Living in the Now: 9/12/2012

Today I woke up and the door to my fridge was open.  I guess I didn't close it all the way last night.  Much of the food spoiled.  I discovered this after putting butter and jelly on an English Muffin.  That did not taste right.

But the day went okay.  This is what I enjoyed today:

1.)  I opened my office window and enjoyed the sound of rain!  It hasn't rained in Colorado in quite some time.  And mostly when it rains it comes in the form of a thunderstorm.  This was a soaking "Ohio" kind of rainy day.  It was gloomy and I felt so cozy in my first floor condo.  There was a nip in the air.  I started to look forward to throwing a fake log on the fireplace.

2.)  Loki, the dog I am showing in a few weeks, exceeded my expectations at training class this evening.  He was a good boy, and I learned A LOT about training him.  I can't wait to train with him on Saturday and begin to learn how to make him feel happy and confident in the ring.  I also learned that I "can" show my own dog.

3.)  I saw a lot of progress in my work this afternoon.  That is always rewarding.

Something normal and every day that happened, which made me happy.  I had a nice glass of milk :)  My favorite beverage.

Homing Pigeons

Jon keeps a pigeon coup in his back yard in addition to the German Shepherds. I had never held a pigeon before, so he got one out and showed me how to hold it. It felt like I was holding a heart beat in my hands...

My Friend Flicka

One of the few times in my life that I've been this close to a horse. Jon has some left over alfalfa growing wild in his yard, so he showed me what it looked like, so that I could lure his neighbor's horse over to feed and pet. What an amazing experience!

Sheryl Crow @ Red Rocks June 9th

"...A change would do you goood, a change would do you good"

An artsy shot of the stage.

Sheryl winds down the concert with some slow songs.

Sheryl Crow Rocked Out Red Rocks!

Are you Strong Enough to be my man...:)

12th Row seats at Red Rocks were awesome!

Sheryl and her band definitely rocked out!

Sheryl Crow is so rock 'n roll bad ass!

Fall Colors

I took a 4WD ride with one of my friends up to Caribou Mine Site, which is kind of west of Nederland. We saw some amazing fall foliage. These Aspen were turning some amazing colors. I've never seen them turn orange before. Only yellow.

In the distance is a stand of Aspen in the full gold glory. They are easy to spy on the evergreen slopes.

Aspen leaves just beginning to show a blush of autumn color.

Meyer Ranch Park

Mulligan and I went for a hike up at Meyer Park Ranch. I managed to not find the trail head for the second time in 2 weeks. Ended up stopping at a gas station and asking the attendant. In my defense, I don't think the map was very clear. Here are some Aspen along the trail.

We hiked through Lodge Pole and Ponderosa Pine forests. In fact, one of the loops we hiked was called "Lodge Pole Loop". Aspen dotted the forest too. The Aspen were just starting to turn autumn colors at this altitude.

My good friend Mike enthusiastically points out the Bird Census Plot sign. We saw some birds down in the wetlands area at the trail head. In fact, I took Mike's bird identification book by mistake. I'll get it back to you Mike, I promise, before Trinity eats it. She ate "Our Daily Bread" a devotional given to me by the church I visited last week. I must say her choices in paper manuals and books are on point. Two weeks ago she ate a hand-out I'd been given called "Sanity". I think her gesture was symbolic in some ways:)

I think this is a Lodge Pole Pine. Not sure what the mountain is called, but highway 285 runs at its base.

Tried Sushi !!!

 

After our wildflower hike, Ann and I stopped in at HADA in Boulder for some Sushi. Ann guided me through the process, helping me select some things that might be tasty to a beginner. We had the California and Philadelphia rolls along with some Miso soup. I preferred the California roll, but really appreciated the experience of trying something so far out of my comfort zone. I'm not a huge fan of fish, so this was waaay out of my comfort zone, but something I've been wanting to try. Ann did a great job showing me the ropes with Wasabi sauce and ginger (for cleansing the pallet). Great time!

It's all fun and games

....until somebody turns the lights out. Heck, it's still all fun and games:)



Last night, Trinity and I took a night time trollop through the snow. I strapped on my snow shoes and she used that german shepherd body of hers to plow through the snow. Using my new Nikon CoolPix S6, I tried to capture the essence of the scene. In some ways I succeeded, and in other ways I failed. I'm still trying to figure out the best mode for capturing night photography. Trinity's action shots at night failed. I either destroyed the ambience of the scene by blasting everything in sight with the flash or captured Trinity as a blur. Oh well...many days of discovery lie ahead.These pictures were taken in the green area (well...what used to be green), in front of my apartment building.

There is a gravel path under all that snow that leads to Old Town Lafayette. The city decorated beautifully! They placed colored celophane bags over the street lamps. You can see a "blue" and "red" lamp in the picture. I think the lightedbuilding is a bank. It sure looks pretty though, doesn't it?Just as I arrived at the road and was prepared to trek down main street for some more snowy pictures, the lights flickered and went out. According to the message on Excel Energy's self-help hotline, the outage lasted 4 hours. I don't know, I was talkin' to the sandman by that time.Trinity and I tromped back to our apartment in the darkness. I lit every candle in the house (I have lots of candles!!!) and enjoyed the peace and quiet. It's amazing how much better I can concentrate when there are a limited amount of things I can do. Since watching T.V. and playing with this blog were out, I had no trouble sitting on the couch with a book-light, reading the remaining pages of "Song of the Alpine". What a great book. Fantastic pictures, and interesting facts about the animals and plants that call the high country home. It was also great because I'm very familiar with the areas the authortalks about. Trinity hung out on my bed for most of the night. That was kind of strange. She's normally a morning snuggler, not a nightime one. She jumped up in my bed almost immediately after we came in from the dark. I heard her in there scratching at the sheets, trying to make a nest that was more comfortable for herself. She snuggled up against me while I read.