South Platte River

I think this is a really pretty spot!
It is located behind the REI Flagship store
between I-25 and Little Raven Street in Denver.
It's a man-made area on the river where
I have seen kayakers practicing.
I wonder if it can also be used by surfers???

As can been seen by the covered stairs,
the river is running a little high;
however, no where near the powerful display
I saw by the Colorado and Roaring Fork last weekend... 

The Ice Cream Man has Competition!

I was sitting at Ink on Little Raven in Denver
with my children and parents
"when what to my wondering eyes does appear?"

It looked like it was causing quite the stir of excitement!

Paul Bunyan Day

June 28 is Paul Bunyan Day,
believed to be started in 1937 by French Canadians.

Paul and his blue ox, Babe
are responsible for:
creating the US logging industry
Babe's footprints made the 10,000 lakes in Wisconsin
Paul scooped out the Great Lakes to water Babe
they cleared all the farmland in North and South Dakota

The Original North American Super Heros!!

I may need to go to the library to review my folklore...
What great stories!!

Laws of Catdom

Always give generously. 

A small bird or rodent left on the

bed tells them, "I care!"

Climb your way to the top. 

That's why the drapes are there.

Curiosity never killed anything except maybe a few hours.

Find your place in the sun - 

especially if it happens to be on

that nice pile of warm, clean laundry.

If you're not receiving enough attention, 

try knocking over several expensive antique lamps.

Life is hard, then you nap.

Make your mark in the world... 

or at least leave a fur ball in each corner.

Never sleep alone when you can sleep on someone's face.

Variety is the spice of life. 

One day ignore people,

the next day annoy them.

When in doubt, cop an attitude.

Fabulous Friday Evening

As can be seen, it was a beautiful evening

here in the Fort... 

Taking a photo from beneath the

hedge roses put me in a 

slightly "sticky" situation...

Sorry - bad pun  :-D

Girl Power - Go Ladies!

This weekend, my sister-in-law, Deb,
is participating in
Colorado's Avon Walk for Breast Cancer.
She is wearing dark pink and is shown
with her two team members.

While I cheer her efforts on,
I will also keep in mind the reason
for the walk and be grateful that
several women in my life are still here
to laugh and enjoy life with :-D

Living the Adventurous Life

Fort Collins has been quite the challenge to navigate
around the past couple of weeks...
I feel like I am an explorer since I've
detoured down streets I didn't even know existed :-)

How To Call the Police

George Phillips , an elderly man, from Meridian, Mississippi,was going up to bed, when his wife told him that he'd left the light on in the garden shed, which she could see from the bedroom window. George opened the back door to go turn off the light, but saw that there were people in the shed stealing things.

 

He phoned the police, who asked "Is someone in your house?" 
He said, "No," but some people are breaking into my garden shed and stealing from me. Then the police dispatcher said, "All patrols are busy. You should lock your doors and an officer will be along when one is available..." George said, "Okay."

 

He hung up the phone and counted to 30. Then he phoned the police again, "Hello, I just called you a few seconds ago because there were people stealing things from my shed... Well, you don't have to worry about them now because I just shot and killed them both, the dogs are eating them right now." and he hung up.

 

Within five minutes, six Police Cars, a SWAT Team,a Helicopter, two Fire Trucks, a Paramedic, and an Ambulance showed up at the Phillips' residence, and caught the burglars red-handed.

 

One of the Policemen said to George , "I thought you said that you'd shot them!" George said, "I thought you said there was nobody available!"

 

Supposedly a True Story - I LOVE IT!

Don't mess with old people.

Dinner is Served...

Daisy hitting the Buffet...

Silly dog considers an open dishwasher
the epitome of fine dining.
Bleh :-P

This is not something she's allowed to do -
I just happened to have a camera handy.
Although she gets shooed away every time,
she still has to give it a try...  every time.

Mount Sopris

S

Mount Sopris is one of the beautiful

sights to which locals of the Roaring Fork Valley

are treated to every day :-)

We found both of these views while

riding the new bike trail which was built along the 

no-longer-used railroad tracks

between Glenwood and Carbondale.  

Wild Beauty

Glenwood Canyon in Western Colorado has always been one of the most beautiful places on earth...  Breathtaking canyon walls of granite combined with the vitality of the Colorado River.

As a local, I have nothing but respect for the power of the river. More so now than ever before - I have never seen the river this high nor raging so powerfully.

In several places, the pedestrian and bike path is completely covered or has been swept away...  I hope that it gets re-built as soon as possible so that others have the chance to appreciate the wild beauty of the canyon.

Strawberry Days 2011

Strawberry Days Parade

The old firetruck is always one of

my favorite parade entries!!

Stormy Weather

I was admiring the storm clouds - 

I liked all the shades of gray 

over the green trees.

This storm produced more hail,

though not in the quantity of last week's.

Actually, the lightening freaks me out

so bad that I was really struggling 

to find the positive side... :-)

Strawberry Days

Miss Strawberry Days 1967 

This is me riding off to 

attend the festivities.  

Okay, okay...  

