Pagosa Springs – Teal Sky

Sun, 27-Nov-2022Sun, 27-Nov-2022

Happenings 2022

Mom came for 2 weeks. Knitting seaweed for library on the balcony.

Met Remy and the family in Buena Vista for a fun day trip.

Fall Equinox sunset…can start to enjoy sunsets from living room again.

Migrating swallows – several groups -chose our home as a stop over for several days. Lots of window washing!

This friendly buck chose our patio several times – surprising us when we woke up in the morning and staying for several hours, perfectly content with us.

With a younger friend who also spent the night. Beautiful. Amazing.

End of the world sunset – amazing colors.

First snowfall. 12X optical zoom from guest bedroom.

Lake is freezing, summer’s over. A heron is very interested in this change of environment.

Sat, 28-May-2022Mon, 28-Nov-2022

Spring in the Rockies

Columbines blooming in the yard – our landscaping work paying off.

We got a permit to relocate 2 Ponderosa Pines from a specific area in the San Juan National Forest as part of fire mitigation.

It was hard work but we are looking forward to giving them a new home.

Character Pine in the front yard – we love the curled trunk!

The one in the back is being appreciated by a forest friend.

Time to play! Time to explore Vallecito Resevoir

We found a nice campsite, wooded but a view of the Vallecito Resevoir.

Lots of wetland areas where river flows into the Vallecito Resevoir.

How many goslings? Will they all grow up to be Canada Geese?

We thought we would try Heron State Park in New Mexico. We were not expecting it to be this dry!

But looks like rain is in the forecast – tomorrow we will kayak Heron Lake.

Fri, 31-Dec-2021Tue, 22-Mar-2022

Winter Arrival 2021

We kayaked Thanksgiving morning after putting the turkey in the oven. Jumped on the bikes a few more times as well, for a total of 2,700 miles and 168,000 feet of vertical climbing of riding in 2021.

We enjoyed a few more evenings of happy hour on the balcony.

There were amazing Nov/Dec sunsets even tho the temperatures cooled down very quickly.

Several bucks spent the night in our back yard which was a huge surprise.

The morning of December 10 we woke up to 14″ of snow and lake partially frozen.

By late afternoon the lake was completely thawed and the wind sculpted the snow into drifts.

That evening we watched the lake “smoke” and freeze instantly into this ice skate rink clear ice.

The morning of the Dec 12th the lake was covered in popcorn type formations but really…

…they were hoary ice crystal castles like these on the shore.

We love that the foxes come visit us when they can walk across the ice.

They seems very curious and playful. Usually they move too fast to capture a photo.

How wonderful this fox paused for a picture!

This is how far south the sun sets at 4:51 MST December 20. Nine hour 20 minutes of sunshine here.

Winter solstice sunrise (7:30 Dec 20) also far south for our wonderful south facing solar heat gain.

All the ingredients to start the New Year off merrily.

Four feet of snow by 12/30 caused some plow guy troubles.

Wed, 04-Aug-2021Thu, 23-Dec-2021

Summer at Home 2021

Columbines blooming are a sure sign of spring. Lots of wildflowers on the trails.

White fluffy clouds just say summer to me.

Day trip to near by Echo Reservoir to enjoy the wonderful sunshine.

Another day trip to Santa Fe – 160 miles one way to the charging station. Oh, and could not pass on some great shopping!

Nice stop for coffee break. Took about 40 minutes to add 140 miles of charge (for a total 225 miles to return home).

Our first restaurant dining since Spain in 2020 – great outdoor patio with spicy New Mexican food.

We built this kayak stand to give us more room in the garage – works great!

A bug hotel for our 6-year-old great-nephew. We had fun painting and decorating!

We did an overnight trip to South Fork and got a hike in together as well.

He also came to see our house and check out the kid size bridge in our Japanese Garden- a fun day of mini-golf, picnic lunch, library summer reading, and a walk along the river.

We dodged some summer storms but managed a few evening concerts in the park.

Wandered downtown on 4th of July to see all having fun floating along the river.

Cruised downtown for the car show – dressed to match so owner wanted a photo.

And the serenity of our wonderful sunsets.

Thu, 28-Jan-2021Thu, 04-Mar-2021

Fall/Winter 2020

“Safer at Home and the Colorado Great Outdoors 2020”

3,300+ Road miles ridden this year! Awesome accomplishment.

2,323 road miles ridden from March 28 to December 9.

We kayaked April 1 to November 10 enjoying the changing three seasons.

The lake starts to freeze and the birds that migrate move south.

The winter storms start to move in giving some dramatic scenery.

The lake is warmer than the air and creates smoke on the water.

The Japanese garden with a light dusting of snow accentuates the features.

We found wonderful things to celebrate and made the most it! Hopeful.

Thankful for so very much. But still only virtual with family and friends.

Finished up a few projects in the house on these last warm days of the year.

Walked along the river downtown to celebrate Christmas.

Happy New Year 2021 with special lobster tail dinner and champagne.

We see our foxy neighbors regularly as we are on their winter route.

The first real snowfall required firing up the monster machine.

Snowshoe on the lake to enjoy the mountains and beautiful sunshine.

Cool ice crystals on the fox prints. We followed to their den.

Inauguration Day Celebration: Science over Fiction. Unity over Division.

Chef making lasagna from scratch for another special day.

Appreciating the wind patterns on the lake in the late afternoon light.

Sat, 15-Aug-2020Wed, 11-Nov-2020

Japanese Garden Project

Time to use those kayak arm muscles to move rocks.First of 3 loads of local rock we had delivered. We had some of the boulders moved as well per the architect’s directions.

Templates made of cardboard first to get the dimensions worked out.

Shapes were then cut out of particle board to make concrete form.

Looking good…This just might work!

Wrapped in plastic, concrete was hand mixed and pushed into crevices.

The unveiling a week later shows the close match of concrete colors/textures with the rocks.

Lakeside view showing how bridges starts thicker, goes thinner as it springs out of the rock.

Seven tons of pea gravel are delivered to create the pond.View from living room after we have added a few plants.

The bridge ends at an island which we hope to feature a character pine.

A rake creates the wave patterns that enhance all the island places.

Wed, 17-Jun-2020Wed, 11-Nov-2020

Safer At Home – Spring 2020

Stuck at home, looking forward to Wine O’clock to help the days go by.

Daily walks to check out ducks and water fowl that might be hanging out.

Cooking some wonderful meals like this Spanish Paella.

Prep for a Spanish tortilla: We submitted some of our favorite recipes for the Outdoor Club cookbook.

An excellent flip to cook the other side. Nice party trick appreciated by the two of us!

Sunrise with a beautiful moon set while enjoying our morning coffee.

We enjoyed spring blooms and the views on a bright sunny day with a walk up the Forest Road to the top of Chimney Rock NM.

Another road hike to Eight Mile Fire Lookout tower…

…with this incredible view over the valley.

Kayaking from our back door to enjoy the view of Pagosa Peak.Warm weather on a wind free afternoon gave us another outdoor space.

Thank-you!!! May 15th F-16’s flyover over to thank medical personal.

Pelicans stayed for a day – so big and white. Such a treat to see them.

We learned to Zoom – a good way to stay connected with friends.

A few days of kayaking up at Williams Creek Reservoir to enjoy a change of pace.

A forest fire started near by – unfortunately the first of many for the west.

We had a front row view of the air tanker refilling – every 15 minutes or so.Spontaneous weekend of balloon enthusiasts to celebrate summer solstice.

Enjoying the simple things in life – clouds and reflections.

Sun, 15-Sep-2019Wed, 18-Dec-2019

Category: Pagosa Springs