Visitors

Visitors in the Night

Tuesday we woke up to the first little snowfall of the season. Only ½" but still a solid dusting.

As I went out to warm up Bunny's (my) car and clear the snow, I noticed some little dips on the railing.
A closer inspection revealed some teeny tiny footprints.

 Teeny little feet prints, maybe the size of a dime.

They travelled to my potted plant and then back.

I searched my Mammals of Colorado Field Guide and the closest I could come to these prints is some sort of weasel. It actually looks more like a tiny fox print but I don't think tiny foxes would be walking on my railings.    There were the same prints on the front porch, wandering up to another potted plant that had been left there. 

On the back railing, the birdies hopped around.

No idea what kind of birdy.

My Birds of Colorado Field Guide doesn't show

foot prints. 

Then Carlos and I took a walk.  And found more prints in the snow.

These are turkey prints. All over the place. Don't they know Thanksgiving is NEXT WEEK? 

That's my footprint on the left which means these turkeys have enormous feet. 

These prints probably do belong to a little fox. Each paw print is about 1 ½" to  1 ¾" long. We see the fox at the end of the driveway a lot.

Surprisingly there were no bunny prints to be found, although usually they are alllll over the place. 

And somehow I missed the deer tracks. Thought I had a pic of them. O well. Missed Carlos's tracks also.

And fortunately there were no bear tracks. No mountain lion tracks. 

And no Chupacabras. 

Whew. 

Birds of a Different Feather

Birds of a Different Feather Entirely...

Just happened to walk outside and look!

Last week I posted about all the birdies on the back deck that are eating the seed put out to entertain Carlos.

I also posted last year about all the birds that pass through at the beginning of Spring. They flock around the bird feeder for a couple of weeks and then pass on. (I think it is significant that these birds all came through last May. Spring seems to be starting MUCH earlier this year. I'm ok with that.)

But these guys live around here year round. Lots of people feed them but they are definitely wild birds.

I only wish their camouflage wasn't so wonderful. It makes it hard to take a picture of them in dappled light.

Wild Turkeys

 Altogether there were about 13 or 14 outside.

I don't usually see them this time of year. 

Most of the time I see them in November.

(How appropriate!)

They are sort of prehistoric looking, aren't they? 

Happy Spring.

Don't be a turkey.

It's a Boo-tiful Morning!

Happy Halloween!!
It's a Boo-tiful Day!

Busy, busy and no pre-prepared post for today. Shame on me.  Running a bit late.

Instead I have a collection of ghosts and goblins and spirits from Halloween's past.

My kids don't usually read my blog much which is a good thing. Unfortunately for them, some of their friends do read it. I may be in trouble tomorrow.

But this is probably the closest I will get to trick-or-treaters out here in the country.

We've had:

Lala and a Geisha-

Love that Teletubby.

A butterfly.

A pirate and a Raggedy Ann

                                               

A devil.

(I won't say anything about playing to type here...)

Another devil and a... rockstar?

Boy has a theme going here..

I believe KISS inspired.

 Also rockstar inspired:

(And that moment where the parenting skills lapsed)

Teenage daughter as Amy Winehouse

At least it is just a Coke bottle in her hand.

Halloween Spiders and...

Halloween cats.

Halloween Hillbillies.

Another Halloween cat.

Plus Pikachu.

 Even some Halloween moms playing with a group selfie in the baño.

Not sure what these girls were- but 

the Halloween cast on Bunny was real.

And to make your Halloween complete, a recipe for dessert tonight.

Severed Halloween fingers:

Red or green food coloring if desired
Sliced almonds
2 large eggs
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
5 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 pinch salt
1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
Directions:

Heat oven to 350°. I line my cookie sheets with Silpat liners.

Separate 1 egg. Set aside the white. In a small bowl, whisk together yolk, remaining egg, and vanilla. Set aside.

