insect day

If Monday was mammal day, today was insect day.

 While we were stopped for lunch, we saw a hatch of ladybugs.  I've never seen a hatch like this -- there were hundreds of them!  (Well, there were probably thousands... but I admired a few hundred, I'd guess...)

And there were butterflies everywhere.  This was really cool: while I was taking this picture, one of them landed on me!

march up Green Mountain

Bad news: I don't get to pick the next hike.
Good news: the view was worth it.  :-)
I hope this works!
I thought this "map" was pretty cool:

although I'm not sure I can match up the peaks with the panorama...

another great day at RMNP

 It's been hot down here.  OK, maybe not Phoenix hot -- but definitely hot by Colorado standards.  So today, for my day off, we took off to RMNP to go hiking.
It was a great day for hiking!  (Maybe not so for pictures, but that's ok.)  It was overcast, a little drizzly -- basically: cool & comfortable.
Which is a good thing, since we missed a fork in the trail and added on 3 miles to our intended route.  So this lake (above) ended up being our lunch spot, at about 3:30 in the afternoon.

We also saw a moose and an elk.  Very up close & personal, in fact.  Nope -- no pictures -- too up close and personal for that... but very cool to see.
We got home at around 9p tonight.  Great day.

first Colorado house concert

What a great band!  hahaha.
We had our first house concert yesterday (since moving to Colorado).  The featured band was "Fat Rabbit."  They were awesome!
They were also kind enough to let the kids enjoy the stage during the set break.  I'm pretty sure a good time was had by all...

Funny: I didn't get pictures of the band, the food, the crowd... although I enjoyed all of it.  But I thought this photo was a good representation of the afternoon/evening.  I'm sure I don't have to tell you who was making the "rabbit ears" behind Anjile's head!

we love Red Rocks!

 What a lineup!  We saw Arlo Guthrie, Steve Martin & the Steep Canyon Rangers, and Emmy Lou Harris at Red Rocks.  My favorite was Steve Martin; I thought his blend of standup comedy and music was infinitely entertaining.

It's such a beautiful venue... we can't wait to go back next month (for Mavis Staples and Bonnie Raitt).

our foster kitty, "Biscuit"

Last evening, our neighbor knocked on our door... "Do you know a black cat with green eyes?  It's been hanging around our yard all day, and it's really friendly..."
We didn't know the cat -- but agreed to keep the cat overnight.  He was the friendliest cat I've ever met in my life!  He just wanted constant petting & scratching.  He immediately used the litter box we set up for him.  He didn't have any destructive behaviors.  (Had he not kept us up half the night crying, we'd have been tempted to keep him....)
Last night we posted ads on Craig's list & our local Humane Society, hoping someone would call... We got a couple of strange calls, but nothing significant.
This morning, our neighbor returned, and agreed to take the cat to our local vet to see if he was chipped.  Good news: he was!  And the most amazing thing: the owners were ECSTATIC to get their cat back....  His name is Biscuit, and he's been missing for 1.5 years!!!!
He's obviously been well cared for during the last 1.5 years, so we figure he must have gotten out 1.5 years ago -- and someone "adopted" him without taking him to a vet to see if he was chipped.  And now he's going back to his original home.
All's well that ends well.  Tom says this is good karma points for us.

the complete dinner

Prep galore!  My job was to make a rhubarb crumble.  The rhubarb came from Greg & Kim's garden.  Out of curiosity, I tasted the raw rhubarb: talk about tart!!
And, Where is Steve, you ask?  How did he get out of the the prep work?  I'm not sure... but I'm grateful to Steve for taking the photos...

Kim and Greg were quite generous to open their wine cellar for our feast.  We had, of course, Oregon Pinot.  This was from a smaller vineyard in Oregon which doesn't distribute much out of the state.  We thought it was delicious.

The final product: smoked salmon with a dill & mushroom sauce on fresh pasta, served with Et Fille Pinot.  (There was also a lovely salad full of farmer's market ingredients, topped with Kim's famous vinaigrette, not shown.)

Sherry lives on!

After our sojourn to the farmer's market, we decided to stay home and cook.  Tom gave Kim a lesson in pasta.  So, Sherry now has culinary grandchildren!

 Since we had 5 people, Kim's first foray into pasta was a double batch... which translates into pasta everywhere!

 It turned out GREAT.

Elise's soapbox

Warning: politics ahead.

Just because Portland seemed similar to Boulder in its ecofriendly and exercise-rampant culture, didn't mean it was without it's share of morbidly obese people (even at the farmer's market).  I thought this was a sad commentary on our society: someone patiently waiting on his motorized scooter for his strawberry shortcake.  I'm sure the strawberry shortcake was delicious, but I wanted to scream!

farmer's market bliss

 Kim took us to a local farmer's market, which was awesome.  They had a lot of fresh produce, which was really tasty.

They also had someone selling eggs.  I don't care if they're turkey eggs -- I can't imagine paying $1/egg!

They also had plenty of pre-prepared and pre-packaged foods for sale.  I took this picture specifically for Lanie.  And, in honor of Lanie, I tried some.... Sadly, although I have become a big fan of kale, these tasted like salted sawdust.  (So, needless to say, I didn't buy any for Lanie...)

Pure Portland

 We had a great trip to Portland last weekend.  I am convinced that Portland is the only place on earth more dedicated, even than Boulder, to recycling, public transportation, bicycling/earth friendly culture.  I was very impressed to see this sign at the airport... how many airports in this country have a dedicated "bike assembly area?"

I decided this was my other "Pure Portland" picture for the weekend: what else signifies constant moisture/grey skies/damp weather than banana slugs??