WATERTON CANYON - The natural world is the epitome of efficiency, and the study thereof is the basis for all advances in technology throughout the entire span of human history.  Every “leap forward,” from the use of prehistoric tools all...

everything feels different  on the last day of the year  it’s a small sort of death  the last sandwich for lunch  the last gallon of gas  the last long drive home  in after work traffic  the last credit...

As I contemplated how I should continue to discover Colorado in 2025, I decided to trudge around the property, admiring the freshly fallen snow, glistening in the sunshine. The wind made me grateful for the heavy coat I wore. I climbed above the...

what is it about the ocean that we find so captivating is it that most of us do not get to see it often that it is a trek to get there and thus special because of its novelty or perhaps instead there is something instinctual in us because so long...

TUNGSTEN VALLEY - Planets wander nightly among the stars. Mostly, they shift in the same yearly direction as the sun, west to east (called prograde). (The sun flies east to west daily, but its yearly motion shifts opposite to that, one degree per...

NEDERLAND - Here we are, wrapping up another year in our tucked-away little gem on the edge of the wilderness! As I write, the sounds of Christmas music mingle with the crinkle of wrapping paper and stretching of tape for presents. By the time of...

I guess I’m lucky today in that I’ve watched the sunrise and sunset and they were both pink and framed by mountains and plains grass and puddles of snowmelt which themselves cause the color of the sky turning pink and blue and white it really...

PEAK TO PEAK - I have this friend. He was in my law school class. In the Spring of 1983, he had four wisdom teeth coming in. At first, it was a mild annoyance. My friend ignored the problem and told me, “I just want to graduate and pass the bar,...

Lyons Is anyone else frustrated with life? I sigh as I come to the end of nearly seven weeks of dealing with injuries and illnesses. I tried everything to heal, to no avail. My frustration turned to feelings of infuriation with every failure. I...

it’s ten degrees out and I’ve not written a good poem in a week or maybe ever I’m driving to work as it seems I often am and the road is icy my lover sleeps at home and so does the rest of the world it’s not yet day and the snow and the dim take...

PEAK TO PEAK - The Winter Solstice on the 21st of December leads us into one of the four great turning points of the zodiac. The deepest darkest nights of the year are upon us. The solstice, with its sunset flowing through Stonehenge, marks the...

there’s an apple tree in the backyard I’ve written about it before I was taken by it in fall when the leaves were changing and the apples were red we picked them every morning cut them up for breakfast pressed them into cider baked them into...

BARR LAKE STATE PARK - I’ve mentioned in previous articles that as winter sets in I enjoy making my way down to the flatlands for some raptor photography.  While we certainly have quite a few raptors around all year, one of the main reasons...

At the beginning of autumn, a friend from the Netherlands came to visit me. We didn’t have much time together but made the best of it. One day, unable to decide where to go and what to do, we opted to go for a stroll through Estes Park.  The...

soft orange at the horizon line like the edge of the world is gently burning the city shimmers with lights and all the little lives in it the trees are brushstrokes ink against the charring sky the mountains still dark silent sleeping strong snow...

TUNGSTEN VALLEY - Last month, we received a riddle posed by a beautiful young woman nearly half a century ago. At what intervals do a clock’s hour and minute hands align? It’s the same problem as how often planets align with each other, called...

the sun floats in blackness spinning burning huge casting light over our galaxy giving warmth and glow each speck of shine has to travel so many miles in the dark to reach us here I drive to work in the truck I’m listening to music and I have a...

EAST MAGNOLIA - It’s that time of year, folks! As I write, a gigantic, nation-wide “flock” is thawing out for roasting, smoking, deep-frying, or some other such method of culinary preparation.  Plans are being set in motion for gatherings of...

Altruistic Sagittarius leads the zodiac in giving thanks for all that we have. The noble archer has as his guide large fortunate Jupiter, who is now honoring partnership. So let us first give thanks for all of the people we have in our lives –...

I’m driving to therapy after finishing work I’ve been awake for twelve hours already I’m worried I’ll never publish again that the world is going to end and that I’m making no progress in anything at all there is construction on the highway two...