In the mixer, combine butter, confectioners' sugar, granulated sugar, and salt. Beat on medium speed until well combined. Add egg mixture, and beat until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add the flour, and mix on low speed just until incorporated. You can add the food coloring at this time or leave them "natural".  Wrap the dough in plastic, and chill until firm, at least 20 to 30 minutes.


Take out small chunks of dough at a time, keeping the rest chilled. Roll each piece back and forth with palms into finger shapes, 3 to 4 inches long. Pinch dough in two places to form knuckles. Score each knuckle lightly with the back of a small knife. Transfer fingers to baking sheets. Repeat with remaining dough.

When all fingers are formed, brush lightly with egg white. Position almond nails; push into dough to attach.

Bake until lightly browned, about 12 minutes. Cool completely.

To make the knuckles more creepy just shape them big and uneven. To keep them from puffing out too much roll the fingers extra skinny (skinnier than you want them to look if that makes sense). Try to get them out of the oven before they brown.

(Recipe adapted from here.)

Happy Halloween.

And this morning on my walk I passed 22 of these:

You know what that means, don't you?
Thanksgiving is right around the corner.

Follow Up Friday

Follow Up Friday: one month in...


We've been in Colorado living, as opposed to visiting from Texas, for a little over one month now.

It has exceeded my expectations in many, many ways and also been much harder than I expected in many ways.

The really wonderful positives:

My two girls started high school in a new tiny school and love it. They have been fairly well accepted and have found their niche with the cheer leading squad. This still amazes me as cheer leading is not something that has ever been on their horizon.

 Belle and ...

...Bunny in action. 

(and it only took 8 minutes for these two pictures to upload)

It's gorgeous here. I am astounded every morning by my view out the front window. There are wild animals around every corner. Mama and baby deer in the front yard, wild turkeys in the field, a little fox running down my drive.

 The view out my front door. 

Every day it is astounding.

People are friendly and helpful. I have had people go out of their way to include me, neighbors go out of their way to help me and delivery people go out of their way to get my packages to me (When was the last time your Fed Ex driver left their cell number on the "Sorry we missed you notice" with a note to call them so as to arrange pick up. Never? That's what I thought but it happened here yesterday.)

No traffic, no crowds, no hustle and bustle. I have been stopped for turkey jams but not traffic jams.

Wild turkeys fattening themselves up for Thanksgiving.

This morning I probably saw 50 of them at once- dappling the field and dawdling across the road.

And the down sides:

THE INTERNET:
Never in my life have I had such a month of frustration. We have satellite internet which requires a direct line of sight from the dish on my roof to the tiny mine wayyyyy across the river. If the wind blows, the trees sway or we actually try to USE the internet, it doesn't work.
It is slower than Christmas.
I can try to upload a photo onto this blog and two minutes later I am still watching the "loading" line
s l o w l y progress.
Next week we are supposed to be getting DSL which may or may not be better and may or may not actually be available in my area. They promised me it is available but I won't believe it until it is up and running. And it still may not be an improvement. But pray that it is.
(And it only required ONE HOUR AND TWO MINUTES of my time on the phone to order it.)

Expectations:
My expectations are still big city but I now live in a tiny rural area.

It just doesn't occur to me that I can't get something 24/7 or that things can't be purchased in the immediate area. I come from the land of shopping. I come from the land of EVERYTHING being available within a 15 mile radius.

Case in point: Belle had her birthday and she specifically requested a cheetah print birthday cake. She hasn't had a store bought pretty cake in a gazillion years. Since she is away from many of her friends and I wasn't sure how her birthday would play out- I really wanted to make her 18th birthday special.

On Sunday before her Wednesday birthday I went to the one grocery store to order a cake. Turns out they don't actually decorate cakes in that store. All the cakes come from Denver. I needed to order it a few days earlier to make the shipment. There's a Wal-Mart but they don't decorate cakes either. Closest store that decorate cakes is in Buena Vista, 45 minutes away.

