Yesterday (and today for that matter) turned out to be another fabulous sunny, comfortable day in Colorado! Mark and I decided to take a drive up to Rocky Mountain National Park, Moraine, Estes Park, and Trail Ridge Road to check out the fall colors and to see the elk in their rutting season.
Drove up to Trail Ridge Road first and stopped at our favorite spot to photograph. Temperature at almost 12,000 feet was about 54 degrees. In Fort Collins, the temperature was in the mid-80s. Photographed some cute yellow fall flowers; I'm always amazed that they can flourish at that altitude! Stopped at the Alpine Visitor Center for a quick bite before we headed back down to Moraine to check out the elk rutting and to capture pictures of the fall colors throughout the park.
Saw several "harems" of elk with the large bull elk guarding his ladies from younger bull elk. Saw very interesting behavior with one of the harems once we got down to Estes Park. We were watching the bull elk keep his girls all together. All of a sudden, we saw two females cross one of the main roads into Estes Park looking for the pack. They jumped a fence and casually walked over to the rest of the harem. Of course the bull elk had to check them out, probably checking for a male scent.
Next thing we know, we spotted a young bull elk slowly making his way over to the fence in search of the females. He was cautious and took his time. He was no more than 4 or 5 yards from me; he even looked at me! But he certainly had other things on his mind and couldn't care less about the humans that were around.
He finally got up the courage, jumped the fence then nonchalantly started walking over to where the females were. It only took about a minute or so and the large bull elk, got up and deliberately started walking a straight line towards the young bull elk. He went a few yards, then broke into a gallop! The young bull elk decided it was a bad decision and quickly high tailed it out of there.
Such an interesting display of elk rutting! Everyone should get to see this at least once in their lifetime! Click on the fall picture on the right and you'll see a lot of the photos we took yesterday.
Friday, September 30, 2011
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Sad News...Happy News
It's been a rather hectic couple of weeks and I finally found time to sit down and just reflect on the past events.
First, on a sad note, we finally came to the decision that it was more humane to have our beloved cat of almost 19 years (Buster) put down than to watch him continuing to suffer with cancer. He was so thin and arthritic and could barely eat 1 TBS of soft food a day! His once strong meow was barely a whisper...it was time. I made the phone call and Mark took him to the vet...I was a mess! He was a great cat all those years! It's hard to believe that Sara was in 5th grade and Holly was in 8th grade when we got him at the shelter! He's on the other side of the rainbow now and in a good place. I miss him a lot!
On a happy note, we just had Sara and Sophia spend a nice weekend with us while Zach (Sara's husband) spent a leadership/team building weekend with his MBA class down by Colorado Springs. It's amazing to see the changes in Sophia each time we see her! She is full of smiles and giggles, especially when she wakes up in the morning! And, she's trying out her voice a lot more, too with lots of baby chatter. So cute!
In between these two events, we've had quite a busy social calendar with dinners, music shows, a candle party, and planning for the next wine tasting event for the Fort Collins Newcomers Club (we are co-chairman with another couple for this year). I'm also working on getting out my first semi-annual newsletter for the New Horizons International Music Association! Lots to do! I haven't forgotten my photography business...I need to finish the Web site and get my pricing set!
And finally, our music lessons, concert band rehearsals and daily practices are in full swing! It looks like this year I may get to be the drummer in our Dixieland Band, too!
Whew...I'm tired just writing all of this! :) Actually, I'm quite happy to be busy...I'm NEVER bored!
Well, that's about it for now. I'll try to do better and be a little more frequent on my post updates.
First, on a sad note, we finally came to the decision that it was more humane to have our beloved cat of almost 19 years (Buster) put down than to watch him continuing to suffer with cancer. He was so thin and arthritic and could barely eat 1 TBS of soft food a day! His once strong meow was barely a whisper...it was time. I made the phone call and Mark took him to the vet...I was a mess! He was a great cat all those years! It's hard to believe that Sara was in 5th grade and Holly was in 8th grade when we got him at the shelter! He's on the other side of the rainbow now and in a good place. I miss him a lot!
On a happy note, we just had Sara and Sophia spend a nice weekend with us while Zach (Sara's husband) spent a leadership/team building weekend with his MBA class down by Colorado Springs. It's amazing to see the changes in Sophia each time we see her! She is full of smiles and giggles, especially when she wakes up in the morning! And, she's trying out her voice a lot more, too with lots of baby chatter. So cute!
