Columns

By Bruce Becker. Anyone can do the things I’ve done if they’re willing to live the life I’ve led. ~ Fool’s Crow Summer in the high country. It’s a short season, two and a half months long, three and a half if you’re lucky. After a long hike up, I always hate to come down. So one summer, I didn’t. I’d planned to stay out this time before I left Aspen, where I lived. I knew I’d never pack enough food for the whole summer, so I brought only a little that I would ration out for a while.  My old standbys: rice,...

By Gregg Goodland It happened again this year. They nearly got me this time, though. Our Valley’s youth possess such great aptitude and passion for learning that I nearly ran out of things to present to them. I’m talking about the amazing students that attended the Forestry Session at the Beaver Creek Youth Conservation Camp on June 4 - 6 this year.  Nearly five years into working here at the Rio Grande National Forest, I find myself pretty amazed, and thankful, that I was able to share a bunch of a long career’s worth of acquired knowledge to a great...

By John Rowe. Blair Meerfeld and I met at the “Old Men’s Breakfast,” in Moffat, several months ago. Blair gave off a gentle, friendly vibe making me want to get to know him. I discovered he is building his own home in the Grants. He has been getting lots of help from the guys at breakfast — both technical expertise and labor. Blair is apparently the kind of fellow that people just naturally want to help. He is the classic case of a guy getting by “with a little help from his friends.”  Blair and I sat down in June outside...

By Matie Belle Lakish. July! Gardens are growing well with all this heat and the good moisture we have gotten this spring. Summer is officially here and I’m having lots of salads and green things to eat.  Part of what I am harvesting, though, are wild things, so I thought I would talk about some of those plants this month. By the time you read this, many of them will be too mature to eat, but others will be perfect. Think about the earlier ones for next year. These wild plants come up in my garden and yard and in some...

By Tegan Welsch-Rainek. Starting on a nice warm, sunny day with bright blue skies, my hike began with a steady climb up switchbacks, accompanied by the trickle of a nearby forest stream. As I gained elevation, the trail transitioned into a lush tree line with aspen and pine standing tall and surrounding me. A squirrel's nest and the presence of bark beetles reminded me of the intricate web of life thriving here. The sun overhead cast dappled light through the leaves, creating a serene atmosphere. As I marched at a steady pace, the dirt path under my sandals showed signs of...

By Gina M. Barrett. Making clear choices when navigating one’s life. What is best for oneself and others in your life? Discerning is an acquired skill that becomes easier as it’s practiced. The first step in making the best choices for oneself and others in your life is to get clear on what is best for you, both physically and emotionally.   For example, is it the best choice to stay out late socializing on a night when you need to be at your best the next day?  Some may choose to do things without much thought about the consequences of their choice....

By Amy Garoutte, Northern Saguache County Library District. We continue to be excited about adding a Library of Things to our collection in 2024. We want to meet the needs of our community and request that you share your ideas. Please complete the survey at https://bit.ly/NSCLD-Things or stop by either branch and drop off your suggestions in our Library of Things suggestion box. We hope to roll out some of the initial tools and “things” in this collection in August. Last month, I shared news about our exciting upcoming community read event featuring Mark Twain’s classic, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, alongside Percival...

By Gussie Fauntleroy. As the only legal, non-denominational open-air cremation site in the country, the Crestone End of Life Project (CEOLP) offers a meaningful, beautiful form of final disposition at its pyre site west of town. The all-volunteer nonprofit organization has a natural burial ground adjacent to the pyre site as well, with simple burial in a hand-dug grave that creates minimal disruption to the land. With both options, CEOLP also files the death certificate and offers assistance with a home funeral, care of the body, and ceremony planning if desired. To be eligible for these services, however, you must be...