March 27, 2008
Dear Family and Friends,
We began writing these periodic
letters
as a way to remember what our lives were like during retirement—what
events were memorable and some details of what we were
doing at that time.
If others find anything interesting in letters, well, that is OK
too. The letters have been a way for us to keep in touch with
our lives and, perhaps, with you. We’ve been writing them since we
moved to Colorado in 1992;
we began posting them online in 1996. As our memories falter from time
to time, we’re glad to have these pages to help us snap our memories
back to what happened
when and where. Even if, at the time, we’d rather forget.
LIKE THIS WINTER!
Winters in the foothills of the Rockies are
particularly—sometimes spectacularly—memorable for the obstacles and
difficulties our weather can create for those of us who choose to live
away
from the cities three thousand feet below. Over the past 16 years we
recall vividly eight feet of snow during the 2003 St. Patrick’s Day
storm, making it impossible for us to drive anywhere for over a
week. A sudden melt of winter snow in the spring of 1995 followed by
two hard days
of rain washed out portions of our road and sent a torrent of water
toward the
house that flooded the lower level of the house with 3"–4" of water.
We’ve constantly
lived with powerful and
persistent winter winds, often approaching 100 mph as they did just two
months ago. However, we are proud to have taken what the mountain
weather gods have thrown at us and have felt victorious—and a bit
virtuous, smug, and relieved—when spring finally arrived sometime in
June. We felt stronger and
tougher for having survived the rigors of a Rocky Mountain winter.
Sophie and Bella seem to enjoy being outside, though the high drifts
can be a bit daunting from their lower line of vision and deep snow
restricts their
foraging in the woods. Their St. Patrick's Day sweaters, which they
reluctantly let us put on them, keep them warm and dry and help us spot
them in snowy woods.
This past winter has seemed
harder than usual (though the weather stats don’t support this notion).
Perhaps it’s a sign of our getting on. Who
knows?
But it is safe to say that when Judy recently announced in frustration
that maybe it was time we should consider moving, it was clear our
passion for
mountain living had been put to the test—and we’d been found wavering.
Since before Christmas our
1,000-foot
driveway has been the scene of a serious and persistent thaw and
freeze
cycle that has defied the best efforts of the fellow who plows our
road. A
layer of ice has built up that would make a good bobsled run: glaze
ice 1" to 5" thick from side to side,
making a simple walk to get the
morning paper or the mail an adventure best undertaken with
crampons. After a second pair of Yaktrax gave
out before the winter was over, we both have found a excellent product
that slips over
our shoes/boots that is far superior: STABILicers
are made in Maine so you know they’re good. Throughout the winters we
have
been able
to drive
in and out
with our four-wheel drive cars with studded snow tires, but this year
the RV has
been held hostage since December. We have not had one “big” snow—in
fact, this March, usually our snowiest month, has been the second
driest March on record—but what’s fallen has not gone away. Even today
we’re getting another inch or two, though yesterday it was 60°.
There’s snow
in the back meadow behind the house that was here at Christmas and may
be here after Memorial Day! We’ve had to put on hold our winter
getaway trip, though we needed it this year more than ever.
However, in spite of harsh
weather, this past winter has been a time of some notable
accomplishments:
SOPHIE
GRADUATES
We are proud to announce that Sophie passed the classes and tests
required to
become a certified
therapy dog at Boulder Community Hospital. She and Judy attended
classes throughout February and Sophie received her diploma in
ceremonies in early March. (Yes, they even took pictures of the
graduates in caps and gowns!) Judy completed her CBI
clearance, a TB test, and a seminar on Boulder Community
Hospital policies.
In addition to passing her training classes, Sophie was tested for
staph; apparently dogs can carry and transmit staph infections without
showing any indications. Both were photographed for their hospital IDs
and fitted
for their volunteer vest/shirt. Judy reports that Sophie was a “star”
on her first day visiting both a pediatric ward and the cancer center
facility at the hospital. Patients and nurses loved her and gave her
lots of attention and treats. She came home exhausted and slept most of
the
rest of the day. They will be regulars on Monday mornings (when we’re
not
traveling) from now on.
If
you’ve met Sophie, you know this job was made for her. She
really likes and responds well to people, especially children, more
than to other
dogs.
She is loving and affectionate, and she has a much more laid
back disposition than Bella, our seven-year-old puppy. Sophie now looks
expectantly at Judy every time she invites her to get in the car hoping
they’re going to work.
