Supper with Honey and Honeybun at Steuben's in N Cap Hill was delish! The wait was long but I guess it was a testimony to the popularity of the place. I had the roasted chicken that Guy Fieri featured and got a glimpse of the stencil that he left behind.

Denver has developed so many interesting neighborhoods since I lived there years ago. Nice to have a son living in a town that I want to explore. But today: Lafayette Peach Festival, the Zydecoasters and Oskar Blues. And also that free Jazz Festival in Niwot with Henry Butler. Great late summer days. (photo from Yelp.com)

Too close for comfort:

Last weekend brought the RockyGrass Festival to Lyons so we revved up Fitsy and headed north. We mainly went to see if we could hear some music from a distance and didn't, so after wandering around Main Street, we ended up at the pinball arcade. It's filled with all those old fashioned games like Baby PacMan but we ended up in front of the Kiss game ("Kiss" the band).

We didn't have to leave home after all to hear some great music. Joshua Panda delighted us on the Pearl Street Mall. What a find - a zydeco band from Vermont! With some of these street bands you just have to appreciate the effort but these guys are great! This summer has been stuffed full of live outdoor free music this year and we love it.

We stumbled into
Efrain's of Longmont the other day, a far cry from the one in Boulder. The food was as good (I always get the beef tostada with the Paul Newman-like dressing) but the ambiance was totally different. Our waitress from Guadalajara let us know that it's "Eff-ray-een's", not "Eff-rain's" like we thought.

Yesterday we took a ride up Sunshine Canyon, past Gold Hill, into Nederland and down Boulder Canyon, looking for any early aspen changes. We saw a few gold medallions but not a lot. I was surprised to see the snow in some of the mountain crevices leftover from last winter.
This week was our highest ever for the business, amazing for this economy. We spent a few days getting the condo ready to rent and found a couple who signed last night. I realized I misestimated the integrity level of a long time friend after I found some unadmitted damage he had done. Lesson learned. The Maximillian Daisies are blooming again, so fall is around the corner. They start now and will bloom till the first frost. The garden gate is getting there - one post is firmly embedded in the ground. Sweetie is likely to move back in with this sweetheart later this week; Honey finalized his plans to go back to LA and Sugar made his reservations to visit his big brother in WA this week.

50º at noon in high summer! Normally, high 90s would not be unusual. This has been the coolest, wettest summer here in years.

After a month away in Hollywood, I'm back to summer in Colorado. This has been probably the wettest season in years and everything is lush! The grape vines have taken off and actually have a few little grapes (first time so far). The garden that I left behind was virtually untended so the first few days back, I spent sorting out the weeds from the plants. So far the onions & cherry tomatoes have been the most successful crops but I haven't given up on the cabbage and eggplants.

The bees seem have been quite busy. Funny what long shadows they cast. Nice to be home.

I started walking again, by myself and not for the dogs, around the lake nearby.  The space itself invigorates.

 This is one of the irrigation ditches that run into Boulder County from the mountains.  Pure snowmelt.   The next day after I took this picture, the ditch was dry and smelled like bogs that I've known in the deep South.

I'm so glad that Spring is in full bloom.  The last snow has come and gone and we are ahead of ourselves in average precipitation.

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 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.

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.

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.  

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.