The view from 43

I didn't really disappear this time, honestly. I've just been on the move. A lot.

I just hit 43, which still comes as a surprise, but lots of things have surprised me in this last rotation. On that day I found myself of the top of a peak, thanks, in part, to a chairlift assist, sitting next to a nervous pika who thought all the tourists had gone. The Thunderbirds roared by as if on cue. We looked down on the tiny cows below us.

And this year I wanted some ice cream from The Third Bowl on my birthday, so Jesse and I split a flite of six flavors (yeah, they do that), which we polished off before dinner, because that's how birthdays are done. It was worth the twelve month wait.

I've often spent my birthday off in the woods by myself. Birthdays aren't really a big deal, but it's an easy excuse to take a few vacation days and leave town. Waking up to this view is pretty common:

Good morning from the floor of an unzipped tent.

 Now I wake up to this view, too, and I like it very much:

I'm still silly and goofy, like always, but now I have someone to be silly and goofy with, or at least near, and that's pretty great.

 

I go for longer and higher walks now. I still stop for flowers and bugs and whatever was making that rustling noise in the bushes, but I think my photos are getting better thanks to the constant reminder of what an stop is.

Yup, I had no idea where that path past 42 was leading me, but it's turned out to be somewhere pretty wonderful. And it just keeps going...

Back in the saddle

Today's the first day since some minor surgery that I've been up for more than a commute. Here's what I found on my standard loop...

Snow, sort of.

The lollipop guild. They only pose while they're pooping. Had to take advantage of the moment.

A good Bambi at least two blocks away from the garden. Did I get a nice telephoto lens? No. I'm standing next to him. Our deer have absolutely no sense of personal space.

Only a little more tired than usual now, so, yay for recovery. I think I need to go see about putting that deer fencing up pronto...

I run an escort service on the side

In the final meeting with my college advisor, I think he referred to me as " la fille qui porte les araignées." After four years, that was my most memorable quality: I carried spiders.

Since then, I've branched out. I have moved two black widows from my house, one of whom went on a bike ride in a covered glass in the water bottle cage, delivered to the natural history museum on campus, but I've added many other individuals to my client list.

At work, it's usually wasps who sneak in between our faulty screens, but there've been silverfish and beetles and whatever else seems to make my coworkers scream.

At home, there are ill-placed earwigs who come in with the garden produce, miller moths that risk life and wing hiding behind the curtains from the cats, a whole lot of house flies and the praying mantis who just wants to look around the garage for a few minutes.

Fortunately I do find a lot of them are already in appropriate exterior locations.

But so many just need a little assistance getting somewhere else. Today it was a fuzzy jumping spider who tried hard to look inconspicuous against the white window frame and then this season's first baby mantid who was dangerously close to where the eggplants were being planted.

Last night it was three deer who were steadily working their way through a row of someone's lettuce in the garden. Yeah, some of my clients are large, awkward mammals, but that's another story for another day. I think I hear something bumping against the ceiling in the other room and I have to go get a cup and a tissue...

We went to get a bench from Pottery Barn

(updated, now with more bench)

Sometimes I get these stubborn ideas about wanting one, specific thing and also wanting to see it in person before actually buying it. That's how we ended up in the car on the way to Colorado Springs this weekend.

Of course, no Saturday is complete without waffles, followed by a (9 mile) walk in the woods.

The worst thing you can say to me is "Smile normally."

 
A view of a snow-covered mountain after the clouds finally moved along.

A search for a different trail which, alas, is no more, due to changing property lines, but I did find a pasque flower.

A visit to a tiny town that held an even tinier town within.

And, finally, a flite of beers in the hallway of a repurposed elementary school with the coolest bathrooms ever.

Oh, and I did get my new coffee table/cat bench. I love successful weekends!

And Vince thinks the bench is his personal sauna. Maybe someday they'll try "on" in addition to "under."

Some days, it's all about the light

I'm fortunate to live where clouds are not the norm. Even when they do show up, the late afternoon sun often find a way to peek through at the last minute. I recommended that the brewery staff take pictures of their beers immediately this particular afternoon.

I took my inaugural ride on the 36 bikeway this week and got to see the sides of the highway at a more human speed. It's still a bit loud with the nearby traffic, but there were moments where you could pretend the cars weren't there.

The view from the city overlook is still great for viewing our Flatirons at sunset, even if the geodesic dome is gone from the west side of the road.

Of course, the only thing nicer than our sunsets is our sunrises. Not necessarily at a convenient time of day, but when you have a motivated partner...

I haven't seen them yet, but I know these shots were amazing.

One part golden sunrise, one part less than six hours of sleep. Totally worth it.

Patience pays off

At this latitude, by this mountain range, we don't exactly suffer winter, but we still greet spring with exuberant smiles and a little excess energy. This year, the snow lingered here a bit more deliberately than usual, so the wait for the real start of the next season has seemed a bit long.

It's here. The lilacs are just about in bloom. Lawns are cheerfully dotted with dandelions, often to the consternation of the lawns' neighbors. I left work without my coat yesterday and didn't even notice till I was almost a mile away.

The peas soldiered through the last (final?) round of snow and I can finally get more seeds thrown in the soil. This year, I attempt kohlrabi, at the insistence of my garden friends.

Going out on the deck to watch sunsets and moonrises no longer requires a down jacket and making sure the door is quickly shut behind me. Strangely, the moon tonight was clearer behind two panes of glass than it was from outside, but I'll get the hang of this photography thing one day!

The warm days ahead are already starting to fill up with future adventures. I know that this time of year is really just a continuation of all the months that came before it, but I do so like the feeling of a beginning...

Summer today, winter tomorrow...

There's nothing quite as interesting to a weather nerd as the erratic behavior of a Colorado spring. Two weeks ago we got to wear short sleeves and apply copious amounts sunblock while exploring the edges of Denver. I learned about fault lines and the names of those red rocks in the distance and Jesse learned the names of the birds we passed (Hello, meadowlarks! Hello, mountain bluebirds!) and any plant I could remember.

There were signs of new life.

And traces of life long since past (we guessed ancient, aquatic worms squiggling their way across the sea floor).

The sun is hanging around a little longer each day, but we're still unusually tall as it sinks behind the foothills.

Giraffes R Us

And then the extra layers came out of our packs as we passed the cemetery of a village that faded away over one hundred years ago, making our way back to the poorly-named Stegosaurus lot (there were none).

Since then, there've been sunny days for biking, new snow for skiing and a massive fruit tree bloom in town. Tonight, we watch the constantly updating forecasts for the latest "significant" precipitation event. I was going to have the snow tires taken off today. I opted to wait just one more weekend. Can't wait to see what this next few days brings!