I called on Monday and they assured me they could have a cheetah print cake ready by noon on Wednesday.  I asked for it to have "Happy Birthday Belle" on it and mentioned she liked sparkles and bling. In my mind I envisioned some little pearlized balls around the edge or possibly some glitter sugar sprinkled around the spots.

Here is kinda what I expected:

*image

Something along these lines.

Simple, pink and brown. MAYBE a little pearl edge to it. 

There are a million cheetah cake images online.

Here is what I got:

Names have been blurred to protect the innocent.

But the color combination cannot be blurred.

And I love the blue "bling".

This is exactly what I asked for. Unfortunately, coming from an area where cake stores are on every corner and there is competition to decorate the hippest, most adorable cakes possible, it was not what I expected. The cake was yummy and it gave us a good giggle- but my expectations and reality did not meet.

Shopping:
We have travelled many, many miles in search of Homecoming dresses.  Part of the problem is that Homecoming here is next week- mid September- and there are no party dresses in the stores.  Girls from here know that and buy their dresses the year before or when they see them. They don't wait until September.
We took a trip to Colorado Springs and when we found nothing there we went to Castle Rock- further north. Nada.  A week later we went to Denver and went into every store in Cherry Creek Mall.  Then we went to the discount stores. Nice salespeople shook their heads and mumbled "too early", "nope", "sorry".

The hubs wanted Elle to have a Slackline for her birthday. She had seen one this summer and mentioned wanting it. Slacklines are right up her alley. Unfortunately they are "past season", "out of stock" and ummm.... not available in the one store that usually sells them here.

*image

This is a Slackline. 

(Not our Slackline- we haven't set ours up because it's been raining.)

It's a bit like a tightrope.

Thank goodness for online shopping which seems to have solved the Homecoming dress issue and the Slackline issue.
Except.
Online shopping requires INTERNET.
Full circle.
Do you see where I'm going?


On the bright side I have become quite friendly with the UPS drivers, Lori the Fed Ex driver and all the  US Post Office personnel.

Phone Service:
Really?  Alexander Graham Bell came up with the telephone back in 1876.
Why am I having trouble making a phone call in 2013?

We have Verizon cell phones. They do not work anywhere in the tiny city that we live in. To use my cell phone I have to drive twenty minutes.

*image

Pretty and sleek and won't make a peep at this house.

We do have a landline in our cabin. We have been on a plan that allows 100 unlimited long distance minutes a month. That has always been wayyyy more than we needed. Until now.
Now I need to call the dealership to check on the H3 that was hit by lightning and STILL is not fixed.
I have sweet parents that are upwards of 89 and they need checking on.
The hubs would like it if I called him occasionally.
All of these calls are long distance.

In order to minimize the long distance calls from the cabin, I make a list and try to accomplish all calls when I go into town. This requires planning because I might need notes or phone numbers or paperwork.  And about half the time I get into town and don't have what I need. Or I do have everything but feel like an idiot sitting in the park making phone calls.

*image

My office away from home. 

After pursuing a few possibilities I discovered that my current landline company has a new plan with unlimited long distance. Again it only took a million phone calls, stops at AT&T and all of my patience. And one hour and two minutes on one phone call.

Cross your fingers.

If I can solve the slow internet problem and alleviate the phone service issue, my life will be much easier. And the longer I am here, I am sure my expectations will lessen. I will know that things can't be done last minute. I will realize that shopping won't be accomplished by a quick run to the mall. The mall is two hours away. Hopefully the girls will also learn.

And we will be free to enjoy the mountains and the wildlife and the lovely people, all stress free.


(Two hours from start to finish to get all these photos downloaded...I realllllly hope the new internet is an improvement.)

