The summary:

Well, first you want to check out the photos, here.

Kazha's first experience traveling with us was fun. The first morning there, she encountered her first deer, who then, promptly, decided to encounter her. Yep, the deer followed her through the backyard of my parents' house, as Dave and I watched, very carefully. Kazha then wandered through a gap in the fence to the alley. Wanting to make sure she didn't get too far, I skirted around the observing deer one way, Dave another, and we cornered the dog. As she tried to escape us by dashing back into the yard, she startled the deer, who then bounded backwards and back over the fence. It was rather surprising and funny! We then observed that there were three deer hanging out in the yard. Perhaps the same three that were fawns last year?

Anyway, we wandered around town the first day, just enjoying the view and the relaxation. I got a lot of knitting done that day, and Dave started a new Tony Hillerman book. Mom and Dad read and relaxed, too. We had a nice gazpacho for lunch that my mom made. Yummy! Then we went to Nanda Ghan's, a great local restaurant I'd recommend to anyone, for dinner. After that, we took a great long walk, which is where all the sunset photos came from. This is one of my favorites--the East Spanish Peak with the last rays of pink light on it, and the moon shining above...



The next day, on the 4th, Dave and I went for a hike at Blue and Bear Lakes... a little too crowded for our taste, but storm clouds threatened, so we really couldn't go anywhere farther. Still, I got some nice photos of flowers and Kazha on the trail.





And that gave us enough time to get back into town and go to Art in the Park for the afternoon. That's after my mom and dad went to the Cuchara parade. So we wandered, and we found this artist, R. Wade Brown. He had a wonderful piece we couldn't resist... stark white background with a petroglyph looking bison hunt image on it. Beautiful enough that we couldn't resist it. We're working on paying him in installments over the summer to purchase the piece. Hooray for layaway! Another artist there was Barbara Kowalik, who makes shields. She says the symbols are common ones, but she learns the common meanings and then interprets them herself in her works. Take a look at the bottom right of this page to see one, which is one of Dave's favorites. We'd each like to have one that represents each of us, someday. Carla Romero is another painter with works we would love to have someday... when we have a lot of room and more money. :) But admire her work, because it's very striking.

So then, on Saturday night we had barbecued ribs with my dad's homemade sauce (yum!) and baked potatoes and corn. And then everyone was exhausted, so Mom and Pop went to bed early and Dave and I stayed up to read, knit, and chat in a hush. Kazha was not thrilled with the fireworks, but she did okay, considering we didn't have her rescue remedy with us.

Sunday was a nice egg breakfast and then another long walk, this time up through the golf course. That's where I got the lovely bright daylight photos of the Spanish Peaks--Wahatoya. Seeing the clouds roiling over the peaks brought to mind the concept that local NDN tribes had that all weather for the whole world originated with the peaks. The lifeblood of the plains in the area comes from the clouds that have their start over those mountains. It's awestriking. Heh.



We bought our artwork on Sunday before having a last serving of gazpacho and a sandwich and heading back to Denver. A little bit north of Walsenburg, we ran into one of the worst storms I've encountered--and the worst one I've ever had to drive through. We had to pull over while the nearly golf-ball size hail pounded our car while lightning flashed around. The hail was strong enough that we couldn't hear thunder. We saw a few motorcyclists huddling in the high grass as we were able to start off again. We later learned that many bikers found shelter in the cars of other generous people. We'd have done the same if they'd been anywhere near us when we stopped. That hail had to hurt...

When we finally got going again, we encountered a serious accident, with one car that had flipped over, with the top crushed. Everyone else seemed okay, but we know people were trapped in that car. We saw one person's foot near a window, moving. Our prayers went and go out to those people in hopes that they are alright. Many had stopped to help, and we didn't want to be excessive help that would likely hinder, so we kept on. One of those who stopped was a truck driver, so we feel certain he probably radioed the accident in, while several others were directing traffic and trying to comfort those who were trapped. Still, I wish I could find news of the accident to know if the people are okay. I can't find any word...

We traveled on, going through two more storms that seemed much less intimidating, and finally got home to safety with a slightly spooked dog, arriving to find a cat desperate for attention. And, well, that's pretty much it. Nice break. Not long enough, but certainly nice.

Blessings to all our loved ones and anyone else who stumbles here--hope your weekend was as nice, whether or not you had a holiday to celebrate.

Peace

Spent a bit of time during my walk break today trying to capture a good ladybug photo. There were three just enjoying the shade on these little thistles... Tell me that you think!

Peace

It's great to wake up to good news on a Monday morning...

Awoooooooooooooo!

Peace

I don't care if Ken Salazar did go to my alma mater. He's officially off my "hoping for the best" list.

He had already started to suck a few weeks ago when it was announced, and a few days ago when it happened: he went against last year's court decision and removed the gray wolf from the endangered species list.

If that hadn't been enough to get him on my gustatory waste list (which it was), this is.

He's dirt. He's worse than dirt. He's the bacterial infestation of worm excrement.

Such comes of selecting a rancher for Secretary of the Interior... er, INFERIOR. Grr.

Not much peace, at present.

>:}

Last night Dave and Tika and I went for a lovely walk in the twilight, and there they were, fluttering and twittering and scooping up buggies left and right!  How comforting to know they're back and having a great time!

There were more of them than usual, it seemed.  The heat must be allowing for some prolific buggie population, too, which of course results in a feeding frenzy!  However, we read recently that bats don't usually eat mosquitos--that's a myth.  So they must be eating something else.  I do note that I have not yet seen any 10-Line June Beetles this year...  Hmm!

So, we're definitely in summer.  It's hot and oppressive, even here in dry Denver.  Even our poor little xeric plants are having trouble--a couple of the Apache plume plants didn't survive.  The soapwort is drying up pretty quickly.  The only boon is that my wildflowers are outlasting the Queen Anne's Lace that I've been trying to clear out, and dear Queen Anne has wilted away in the heat, too.  Of course, Tika and Dave are also wilting.  We're going to be moving the bedroom downstairs very soon.  It's cooler down there, and I've always wanted a bedroom suite... heh.  Even Basha, the heat lover, has been hanging out downstairs.  It's taken her a while to discover it, but I think she likes it now.  She's really coming to be comfortable in "her" house.

And now I'm back at work for yet another Monday--and a hectic one, at that.  Too much to do all at once!  But I've already started taking the necessary steps to move forward.  Here's to hope and to the opportunity for growth past where I am and into someplace where I should be, just as my wildflowers are growing past the Queen Anne's Lace and into the sunshine...

Here's to swooping through the twilight with the bats, sending my voice into the world and having it echo back with the sustenance I'm looking for.

Peace