Images from the Best of Colorado Landscapes and Lifestyles

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Thursday, December 29, 2011

Mountaintop Christmas Tree

"The holiest of all holidays are those kept by ourselves
in silence and apart; the secret anniversaries of the heart." 
-- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

A Christmas tree burns brightly on a moonlit
mountain top, bringing cheer to all below.
The people who live on the other side of the mountain from us always have a beautiful Christmas tree lit up for the season. It stands as a bright beacon all across the valley and we are lucky enough to be able to see it from our bedroom window. I look forward to it each and every year.


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Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Conifer Christmas Parade 2011

"At Christmas play and make good cheer, for Christmas comes but once a year." 
-- Thomas Tusser
 
Horses are always an important part of the Conifer Christmas Parade.
The annual Conifer Christmas Parade is one of the highlights of the year and last Saturday's event was no exception. Despite the 10-degree temperature and light snow, it seemed as though the entire town turned out to witness the spectacle. 


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Friday, November 25, 2011

Denver Lights the Lights

City and County Building Springs to Light 

"What is Christmas? It is tenderness for the past, courage
for the present, hope for the future. It is a fervent wish
that every cup may overflow with blessings rich and
eternal, and that every path may lead to peace."
 
-- Agnes M. Pharo 

Denver's City and County building, all lit up for the holidays.

The holiday season in the city is always special and the lighting of the City and County building last Friday marks one of the highlights of the season in Denver. In 2009, the city replaced the old incandescent bulbs with energy-efficient LED bulbs, which last more than six times longer.

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Monday, October 31, 2011

Most Haunted Hotel in America

The Stanley Hotel
The lawn
Is pressed by unseen feet, and ghosts return
Gently at twilight, gently go at dawn,
The sad intangible who grieve and yearn....
-- T.S. ELIOT
The Stanley Hotel in 2009, its 100th Anniversary.

According to a recent Travelocity article, the #1 most haunted hotel in America is the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado.

We've been guests of the Stanley several times over the years. This 100 year-old hotel is reported to be haunted and was the inspiration for Stephen King's book "The Shining," which was made into a film by Stanley Kubrick and a mini-series, which aired on ABC in 1997.

This video, made on the 100th anniversary of the hotel in 2009, contains some photos of the hotel as well as stills from the films and recounts some of our experiences there. Be patient, it's a large file and may take some time to load.

Many strange occurrences take  place at the hotel. You'll have to spend a night at the Stanley to judge for yourself whether the hauntings there are fact. . . or fiction.

Happy Halloween

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Friday, September 23, 2011

Skyward Aspens

There is a harmony
In autumn, and a lustre in its sky,
Which through the summer is not heard or seen,
As if it could not be, as if it had not been!
-- Percy Bysshe Shelley

Autumn Aspens Seem to Reach for the Sky
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Thursday, January 13, 2011

Winter Chickadee

"A bird does not sing because it has an answer. It sings because it has a song."
-- Chinese Proverb

Mountain Chickadee in Winter
The photo "Winter Chickadee" was chosen as the January
selection for the 2011 Seasons of Our Mountains calendar.
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Beautiful Colorado landscape and nature images offered as high quality recycled paper greeting cards, framed and unframed prints and eco-friendly prints.
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Friday, November 12, 2010

Nuts? I don't think so.

Who Needs Nuts When You Can Eat Mushrooms?

And now, when comes the calm mild day, as still such days will come, 
To call the squirrel and the bee from out their winter home; 
When the sound of dropping nuts is heard, though all the trees are still, 
And twinkle in the smoky light the waters of the rill, 
The south wind searches for the flowers whose fragrance late he bore, 
And sighs to find them in the wood and by the stream no more.
-- William Cullen Bryant 

A squirrel hangs securely from his back feet as he nibbles on a morsel of food.

 As I was fetching more wood from our wood pile I came across several rather large stashes of dried mushrooms, carefully gathered from the forest and hidden there by one of our resident squirrels. I hated to disturb his winter food stores so I tried to carefully put them back where I found them, all the while being loudly scolded by said squirrel as he watched me from a nearby tree. I know we will continue to disturb his precious mushrooms as we deplete the wood pile over the winter but I hope he will be able to find them again when the snow gets deep and food is scarce.

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