Follow Up Friday

Follow Up Friday: Week One in "Green Acres/Redux"


With the first week of life in the mountains of Colorado almost under our belts, I have this nagging feeling that we are settling into a mountain version of the 60s TV show "Green Acres".  There's a bit of "Northern Exposure" and "Twin Peaks" thrown in for good measure, too.  (Although fortunately we haven't had a mysterious murder and hopefully won't.)  We are definitely the fish out of water but we are learning to breathe on land, never-the-less.  (Challenge No. 20, Move!)

The view from the front door.

The two peaks are the Twin Sisters.

(Or, as my neighbor calls them, the "Twisted Sisters".)

There is beauty everywhere and the closeness of nature overwhelms me with its greatness but there is also frustration at every turn. 

The poor little H3 is still at the dealership in Pueblo awaiting diagnostics and an insurance claims adjustor. It has been there for four full days now, shouldn't someone be taking an interest?? (And Note to Self: ALWAYS get the insurance coverage for the car rental. In my flurry of last minute organizing I neglected to add that to the H3 coverage. Guess who is paying out of pocket for a car rental now?)

The power of lightning playing havoc with my budget and patience. 

The girls are registered for school. That was the most amazingly easy part of the whole week. I had received the paperwork over the summer and only had to turn it in and present the girls to the counselor in order to schedule their classes. What a difference from Fort Bend schools which require :

• birth certificate or its equivalent (for students younger than age 12)
• most recent report card or grade transcript,
• immunization records,
• proof of residence, including a deed, lease or mortgage agreement, a recent utility bill (water, gas, electric),
• a student's social security card (will be requested) or state assigned ID number, and
• a government issued photo ID of the student’s parent or guardian, which provides their FBISD address (TX Driver’s License/ID Card)

I think I gave the school my Texas driver's license but otherwise no other form of ID,  no birth certificate was requested, no proof that we live in the school district required. (A good thing considering we DON'T live in the school district- but no one seems to care. Try that in Fort Bend and you will be arrested.)

Salida High School

A lovely new facility- only one year old. 

When I commented on how easy the registration was the counselor replied "Well, we are the public school. It should be easy to get into."  Um, yes, it should. Thank you.

But with school comes school work and we need better internet. Our internet service comes via satellite- there must be a direct line of sight to the tower. Unfortunately over the years our trees have grown and they are interfering. A morning spent with the Internet service guy garnered us new equipment and instructions to buy a new Router and trim the pines. Service is greatly improved with the new equipment but still at only two-thirds power. Again, nature is asserting herself.


And then there's the wildlife.

Carlos has found a favorite spot in the upstairs window where he can watch the comings and goings of the local deer.  This morning he came bounding to my bedside with his best "Come on! Get up! Come see what's out here!" expression. I swear that dog communicates so well, he does not need words. His body language says it all.
Bedded down in the front yard were a doe and a buck. I tried to grab the camera and quietly/quickly snap their pics but Carlos was a bit too rambunctious. Those deer have pretty good hearing.

 The buck - half hidden behind the 

prison-camp flower beds that were here when we bought the place.

Unfortunately, nothing has survived in those beds except 

one sickly rose and a never-blooming peony.

Maybe I can change that.

And that camera needs to become a constant companion. Yesterday we missed the photo of the two wild turkey mamas with teenage and baby poults. 

This morning was a five foot rattlesnake doing his best photovoltaic cell impression by sprawling across the road in the sun, slowly gathering energy to do whatever snakes do.
And this evening I snapped this "Where's the Bunny" pic with my iPhone while Carlos and I walked. I saw him but Carlos never did. Great camouflage. Can you find him?

"Where's Waldo? The Nature Edition"

We haven't seen the bears this time but the game camera assures me they are out there. 

One of the resident bears. He can visit at night all he wants.

There are signs everywhere that they are around. Broken limbs on the trees, bear scat around the property. This pic was taken last month but I have no doubt Mr. Bear is still close by. I confess it creeps me out a bit that I have to look before opening the front door to go out.

So week one is almost done and we are still alive. 

I consider that a win.