I was home today when the lady and man from from the zoning office came by. I just hate to see an unannounced car from the city parking outside my house. It's funny that they parked in order to come in our back door, as the rest of the world seems to do. Our front door is clearly a front door - we just don't use it since the back door is by the driveway. Given a choice between an un-gated nice concrete sidewalk with flower beds on either side and a gravel driveway with an old gate with 2 territorial Scotties making all sort of noise, which would you choose?

Long story short, we can't park our trucks here or have any employees come here ever again. The trucks are normally parked at another location but we are known to leave one here overnight from time to time. As they were speaking, my mind wandered to all the home businesses that we have around us with employees coming in all the time.

The notable point of this is that we've been doing this here for 15 years, and for a long time we parked our trucks here. It's only been since a neighbor moved in nearby that we've had any complaints about our lifestyle. Most of our neighbors love us as we do them. I guess now is the time to start loving the new guy, too, so he won't feel so lonely.

Yesterday I took part in a hospital emergency drill.

Nobody told me ahead of time that it would involve a 'vertical evacuation' meaning: they needed to test some equipment going down flights of steps. I got to try out (as a 'patient') a chair with some kind of slide mechanism on the back and something called a chute. The chair was not too bad but a little 'heads up!' about flipping me backward and bumping on the stairs would have been nice. The chute was corrugated plastic that I was strapped into and dragged down 2 flights of stairs in. It was really pretty funny - bumpity, bump, bump. Glad I bundled my coat under my head.

The two teams I worked with were interested in learning how to use this equipment but one team told their 'patient' volunteer that they didn't have time to do the drill.

The things I do to keep from getting bored...

Boulder is settling down and getting ready for winter.  Today was in the 50's, warm enough for some yard work but now the chill and clouds are rolling in.  Snow clouds have a particular look to them and these are a little too high to qualify.  

This year, I've taken control of my yard and I'm asking more out of it.  A second compost heap is next to the north fence and it's filled with leaves from all over town.  Sugar borrowed the rototiller that we gave to a friend and broke open an area to garden that's about 6'x24'.  When we fence it in against the deer,  the dogs will have a larger yard to sniff around and protect from evil joggers and strollers.

I'm going to be a mother-in-law!  I have 10 months to get used to the idea.  I'm lucky to have a lovely daughter-in-law-to-be.

Yesterday ended 2 weeks of early voting at CU and what a trip!   We thought we were hot at the end of the first week when we processed 500 voters with 3 election officials.  Yesterday, the count was 1500 and thankfully, we had a full staff.   It was an amazing experience, helping all those first time voters.  

I'm exhausted.  Try saying  "What's your last name?  Ballot goes in the box face up, arrows in first, green stripes sticking out the top.   No, other way.  Yes, now the back page, too.  No, almost, yep you got it, now spin it around, arrows go in first.    Great!  Here's your sticker."  several thousand times with a smile on your face  and you'll know what I mean.  

I think half of Boulder has already voted.

picture came up on 'exhausted puppy google search'

I'm working the early vote and have found out that a lot of people don't realize that mail in ballots are real live ballots.

People, you only get to cast one vote. If you receive a mail in ballot, that is a ballot and that is yours. You can mail it in or drop it off at an early polling place (or where ever the instructions tell you to).

If you change your mind about voting by mail and want the thrill and excitement of voting at a polling place, you will be given a provisional ballot. That ballot has to be hand checked to ensure that you didn't cast the mail in ballot you requested. So don't be mad or disappointed - your vote will still be counted.

I'm curious to see how all the provisional ballots will affect the timing of the election results in this remarkable election year.

I stayed up into the middle of the night reading an old friend's book,Family Bible. I'm amazed at times to be reminded of the fact that there were interesting people in my home town. If I had stayed, I would have been one of the local eccentrics, probably, but I had to leave in search of something that I've actually been finding along my way. It was quite a trip to read about places where I grew up and find out what my friend's life was actually like.

We had our first frost last night and it may freeze tonight so I pulled in some flowers to enjoy.






Those zinnias are so brash and bold but the roses were delicate enough that I didn't know if they would last.

We had a bumper crop of apples in Boulder this year.  These are the few that the squirrels didn't sample.

Working with groups is really an adventure in itself. Since we have our own business and homeschooled, our groups have pretty much been hand-picked and really enjoyable.

I've been volunteering with new groups this year and have found lots of variation.
One pretty much conveyed that my help wasn't worth keeping after I offended one member while following one of the group rules.
Another group ran its course when the people we were supposed to help conveyed that they didn't want the help because of liability issues.
Another group has some funky communication established with a whole political hierarchy even among the volunteers. My mentor went so far as to tell me not to speak to others when I had questions.

