Here are some delayed pictures that I have promised.

I have no pictures today, but I have some stories. Jay, Ted and I arrived Thursday, June 7th about 10 pm. It was an uneventful drive, everyone behaved well, including Lacy and Amber, until we arrived in Raton, NM. After dinner, I was taking the dogs out of the car for a potty opportunity, and the tail gate of the Tahoe closed on my right index finger (YES, the same finger I slammed in the door on May 16th). Fortunately, it was across the second knuckle, not the first with the stitches, and just closed gently on my hand, not slammed. I had some bruising, but not much else. Since I was still babying that finger because of the stitches, it wasn’t much difference. Can you imagine? anything to get out of packing. The finger is limbering up, the scar on the bottom of my finger is hard to see, but the one on the top is still slightly inflamed and very tender. I think I should have waited longer to take the stitches out. But it is slowly getting better.

The dogs were anxious for a while and hesitant to go up and down the wooden stairs, there is no carpeting for traction, but they have gotten the hang of it now. They are always glad to see us when we get home and have settled in pretty well. They had their annual exam at the new vet in Westcliffe (new to them, not to Westcliffe) on the 14th and got a good bill of health. They were due for their rabies shots and also got a rattle snake vaccination. They go back in 4 weeks for a booster, then annually. Apparently, rattle snakes are common in this part of CO and labs are naturally curious. Jay and Ted played golf the previous day and while looking for a ball, Jay saw a snake he thought was a rattler. He called Ted over and asked what he thought and Ted’s reply was “yeah, Dad, can’t you hear him rattling?” and no Jay couldn’t hear it. So now he knows to watch carefully with his eyes and not rely on his hearing for snakes.

When we got here we found that our fax machine had died and was getting absolutely no power, although plugged in. So Saturday, the 9th, we headed for Pueblo and the big stores. We bought many supplies, including a fax machine, lawn mower, weed eater, chain saw, fire pit, and groceries from Sam’s. We pulled the trailer into Pueblo filled with boxes to donate to a family moving (via Craig’s List) and left with the trailer full of yard equipment. When we tried the fax machine, it wouldn’t work, so Monday we trekked back to Pueblo to return it to Sam’s and buy a new one from Office Max that we like much better. We had several other stops to make by this time on Monday, so we got a lot accomplished and our fax is now working in good order.

Sunday evening, we went out for pizza and then to the bowling alley. We had enough time for the boys to play several games of pool, Jay says that Ted is a pool shark as well as an excellent golfer. But we found out about the summer bowling leagues and Wed am found us at the mixed league. They were happy to see us and for the first day, we subbed for two missing players, but may be on our own team next week, they had a “ghost” team – no players, just low scores for the 4 places, and thought we might take over the ghost team. We don’t know if that will happen or if we will just fit into the existing teams. But it was fun and the people were very nice.

Thursday after the vet visit, Jay and Ted took the Harley out for a ride and went up to the edge of the national forest east of Westcliffe. Friday, we recycled cardboard and dumped trash at the landfill, then went to Salida, CO. We thought we were going for ArtWalk and Quilt show, but that is next weekend. BUT, we found FibARK, which stands for First in Boating the Arkansas, and is a white water kayaking race. There were food tents, vendors, live music, and lots of kayak’s in the water doing tricks in competition, and it goes on all weekend, Thursday through Sunday. It was amazing to watch the pro’s in the competition, and there were two commentators doing play by play as if it was on ESPN, although this part wasn’t. They expected 25 – 30 thousand people to attend over the course of the weekend. Ted got to go to Kentucky Fried Chicken for his first fast food fix since we left Texas. We have been feeding him well, but not fast food. Jay and I explored the chinese restaurant, and found it acceptable. We look forward to trying different dishes next time.

Today, Jay and I went to a Saturday Sampler, offered by the parks department. Most Saturday mornings (if there is not a festival or event going on in town) they host guest speakers at the old Schoolhouse (which is also their museum). Today was for beginning bird watching and how to identify birds. The speaker was terrific and we learned how to use a bird guide and which ones to buy and which ones not to. (We returned the one we bought at the grocery store before the class, right after the class). It was not the right one. We shared a bird guide with another participant and at the end of the session, when we introduced ourselves, found out that he is our attorney, representing us in a small matter regarding the property. We had emailed and spoken to him, but never met. We had a good laugh over the coincidence and spent some time after the session, chatting and learning about the local lawyers and life in Westcliffe.

Ted and Jay have gone back to Pueblo to look for a hot tub cover for the hot tub. It is broken and the rain water runs right in and over fills the hot tub. I’m here, writing to you and watching the dogs sleep. We have hung hummingbird feeders on the deck and they are in abundance around here. We learned a little about the three types of hummingbirds in this area this morning too. I’ll try to get some pictures up soon. We are having modem problems and are down to one computer (laptop) plugged directly into the DSL. Hopefully the new modem will arrive soon and we will all be back on our own computers.

We still have lots of unpacking to do, but all the necessities are covered, so we are ready for guests. It seems like there is a festival or event almost every weekend in one or more of the towns around here, all summer. So come check it out.