Back to Winter

The unseasonably warm weather is gone and we are back to 5 degrees today and last night was awfully cold. Yesterday it started snowing and by this morning we were left with a few cold inches. But now it is close to noon and the sun has broken through at last. I sure hope it starts to warm up a bit. On Saturday before it got cold again I was driving around and happened to be near the buffalo ranch so I stopped to see if any of them were near the road. The herd was out grazing so I took a few pictures.

Another January Sunset

This was the sunset at the close of Inauguration Day. The temperature was in the 60's, unseasonably warm for this time of year. Back east they were having freezing weather, but we had a beautiful day.

What a Day!

I set up a small TV next to my desk - didn't want to miss anything.

Here are some of my favorite parts of the speech:

"In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of short-cuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the faint-hearted - for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things - some celebrated but more often men and women obscure in their labor, who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom."

and:

"But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions - that time has surely passed."

and:

"We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology's wonders to raise health care's quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age."

This has been a very moving and historic day for our country.

National Western Stock Show

Every January the National Western Stock Show comes to Denver and since we hadn't been to it for a while we decided to spend Sunday afternoon visiting it. I think I have seen enough belt buckles and chaps and horse trailers to last me for a good while, or at least till next year when it comes again. We sat on hay bales eating barbecue sandwiches while kids barrel raced around on wooden stick horses nearby. We wandered up and down rows of gigantic cows being curried and blown dry preparing for their time in the ring spotlight.

There was stock from everywhere - Montana, Iowa, Oklahoma, Texas, you name it. There were chickens and ducks of all varieties but it was difficult to get to see them due to massive crowds of eager children and harried-looking parents. The baby guinea pigs were especially cute. I should have a taken a picture of them. We talked to the owner of an 18 hands high Clydesdale with truly impressive feet getting his mane braided, and passed a small herd of horses getting unloaded from a giant stock trailer. The Coors Collection of Western Art was fantastic, and we ended up going through it twice, once on arriving, and again on leaving. I thought about getting our picture taken on a giant Texas longhorn but the line was too long. Ah well, maybe next year.

At the Pond

On New Years afternoon we went biking and ended up at Hamm's Pond. Not having the camera along, I decided to go back at another time. Yesterday on my way to get more cat food I stopped over there and walked about. The pond was a common enough destination when the kids were small and more than one New Years or Christmas afternoon was spent wandering about on the ice over there. So here's what I found, since I hadn't been there in a while. The farm buildings of course are long gone and now development rides up against the west side, but with a fairly wide buffer area. New paths and facilities have been put in and now it links up to other bike paths and actually still seems like a wild little place. Designated open space land stretches to the north and the road has been moved south which allows a little more wild area around the southern pond area. A person can now walk around the whole pond. The large trees remain and I walked out on the ice a bit. By the time I had walked around the whole pond the sun had gone down.

January Sunset

Footprints

We've been putting birdfood on the porch and had a light snow yesterday. I thought these were especially cute.

The Moon

Last night was a full moon. The weather was changing so half the sky was covered with a cloud bank, the other half was clear. It looked impressive. During the night snow began to fall. This morning everything is covered in white snow.

An Invitation

Too bad we can't go - what a thrill it would be.

Cat Stretch

Spooky loves the fire.

Warm Days

We are having a warm spell. It was around 40 when I went out walking this morning. Ravens were bathing in the melted pools along the water's edge and fluffing their feathers. The sun as it usually does on most winter days was shining.

Winds were up last night with gusts near the foothills of up to 80 to 100 mph. A big fire broke on the edge of the foothills half way between Lyons and Boulder due to downed power lines. They were still trying to contain it this morning. I don't know if it's out yet but a lot of homes were evacuated and livestock were moved out.

Christmas Tulips

A pot of tulip bulbs arrived for Christmas and they are in full bloom now, giving a cheery feeling on winter days. And for no reason at all one of the vines we brought indoors from the porch in October is starting to bloom too. I think it is a periwinkle. Already seed catalogs are starting to arrive making me think about spring coming.