Help is a funny thing.

Someone just sent notice of a article that says Mental Health Parity is being snuck through with the bailout.
It's just one line:
"The revised bailout bill also includes a "Mental Health Parity" provision, which would require health insurance companies to cover mental illness at parity with physical illness."
This is an enormous issue that needs to be debate out in the open on its own! If this is passed, all our insurance rates will go up and mental health screening is certain to increase.
NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is BART, the Big Animal Rescue Truck that Code 3 Associates uses as a base of operations on disaster assistance calls.  

They're down in Houston now, helping the animals affected by the wild weather.  All the help is free and funded by donations and grants.  

Give a little if you can, ok?

I went on my first DAT (disaster action team) call this week, a pre-dawn house fire in the county. Wow.

Now's a good time to send some money to relief agencies.  I don't know how the others are doing, but the American Red Cross is having to borrow millions to feed and shelter the people affected by all the recent hurricanes. I spoke with a local RC fundraiser who told me he had gotten only one call after Gustav!   Try to send some money, even if just a little.  If you don't designate where the money should go, they are able to put it where it goes the farthest.                           

(image from wikipedia.org)

Victims Needed!

If you like to be painted in scars, burns and other injuries then this is
the position for you. If you find that Holly Wood is not beating down
your door but you’re a great victim with a horrific voice, we want you!
Your participation supports a regional Community Emergency
Response Team Disaster Exercise. For more information about CERT
go to http://www.citizencorps.gov/cert/.

To Volunteer Contact:
North Central Region c/o
2008 CERT Summer Games
certsummergames@gmail.com
303.768.8734
Sunday, September 14th, 2008
7:30a-1:00p
Denver Police Academy
2155 N. Akron Way, Denver, CO
~Lunch Provided~

I went by Indochine on Valtec and was surprised by these great buddhas. I don't know what that little white monster-animal is but I want one.

View Larger Map
Google's Map's Street View has come to New Orleans. A lot of the area looks like normal Deep South to me but if you browse around the lower 9th Ward, some of the houses still look like Katrina just went through. I have to wonder if this is a FEMA trailer in this driveway.
Time for another reminder to gather your preparedness kit for emergencies.

 I went down to the Denver for a Red Cross briefing about the DNC.  Wow.  What a set up.    We'll be on call 24/7 for the week of the convention, ready in case we're needed.  This is an amazing group of people!  I'm really looking forward to working with them.

I was in downtown Denver the other day and during the lunch break I walked past this thing. It caught my attention as a novel idea for car travel. The inside looked a little uncomfortable, but functional.

That night on the news and during the next few days I saw all sorts of stories about this Solar Taxi. Makes sense - the car was parked behind the Fox station which is near KUSA and KMGH. This kind of ingenuity makes me happy.

I was an election judge for the first time yesterday. I knew it was going to be slow but it was a good dry run for the general election coming up. Luckily I got my own precinct and got to be the Sign In judge so I could see this view all day long. The mountains were pink at 6:30 am.


There were a LOT of mail in ballots this election! Plus a good number of people got the mail-in ballots but wanted to come in to vote anyway. I had a great group of judges to work with. What a long day - but a good time.

I've been getting involved with the Red Cross lately, hoping that this will be an organization I can settle into for years to come. Sometime before or after Katrina, I did some RC training at the now defunct local office but was never called to volunteer. That particular training didn't win me over but the organization seems to have gone through some changes and I'm finding it a better fit.

I've signed up with the Disaster Action Team and that means being on call for periods at time in case something happens (probably house fires, which are the most common disaster). And I'm taking a class on Sheltering to prepare for the DNC, in case there is a need.

Funny, I'm not looking for disasters but at the same time, I hope this training will be put to good use sometime.

It is so friggin' hot and dry:  7% humidity outside and 90º on my thermometer in the shade.  I've been making sure the birds have water but it's a task to keep everything else watered.   The city of Boulder has a policy this year of penalizing over-watering, but you don't have any way to know when you're about to go over the limit.  I'm usually under the limit,  but it's hard to tell.

We spent some time at the Boulder creek yesterday and soaked in the sounds and negative ions from the burbling water.   It took my mind off my crunchy grass at home.

This picture from wikimedia.org really does it justice.  

The Dog Days of Summer.  This is the 15th day of 90º plus temps.

A great way to start the day is going out to add water to the bird feeder and seeing a spotted fawn darting out from behind a gooseberry bush 8 feet away. The mom is munching on my garden with her two little ones. The deer have been busy reproducing this year! Here's a photo of another baby that visited us a few months ago.

