Connie in Ouray

 It's raining this afternoon as I write this.  I woke up this morning to rain on a metal roof, which made me not want to get up at all.  It is so soothing. We saw a report in The Denver Post  yesterday that a possible triple dip la nina is setting up in the Pacific, which means heavier snow for the Rockies.   The "triple drip" means this would be the third year in a row for a la nina year, although our snow levels were down last year.  Maybe more northern and central mountains?   I don't know as it lumped the southern mountains in with the report. When Mike was out with the dogs this morning, he noticed that the renters at the VRBO had left two full trash bags outside in the driveway, and since bears are out and about right now, I let Steve, one of the VRBO managers, know that he might want to ask them to put those in the garage.  He responded immediately that he would take care of it.  I continue to be so impressed with how well-ma...

 ...or possibly Leadville could I go to a mining competition over the weekend.  It was so much fun!  On Saturday, we went to the single jack competition, which was an individual pounding a chisel into a big rock.  I know it sounds boring, but it wasn't.  The competitors were fierce, pounding in rhythm to his or her chosen music, and using different methods.  Today, we saw team drilling, which was exciting and loud, and the only team consisting of a man and a woman, not two men, took second place. The third and last competition we saw was called machine mucking, which involved a person driving a machine with a bucket, scooping up what would normally have been mine tailings, and dumping it in a large bin.  It was a timed event.  The woman who came in second in the team drilling, LiErin, not only won the women's division, but her time was better than the two men who competed before we left.   She was one of those women we all want to emulat...

 As I was scooping algae out of the pond yesterday morning, I noticed a swimming something, about five inches long, brown.  Greg was the one who mentioned it might be a vole...and they do swim.  I've also noticed water skippers this year, and they are so interesting!  By the way, there wasn't a lot of algae but enough to bring out the Pond Scum Police. Mike and I walked up Veenstra's Trail today.  If you haven't been up lately, go!  The yellow wildflowers are more than abundant, and even Mike was taking pictures.  I think they're golden asters, but by any name they are gorgeous.  Do yourself a favor and take a hike. Robby Whites' mom and dad, Flora and Robert, are visiting from Arlington.  They are a little afraid of snow, but I told them they had to come back in four to six weeks for the aspens.  They've seen pictures, which we all know is totally different from the real thing. I turned on the heat last night.  Among the rain, the ...

 It's been feeling a lot like winter this week with a lot of people having left.  Today, though, I'm hearing a child's voice from Ralph and Carolyn's house (11), but I haven't seen them yet.   Yesterday, Mike and I went to the pancake breakfast fundraiser at the Ridgway Fire Station and then strolled among the artists a the Ridgway Rendezvous Arts and Crafts Festival.  I don't have a creative bone in my body, so I really appreciate what artists come up with and display.   Son Greg made it up to the overlook last Thursday and is still feeling the effects.  He did come from a rather sedentary lifestyle in Manhattan, Kansas, elevation 1,024 feet, so it was a feat for him.  The wildflowers were so beautiful, and everytihng is still green.   There were so many of these yellow flowers.

 It's that time of year when we eat our weight in Olathe sweet corn, Palisade peaches, and Rocky Ford cantaloupe.  We just can't get enough.  Additionally, when Greg and I stopped at the Ridgway Farmer's Market last Friday in search of decent tomatoes - and that's about all we got, decent but not great - he discovered Pandemic Polly Peppers, a booth filled with hot sauces and ground peppers.  He highly recommends.  If you can't find them at a farmer's market, they are online at pandemicpollypeppers.com We noticed on our way to and from Ouray this afternoon that the county had made a pass on the road, because the potholes were not as drastic.  I was surprised since I had read in the paper how stretched the County DOT is after our month of rain, but I'm grateful. I have a lot of deck time to make up for, considering July, and I'm taking full advantage.  I have missed it so much.  I have a Chromebook which I take out with me and watch baseball games,...

 I saw in this week's Ouray County Plaindealer  that the town of Ouray received four inches of rain in July.  I'm surprised and not surprised.  It has been raining and raining and raining.  As a result, there are such a variety of mushrooms to look at.  Here's what we found on Veenstra's trail yesterday. Additionally, I took this photo and Barb and Steve's house (3) last week. A conundrum for those of us who drive in the mountains:  there are signs that say "falling rock" and signs that say "fallen rock."  I do understand the difference between falling and fallen, but who and what decides to make the distinction between rock that's already down and perhaps none more will come and then the possibility of continued falling rock?  The Ouray County Fair is this coming Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.  It seems to be mostly 4H events, with all sorts of animals on display.  There is also an open event, where people can enter anything they'...

 Thanks to Bryon Radle (15) and Ed, our on-call water dude, our water situation has stabilized as we wait for new parts to arrive this month.  Thank you, thank you, thank you!  Barb (3) texted last night that there was a big bear in their yard, not a cub, a bear.  Head's up, everyone. Last week, we drove up Camp Bird Road to where the road was closed due to a mudslide.  There is a lot of damage on the road, from the ice caves to Senator Gulch, due to the deluges of rain we've been getting.  There are ruts and potholes, too many for Mike to fill in, which he'll probably try anyway, and a kind of scary erosion near Sandy and Larry's house where the road has been eaten into.  The county is going to have some work to do. Have any of you seen the cord running across the ice caves bridge?  It appears the county is monitoring traffic, which I hope is their way of working on speed issues up our road.  Fingers crossed. Son Greg pulled a 16-inch trout ...

This is not an interloper.  It's our son, Greg, who has come to stay with us while he hunts for a software engineering/computer scientist job post-graduation.  I have talked to Aaron and Marchelle and gotten their permission for Greg to catch and release in the pond, and he is a very ethical fisherman.   Yesterday, he caught and released an 18-inch trout, who he deemed to be a drama queen because it wouldn't swim off and acted dead instead.  It wasn't, and it's out there for the taking.