … [Read more...] about 40 Day Love Fest – Our Magical Mystery Marriage
A Redrock Wilderness Retreat, Part 3
DAY THREE Except for a gusty wind that woke me several times, I had a warmer and better sleep last night. I climb out of the tent to a cloudless, desert blue sky. Oatmeal, nuts and tea are my fuel for a hike that, at this moment, I am not sure how far will be. I start up the wash where I get my water and continue until I reach an unpassable pass were it not for the two ladders the Park Service has conveniently provided. Without them, it would be a quick mile hike to a fifteen foot vertical … [Read more...] about A Redrock Wilderness Retreat, Part 3
A Redrock Wilderness Retreat, Part 1
DAY ONE The clock in the car reads 6:21 as I pull out of my morning driveway and head down the dirt road. Destination: Elephant Canyon, Utah! I listen to NPR as I work my way south towards I-25, and then west on US160. Presidential candidates Donald Trump, Bernie Sanders, Marco Rubio, Hillary Clinton, and Ted Cruz seem to monopolize the news stories. Especially Donald Trump. I climb La Veta Pass and am happy to lose reception. Enough of Donald. I leave Cortez on Hwy 491 and immediately see … [Read more...] about A Redrock Wilderness Retreat, Part 1
The Call To Take People To Nature
“Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home; that wildness is a necessity; and that mountain parks and reservations are useful not only as fountains of timber and irrigating rivers, but as fountains of life.” ~ John Muir What was left of the daylight was rapidly fading. The primeval silence of the forest was as much a presence as the Douglas firs that towered above us. The deep hoot of a great horned owl suddenly … [Read more...] about The Call To Take People To Nature
Hanging Out in a Treehouse
Fifteen feet above the forest floor. Enveloped by the needled branches of white fir and Douglas fir trees. Cooled by a most welcome breeze that carries the slightest hint of fall. Chattering pygmy nuthatches from the tops of the nearby pines. It’s been a good long while, and way too long – decades, in fact – since I spent any time in a treehouse. Every kid should know what it is like to play, daydream, climb into, relax, and just hang out in a treehouse. Making sure my two … [Read more...] about Hanging Out in a Treehouse