A neighbor down the street, is an artist and a gardener. For years I've walked by her Christmas tree farm and we bought some honey from her hives which was pretty tasty. Last year she gave away a bunch of plants from her garden and I got a rose bush and some sort of vine that are doing well in my yard. This year, she is giving away trees! I picked up a Russian Hawthorne and an Acer Maple. What a lovely person to have around.

This sign of summer was new to me, though I imagine it's been there for years. When the sunset shines on my washing machine, it must be pretty high in the sky. It's in a northwest room of my house. Next year I'll track the progress - maybe this will be my personal Stonehenge.

Did I mention Honey and Sweetie moved out? It's the second exodus from the nest so it is just what it is. I'm in the midst of spreading out after a year of squeezing 4 adults into a house that was probably meant for 2 adults/2 kids. Now there is space where there was none before. I can change things and rearrange without getting four opinions first. I miss them but we all like each other so we still see each other.

The worst of the grass pollen has passed so I can get back out into the yard again to move things around and weed and water. This time of year has got to be my fav.

Summer is in full swing (now that June 20th has come and gone) and that means chores galore.  We did start painting the house last week but as is our usual custom, the next phase still hasn't been scheduled.  It does look better if you don't focus on the splotches on the unpainted trim.  Besides the house, no huge home improvement projects this year unless I decide to paint the downstairs area.

We packed 5000sf worth of houses this week and even with the stifling heat, it went well.  Suddenly we are the less expensive option, maybe because we haven't raised prices with the gas hike.   Still making money, though.

The garden has exploded with color  and I'm looking at sweet peas, yarrow, chocolate flower and Mexican Sage and roses, butterfly flower, those little purple bell-shaped flowers and the honeysuckle.  And  potentilla.  And one day lily that the deer missed.

Defining some terminology with Sugar the other day.

We started painting the house for real yesterday.
















Hansel helped from a distance.

It's been dry here during the last week but we got some great views of other people's storms. The Colorado Front Range gets more thunderstorms than all other states except for Florida and that makes for some great cloud and lightening shows. From this vantage point of slightly higher up the mountains, you can see far across the plains.

I've been busy getting the condo ready to rent again. Today, an ad went onto Craigslist and we've already gotten 3 calls even with a $75 increase! It's a landlord's market here with a low, low vacancy rate so we're going to make up for the last year or so.

Meanwhile, lots of visitors in the yard. Honey caught the fawns in the yard yesterday and today. The bird bath on the fence rail is about waist high so you can see he's really little.



And the squirrel is at it again. This one looks like he's mooning me as he dives down through the top of the feeder. The hinge door on the top was a no-brainer for this little fella. I was waiting for him to get stuck upside down.

The subject of disasters is developing into my summer reading project.
I found this capitvating map of real time disasters that are occurring around the world. As I write this, 9 volcanoes are erupting along the ring of fire and a biological hazard is in progress in Florida.
Fascinating, but not fascinating enough to make come up on a Google news search.

Most of my gardening musings are at my other blog but I am so proud of this little rose that I'm posting it on the blog that people actually visit. This sweet thing is a rugosa rose, one of a bunch of ditch roses that I nudged into my side of the fence and nurtured over the last 20 years. This one is in an area where my dear Yard Man, Sugar, can't accidentally mow or step on and it's blooming verily this year. First rose of the season in my garden. Who knew they were scented?

The Boulder Rural Fire Department outdid itself with their open house on Saturday.  Flight for Life stopped by after dropping a patient off and let the kids come on board to see all the equipment. 

  The Boulder Emergency Squad was there showing off the Jaws of Life.  Right when I walked up, they popped out both windshield into pieces and had the 'victim' out in a matter of minutes.

Code 3 Associates impressed me most of all that day, though all these heroes palpably inspire me.  I've never heard of Code 3 before, a disaster response team for animal rescue.  They're equipped with a huge rig to house the team and treat the injured animals.  They travel to disaster nationwide and don't charge for their services.  

On top of all the inspiration, the day was just a lot of fun.

I have to mention that this is 6/7/8 today.

I started Tai Chi again after a several year hiatus, same teacher but different setting. There's a different significance for me this time, since I'm looking at this practice to keep me physically strong in my old age. The spiritual lessons are a little bonus as well as the insights into Chinese Medicine. That's all I have to say about that for now.

