Category Archives: Summertime

Summer in the Rocky Mountains

One thing we will miss when we move to Puerto Rico is summer in Colorado and the ability to go to the Rocky Mountains in less than one hour from our house in Greeley.

Nice Mountain Shot
In the Colorado Rocky Mountains this weekend

This weekend we went to a wedding of our good friends Shana and Rick in Estes Park, Colorado. We took my old ’89 Oldsmobile car because Britton’s ’98 Honda is less reliable than my car to make it up the steep grade (as we found out last year). The Corvette used to be the best car to take up the mountains because it has the most horsepower and torque of any of the three, but since he has sold it, we were left with the Honda or Olds choices. My car did ok, but it had a major miss and we had to stop various times on the way up and down the mountain.

Shana Rick Photo Op

The wedding was at beautiful Mary’s Lake Lodge in Estes on a bright, sunny, if a little windy of a day. We then enjoyed spending time with our friends at the reception.

Me Jody and Shana Me and B in Estes Park

Afterward, we walked around Estes a bit and hiked a small while at the edge of Rocky Mountain National Park.

Pine Cone close Pretty Estes Sharp rockies Me and B by a river

It is such a gorgeous place. Estes Park is interesting because unlike other Colorado mountain cities, the only attraction is the beauty of the place as opposed to ski lifts and the like.

Yellow wildflower field and devils backbone
Wildflowers and Devil’s Backbone
On the way down the slope we topped off the great day with a stop at Devil’s Backbone in Loveland for a quick hike.

Cloudy backbone

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Summer Living

I love summer living. Here in Colorado that lasts about 3-4 months or from about early to mid June until about early to mid September. During that time life explodes with a flurry of activities and growth (and fires, unfortunately).

During this season there are so many great things to it. One of my favorites is eating our backyard bounty outside on the evenings and weekends.

Strawberries and eggs
Strawberries and eggs from out back

Britton and I have a phrase for what that will looks like year-round when we are living the laid back tropical daily life of Puerto Rico: Every day will be a Saturday in summer. And if that’s the case, it’s going to be awesome!

Eating outside
Yum and Fun. Eating outside

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Busy Weekend: Chillin’ Dog, Coop Building, Sod Installation

This weekend has been very busy so far, and it’s not quite over yet! It definitely reminds us how much life wakes up around here with nice weather.

On Thursday after work I was in the office hanging out on the computer when I looked outside and saw the chickens flapping and running around. Then I saw a little tan blur running behind them. My first thought was a prairie dog was chasing them. I ran outside to scare it out of the yard when I noticed it wasn’t a prairie dog/gopher but rather a little dog! A chihuahua. When he saw me he just cowered next to the house. I wasn’t sure if he was biter so I reasoned with it. I even said aloud, “If you don’t hurt me or the chickens, I won’t hurt you.”

Cassie and Dog
Me and the little guy

And slowly I approached him and was able to pick him up. He looked really tired and just sort of trembled and fell asleep in my lap. After a long rest we set him outside hoping that he would then run home wherever that was. However, a couple hours later after we had run some errands, he was still there. We don’t have any dog food anymore since Schnoodle died, so we just gave him a little water and cat food.

We walked around the neighborhood on Friday and asked all the neighbors if they knew whose dog he was was, but no one knew. I really don’t like to turn animals into animal control, because I know that most of them get euthanized. Especially in Greeley, chihuhuas and pit bulls are two of the most common dogs in the Humane Society, so his chances were slim if he went there. He was so chill and sweet, that I couldn’t bear that. If we were staying in Greeley, we would probably adopt him ourselves.

Chill Dog
Chillin’ chihuahua with his paws behind his head

I told my co-worker friend about him and she said she would take him and help look for the owner. If the owner could not be found, she offered to adopt him. He definitely added a fun aspect and reminded us how fun a little dog could be -especially one that could see, hear and play unlike Schnood in her last few years.

In addition to that fun diversion, we had some work to do. We wanted to finish a yard sod installation in one of our rentals where some of our friends live. Since we don’t own a truck, we had to do all of it with our little Honda Civic.

Sod in Honda
Sod in the Honda filled to the brim

We stocked the car full of sod and had to make about 3 trips before it was done. Sod is a little expensive, but it is nice to have an insta-lawn. I think it turned out great! See for yourself:

Yard BeforeYard After
Yard Before and After

And after we laid the final pieces of sod, we rushed home to fix a dish to bring to a brunch and help build a coop with some other friends who are starting out with their first chickens.

egg pizza
Breakfast pizza made with garbanzo bean flour, eggs from our chickens and a variety of veggies

Building a coop
Constructing a coop at a friend’s house in Greeley

And today is Mother’s Day, so we are off to lunch! Hope your weekend was as fun and eventful as ours!

UPDATE: We went out to lunch at the new Greeley seafood restaurant Lucky Fins and had a great time with our mamas.

Lucky Fin Lunch

 

 

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How I Will Be Ok With Summer All Year Round Or Is It Spring, Yet?!

Man, it seems that this winter has been going on a little longer than usual. Every time we think we are done with the snow and cold and have a nice 80 degree day, the forecast shows that another cold front will be working its way down bringing wind and snow. Tomorrow, the first of May, is supposed to have a high of only 39 with 4 to 7 inches of snow.

Maybe we get this extended winter to remind us of how great an endless summer will be when we move to Puerto Rico…a…long…drawn…out…goodbye…to Colorado winters.

So this weekend even though we were pretty sure it wasn’t quite the end of winter, yet, we just couldn’t help ourselves from kicking off the fun of summer, kicking off the type of lifestyle we will live in Puerto Rico nearly every day.

We started up the grill and ate tropical-style food outside a few times.

Outdoor Grill
Woosh. Starting up the coal grill for the first time this year

Grill food
Yum! Grilled chicken, grilled pineapple, black beans, salad and grapes.

We bought plants for the flowerpots out front (that will have to be taken inside tonight since it sounds like we will have a pretty hard frost).

Before flower pot
Sad old pot that had been sitting on our front porch all winter

Trunk full of flowers
Trunk full of flowers for the pots

Working on the pots
Working on the pots. I love the insta-beauty and have always enjoyed this type of easy “gardening”

We took long, sunny walks. We remembered HOW MUCH we love nice weather.

A lot of people ask us if we will appreciate nice weather less if we don’t have the contrast of winter. And honestly, I don’t know. There is a certain quality and feeling from a cozy winter house watching movies, reading, sitting by the fire drinking hot tea and looking at the sparkling snowy wonderland outside.

But I also know that I feel so much more alive in the summer. How I want to be outside. How I want to be with other people. How I want to grow plants and raise baby chicks and start new projects. I feel like all winter I have been hibernating and spring is time to wake up. Will that be different in the tropics? Probably. Because there is no winter to shake off and bolt off into summer, it will probably be a slower fizz, a constant brewing undercurrent, instead of a jolt into life. A lazy, languid, and warm “island time” sort of feeling instead of the rush to get everything done, everything planted, “hurry, hurry, hurry, take advantage of this nice weather because winter will be here before you know it” feeling.

While I can’t know the future too far down the line, I know I have lived over 30 years with some pretty harsh winters, so at least a few years without them will be fine by me. Yes, I am sure of it.

UPDATE: The snow came down hard and cold and more than likely killing all the fruit tree blossoms. Let’s cross our fingers that they rebloom soon.

Peach snowy bloom flower

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