In between these two events, we've had quite a busy social calendar with dinners, music shows, a candle party, and planning for the next wine tasting event for the Fort Collins Newcomers Club (we are co-chairman with another couple for this year). I'm also working on getting out my first semi-annual newsletter for the New Horizons International Music Association! Lots to do! I haven't forgotten my photography business...I need to finish the Web site and get my pricing set!
And finally, our music lessons, concert band rehearsals and daily practices are in full swing! It looks like this year I may get to be the drummer in our Dixieland Band, too!
Whew...I'm tired just writing all of this! :) Actually, I'm quite happy to be busy...I'm NEVER bored!
Well, that's about it for now. I'll try to do better and be a little more frequent on my post updates.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
I Was Supposed to Be in the Pentagon That Day, 10 Years Ago
Reflecting back on 9/11 ten years ago, I realize I'm a lucky lady! My co-worker, boss and I were scheduled for a morning meeting in the Pentagon in the area where the plane hit. If I remember correctly, it was around a 9 a.m. meeting. For some reason, our boss cancelled the meeting the day before because he was annoyed at the person we were supposed to meet with. I don't remember what upset him right now, but thank goodness, he was! (Someone was watching out for us!)
My co-worker, Diana and I were sitting in our office on that unforgettable day and had just switched off the tiny television that we usually turned on for about an hour each morning to catch all the news of the day as we were checking emails. I got a quick email from Sara who was a sophomore at West Point at the time that said, "a plane just hit the World Trade Center! Gotta run to class...talk to you later..."
Wow! We quickly turned on the TV again and actually saw the second plane fly into the second Tower...unbelieveable! And, shortly after that, the Pentagon got hit! Our office was on the flight path for Dulles International Airport and we kept looking at the planes coming in and thinking, "Who's going to crash next?" But, before long...all the planes were gone! The FAA had instructed them all to land. Then, we saw the Towers fall.
No one could work that day. It was difficult taking it all in. Especially after realizing another plane had crashed in Pennsylvania! Four planes, the World Trade Center and all those souls gone!
I think it was a few days later, we drove by the Pentagon and I had a sickening feeling in my stomach when I saw the gaping hole and charred remains on the side of the building where the plane had entered. I think I was angry more than anything that someone so full of hatred against Americans would do this!
I wished I was on active duty at that moment instead of being retired! I had already been retired 7 years and was too "old" to be taken back! :(
My co-worker, Diana and I were sitting in our office on that unforgettable day and had just switched off the tiny television that we usually turned on for about an hour each morning to catch all the news of the day as we were checking emails. I got a quick email from Sara who was a sophomore at West Point at the time that said, "a plane just hit the World Trade Center! Gotta run to class...talk to you later..."
Wow! We quickly turned on the TV again and actually saw the second plane fly into the second Tower...unbelieveable! And, shortly after that, the Pentagon got hit! Our office was on the flight path for Dulles International Airport and we kept looking at the planes coming in and thinking, "Who's going to crash next?" But, before long...all the planes were gone! The FAA had instructed them all to land. Then, we saw the Towers fall.
No one could work that day. It was difficult taking it all in. Especially after realizing another plane had crashed in Pennsylvania! Four planes, the World Trade Center and all those souls gone!
I think it was a few days later, we drove by the Pentagon and I had a sickening feeling in my stomach when I saw the gaping hole and charred remains on the side of the building where the plane had entered. I think I was angry more than anything that someone so full of hatred against Americans would do this!
I wished I was on active duty at that moment instead of being retired! I had already been retired 7 years and was too "old" to be taken back! :(
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Relaxing Day
Woke up to cool, crisp temperatures, plentiful sunshine, clear blue skies and the site of a hot air balloon floating by our house. Beautiful! The balloon launch was part of the 90th Windsor Harvest Festival, just a couple of miles from our house. So, after breakfast, Mark and I decided to check out the festivities.
We discovered a nice park in Windsor that we didn't know even existed! This was the main area for their festival. Lots of booths, music, food and several childrens' bounces and rides. After walking through this area, we drove about a mile or so to Kodak Park and attended the free antique car show. Lots of great cars bringing back a lot of childhood memories! (Click on the car photo on the right to see all the pictures from today.)
We discovered a nice park in Windsor that we didn't know even existed! This was the main area for their festival. Lots of booths, music, food and several childrens' bounces and rides. After walking through this area, we drove about a mile or so to Kodak Park and attended the free antique car show. Lots of great cars bringing back a lot of childhood memories! (Click on the car photo on the right to see all the pictures from today.)
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