Sugar is off learning about back yard beekeeping. Who knew that he had an interest in the area? He really responded to the solitary bee project, knocking together 6 houses for the street fence. I envision a lot of loner bees, coming and going without noticing the neighbor bees, probably with little bee Ipods to help them tune out the rest of the world. We'll just leave them be, so to speak.


photo from http://en.wikibooks.org/

We have our final CERT exercise tomorrow which should be fun and educational but I a little bummed because I found out that there isn't much to do as a CERT trainee after this except to be prepared. I had in mind that there would be some call-up opportunities like this guy gets but there just isn't any sort of program like that developed around here. The most I can look forward to is giving out information at some fairs and possibly helping in a call center during a blizzard. Maybe that's good, that emergency responders don't need any help around here.

Meanwhile, there's a new webcam in Boulder: Boulder Creek cam so if the big one comes this year, we should be able to watch it.

Time to say goodbye.  

Sugar joined his brother  to bury his mom today next to her husband in a little grassy cemetery in the wilds of the Upper Midwest.  His mom has been with us in a box on a bedroom shelf for the last 15 years, cared for and thought of, but it was time to put her ashes in the ground.  I had visions of taking her to the wide-open ND plains and opening the box during a windy day but the brother needed a memorial, a place for future generations to come to when the genealogical urge strikes.  I think she would have liked that,  her sons coming together for her sake.  Wonderful lady.

I was at the Boulder County Clerk and Recorder office yesterday and decided to be an election judge, not really on a whim but somewhat on a whim.   I asked about the duties, mumbling something about doing the job with integrity, wondering if that was the sort of thing they were looking for.  The woman said, "We don't have integrity anymore."

Huh?

I laughed and asked (in disbelief), "You don't have integrity?"

No, she insisted.  We used to have integrity but we don't now.  Then she burst out laughing when she realized what I was asking.  They don't use a program called "Integrity" in the office.  Who knows what the name of the new program is:  Dishonor?  Dishonesty?  No, I doubt it but it was a good laugh.

I think this is the election of a lifetime and a good one to launch the civic duty phase of my life.

If you're looking for a reason to drive to Boulder, this is the time to come to Long's Garden.  When I first moved to Boulder, it was Wintertime, all brown and dry so when Spring came along I was delighted to see this colorful expanse up the street on Broadway.   There are so many yards and gardens with irises in the area and this is the reason why.  I have a couple of dozen and I'm not sure where I got them, except they were all thinnings from other people.

While you're here, go a little further north to Harlequin's Gardens if you're interested in native plants.   This business seemed to start off as a labor of love in the 90's and and developed from a scruffy little operation open on the weekends to a well thought-of establishment open most of the week.  If you go, drive to the end of the dirt road for some great views of the Front Range north of Boulder.

image from http://longsgardens.com

I love the south-facing passive solar aspect of our house. It's kept winter heating bills very low for all these year but we do suffer a few weeks of 90-100º heat every summer. The solution has been to keep the window shades down but it makes for a darkened cave-like atmosphere inside.

This year we've had an unusual number of birds flying into the windows so we were spurred to action to find some solution to both problems. The Plow and Hearth catalog introduced us to Coolaroo shades - problem solved! Luckily, we found them cheaper at McGuckin Hardware (sorry P & H) and installed them in a couple of hours or less. I love the product.

Sweetie had an unfortunate encounter with an elk late one night in Southern Colorado recently and our Subaru is now suffering. It's been at Abra in Boulder for almost a week and after they dismantled it, we heard it would take about 6K to repair it. State Farm now decides if it's worth the money.

I liked the Outback well enough, but it was the most expensive car I've ever had. We got a good price through AAA but the upkeep was ridiculous. I'm considering returning to my Honda roots when we get another one.

Luckily, Enterprise on Valmont in Boulder is giving us a great deal on a rental. We discovered the 'body shop discount' after calling Hertz - long story short, we just decided to keep the Enterprise compact.

Summer is arriving this week with temps in the high 80's. The Boulder Creek Festival is this weekend starting with a concert at Twenty-Ninth Street (Nina Storey) and they'll have Saturday concerts all summer. 29th Street events have a different feel than Pearl Street Mall events but the parking seems to be a LOT better.

Another reason I love going to Costco is the ride. If you get off the highway and take the back roads, you see this countryside. Beautiful, especially if you're a cow person.
Going through Marshall, I saw a women unloading her llama from the back of her mini-van. Only in Boulder? Maybe not but pretty cool.

Sweetie is officially a learned scholar and finished with school.

Ok, the trip was fine, the beach was great but I'm glad to be home. The free (via Amtrak rewards) ride to Chicago was easy and a little boring, but we did go over the Mississippi River as it was cresting at historic levels. Looking down I could see the distance from the train wheels to the water was a little close for comfort. One benefit of traveling in a sleeper is the "1st Class" waiting area at the Chicago station. Wi-Fi, Snacks, Movies and (the best thing) Clean Bathrooms. The rest of the trip South was nighttime rain and wooded acreage.