So I was getting a ride in a VW

instead of on my faithful steed

and I was the queen in my mind only :-) 

Strawberry Days is the oldest, continually 

celebrated community event in Colorado.

If I remember my history, I believe

it has only been cancelled two or three

times during WW years.  

Giddy Up - Let's Go!!

Last of the Big Time Allergens...

The last of my lilacs are blooming.

They smell amazing and are so pretty - 

I will be sad to see them go!

However, everyone else with allergies

around here will be breathing easier...

Panera

Lunch date with my husband :-)

Panera at Council Tree Shopping Center

has one of my favorite patios for summer lunches!

Sunny and yummy and close enough

to ride bikes to!

Bike to the Library

What a beautiful Monday

here in the Fort!

The new library is very popular today -

this is only one of the bike racks!

It's nice to see all the folks

saving $$ on gas and staying healthy :-)

Red Rose Day

The Red Rose is America's most popular flower - 

probably thanks to Valentine's Day...

In case you were considering giving someone a rose,

I found this info on the Gardener's Network website.

You may find it fun and useful :-)

http://www.gardenersnet.com/roses/roses06.htm

Red	Love, beauty, courage and respect
White	Purity and innocence, silence or secrecy, also reverence and humility
Pink	Appreciation,"Thank you", grace, perfect happiness, and admiration
Dark Pink	Appreciation, gratitude
Light Pink	admiration, sympathy
Yellow	Joy, gladness, friendship, delight, the promise of a new beginning
Orange	Desire, and enthusiasm
Red and White	Given together, these signify unity.
Red Rosebud	A symbol of purity and loveliness
White Rosebud	Symbolic of girlhood
Thornless Rose	Signifies "Love at first sight".

Footprints in the Hail

This photo is just for fun :-)
After the hail storm ended, I went
out to check the cars for damage
(there was none - yay!).
The hail was so thick that my feet
didn't break through to the ground.
And, yes, I know I should have had shoes on...

Wild Hail Storm

Fort Collins experienced a very intense thunderstorm with HEAVY hail late Wednesday night.  The street looked like a river flowing around islands of hail.  The downpour, constant lightening and rolling thunder lasted for over half an hour.  The following pics show the storm's affects around my yard and how amazing it is that Mother Nature is capable of fixing things Herself if we just leave Her alone :-)

This is my pear tomato the
morning after the storm.
Poor thing!

Same plant, still missing leaves
but standing up tall in the sun.  

This is one of my evergreens
taking the brunt of the
roof run-off during the storm. 

Same tree thirty-six hours later.
Most of the branches have righted
themselves.  Yesterday there
was a foot of hail stones at the base
of this tree.  Some are still there today.

Happy Birthday, Donald Duck!!

Donald Duck made his debut 

on June 9, 1934

in Disney's "The Wise Hen."

He still looks great!!

Trivia:  Donald has a middle name...

It's Fauntleroy :-)

Pretty In Pink

Overdose on the flower photos lately...

I just love them, though! 

Their scents wafting through my window

and the beauty of their shapes and colors

truly start my day of with a smile :-)

Hugging

Hugging.  It helps the body's immune system, it keeps you healthier, it cures depression, it reduces stress, it induces sleep, it's invigorating, it's rejuvenating, it has no unpleasant side effects, and hugging is nothing less than a miracle drug.


Hugging is all natural. It is organic, naturally sweet, no pesticides, no preservatives, no artificial ingredients and 100 percent wholesome.

Hugging is practically perfect. There are no movable parts, no batteries to wear out, no periodic check-ups, low energy consumption, high energy yield, inflation proof, nonfattening, no monthly payments, no insurance requirements, theft-proof, nontaxable, nonpolluting and, of course, fully returnable.   http://eqi.org/ht.htm

Thanks for the reminder, Mom :-)

Calvin and Hobbes
by Bill Watterson
One of my all-time favorite comic strips!!

Adult Truths #13

"I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I would like to save the changes I made to my ten-page report that I swear I didn't make any changes to."

Technically, I haven't written a ten-page report since university (and that was on a typewriter - electric, but still a dinosaur); however, the question still freaks me out every time and I have to put some serious thought into it!

Just to be safe , I hit "Save" before I move on...

Will Work for Concert Tickets

Jobs are hard to come by this summer,

so it's worth working for Mom...

Mom hates yard work, so it's a 

Win-Win Deal :-)

Back in My Yard...

This is a single iris on east side of my back yard.
This photo was taken late evening with a flash
It's actually a darker violet than it appears.

The west side of my back yard over-produces.
This batch of iris is just the start of
blooming chaos...

Welcome to Wyoming

This guy greets you as you enter

Wyoming from Colorado on I-25.

LOL!  

It's a billboard made to 

look like a silhouette :-)

Ready to Roll

This is my 1960's Schwinn Fiesta.

It's got a spiffy new paint job, tires and basket - 

the rest is original...

It takes a few cruises to get used to the seat every year...

Rain Drops

The rain drops looked very pretty

glistening on the lilacs the other morning.

They should be in full bloom soon!

I can't wait - they are one of my

favorite flowers :-)