I had a great conversation with the treasurer of the National Association of Railroad Passengers on the way up from Jackson. I told him I was a member but not that I had let the membership lapse. Then I pumped him all I could for news about the future of train travel. One good thing that came out of that conversation: when I got home, I read the latest newsletter and found that the bus service portion of the Amtrak trip to LA was restored to Raton. Hopefully, my letters of complaint encouraged the reversion. 4 hours on the bus to Raton, a ratty abandoned depot, is much more attractive than 8 hours on the bus to Albuquerque with their new Greyhound/Amtrak station.

Most of my Amtrak trips have meant getting up at 4am to catch a 6am bus, then traveling for 4 hours for the connection.  This time, though, I'll be boarding at 8pm.  What a luxury.  Bye, bye - back in a couple of weeks.

There's a lot of artwork at DIA, including a whole area of Native American art.
This 'floating baby' one caught my eye.

I went to DIA last night to pick up Sugar and saw "Notre Denver" again.  I love this gargoyle that protects the Frontier baggage area.   Hopefully, it'll help Frontier get through this bankruptcy and back to normal. Last night, I got it that he's in a Samsonite suitcase - there used to be a Samsonite factory not too far from DIA.    Great public art. 

I went to the new REI prototype store.  Eco-prototype.  I'm not sure about the details but I read that it's remarkable somehow (in a lot of ways).  Frankly, I preferred the feel of the other store better but I respect the change.  These solar light fixtures fascinated.  They are under openings in the ceiling so they are skylights but there is a stick of light hanging down inside, probably for night time.  The covering fabric reminded me of Denver International Airport tents.

Last week we got a letter from the Boulder Planning Department telling us that our outside light fixtures are not kosher since they don't have covers on them.   They are about 21 years late in letting us know but what the hay?  I had my suspicions about the letter since it was stuck in our box with no stamp and it wasn't on city letterhead, but so what.   I do wonder if someone from the city drives around after sunset to see which citizens are using light bulbs illegally.

The next day, a neighbor stopped by while I was outside pulling weeds and introduced himself as the HOA president from across the street (their HOA, not mine).  He said that we would be getting a certified letter in the mail to remind us that They own the strip of land next to the street and We don't.  Yes, we know that - we have been mowing the strip since for 21 years for the privilege of having our mailbox there.  He said it was a friendly way of making sure that we know that We don't own it but They do. Please, take it! I'm tired of mowing it!

That adverse possession case has gotten people spooked around here. Paying property taxes and having a deed to the property isn't enough these days.

Today I heard a sound that I haven't heard for months - bees buzzing in a tree.  They happened to be in one of the peach trees that came up as volunteers from some long ago sheet composting .  The buds have started opening and I wonder if we'll actually get some peaches this year. 

Peak Soil has a write up about Colorado HB1270 which is making its way through the Assembly. This will make it harder for HOAs to restrict some energy efficient tools, such as retractable clotheslines.
Delightful! I don't have this problem since a lot of my neighbors built up around me - and my clothesline was there when they bought their properties. I'm all for this kind of homey energy savings.

If you really want to get involved with helping the planet through better clothes washing techniques, check The Laundry List.


photo from apartmenttherapy.com

Lately I've been spending my free time at my other blog or out in the garden or knitting for newborns for the Women's Auxiliary project.

I just joined a listserve about local gardening and got a heads up about this event at Denver Botanical Garden: 'IN YOUR FACE: Ethics and Urban Ecology'. It costs $18 for DBG members, $21 for non members; April 1 at 7:00PM. Call 720-865-3580 to register. I'm not familiar with this guy, but just felt like giving a plug for the DBG.

Join the Hunt for Bees! The Great Sunflower Project is working to 'track and value the goods and services provided by natural ecosystems' so they are looking for volunteers to help them track bees in urban settings. Sounds like fun, eh? Go to their website to sign up and get a free pack of wild sunflower seeds to get started.
photo from: http://www.greatsunflower.org

Ok, for two weeks I've had this song "Hello" sung by American Idol contestant David Cook,(originally by Lionel Richie) playing in my head. Since he's able to do that, he's my fav. 

Look what I found when we were walking the dogs.  Isn't it sweet?  I heard a story today about a dolphin helping some stranded whales find their way back to the open water after hearing the whales' distress calls.  Spring is here, and the radishes and carrots have broken ground and the turnips are showing their true leaves.  The lone crocus in the garden is already spent and little green tips of grass are showing through the old mat from last year.  Very sweet time of year.