PLANNING
FOR
ALASKA
We have just about finished
planning our Alaska trip this summer. It may seem a bit early in the
year
to make detailed plans, but we believe that most costs will be the same
whether we made reservations now or at the last minute. (A possible
exception are the reservations for the Inner Passage cruise
portion of the trip, which might be available for a few dollars less at
the last minute, though most sources warn not to count on Alaska
cruises having last minute deals.) Even so, we wanted to be sure
we could count on certain parts of the trip not being closed to us
because we didn’t plan ahead. We’re looking for a late August
departure from Vancouver, a week on a floating apartment house to
Whittier, travel by RV through the Kenai, and four days
with friends at Denali NP. We’re looking forward to a full plate of
activities: biking, hiking, sea
kayaking, flight seeing, fjord cruising—we might even try our hand at
salmon fishing.
[If you have traveled in Alaska, we would
value your advice about places or activities we should not miss. What
do you suggest? We
would sincerely appreciate hearing from you.]
STILL
RUNNING
For the fourth time Judy ran in
the USA Track
and Field National
Cross-Country Championships, this year held in San Diego (a very
sensible location for a
winter running event, unlike the past three years). She had a good time
for the 8K course and took second in
her age group. Her team also placed second. There was a very nice
article on the race and her running success in general in the March 6,
2008,
issue of the Nederland Mountain-Ear
(which
included the photo on the right). As a warm-up to
the nationals, she won her age group in the local Best
Cross-Country Race on the Planet on an icy January morning. This
month Judy began twice weekly training with the Boulder Striders to
prepare for the Bolder-Boulder 10K on Memorial Day.
WINTER
BRIEFS
•In spite of not being
particularly active politically, we participated in
the
Democratic caucus this winter. Apparently there were many, many
other first timers—more than ten times the number of folks attended
this year than in
any past year. Blizzard conditions did not keep folks from
filling the high school that evening with more Democrats than there are
high school students who attend during the day. The high attendance
caught the planners off-guard and though the gathering was a bit
disorganized, everyone was happy to go along with the last minute
changes to room
assignments, voting groups, etc.
•Judy continued to volunteer at
the fitness program at the community center, Hughes at the Visitors
Center, and both of us began volunteering at the Backdoor Theater
(first run movies on the weekends) on
Friday nights. This is clearly the best volunteer gig we’ve ever had:
free
movies and free snacks in return for selling snacks
before the movie and sweeping out the theater afterwards.
•Some of the members of the Rocky
Mountain Team Survivors—women who, like Judy, are cancer
survivors—ventured up from Boulder (where most of them live) for a day
of
snowshoeing at the nearby Eldora ski
area, followed by a potluck lunch
at our place. They came twice this winter for a day of healthy
exercise, fine weather (for snowshoeing), great food, lots of talking,
and good friendship. This is the second winter they’ve planned these
trips, which are part of a series of fitness activities sponsored by
the RMTS.
•The Mystery Book Club continues
to discuss good mysteries, the best of which this winter was Qui
Xialong’s Death of a Red Heroine,
a good read for its political history of post-Mao China, interesting
characters
in an exotic setting, well written, and a ripping good murder mystery.
If you’d
like a list of our past selections—some good, some stinkers—let us know
and we’ll send a copy. Judy dropped out of her literary book
club
late last year, citing too steady a diet of memoirs. Can’t blame her.
•We celebrated our birthdays in
March with a rare dinner out followed by a presentation by a Boulder
orthopedic surgeon on the “Journey Deuce”
replacement system for repairing arthritic knees. Hughes had
a second arthroscopic surgery on his slow healing knee on Good Friday
and is recuperating very nicely. Now that there's a trained therapy dog
on staff in the house, recovery from any ailment will be faster and
more pleasant.
FINALLY A
SIGN OF
THINGS TO COME…
AND NOT A MOMENT TOO SOON
The first day of spring was in the low
60s, sunny, and very pleasant for the first time since we can’t
remember when. Most days since have been similarly warmer, though
still windy, below freezing at night, and occasionally cloudy, snowy,
and
overcast.
The hanging bird feeder outside
the office window has consistently attracted a variety of small birds
that gather for a feast of sunflower seeds each day, nearly all
day. The year-rounders include
pine siskinds (or some other member of the sparrow family), Oregon
juncos, nuthatches
(pigmies or white breasted, depending upon their size), and mountain
chickadees. Our local
Stellar’s jays and woodpeckers (downy, we think) seem to be
elsewhere during the harshest parts of winter, but have come out or
returned with the promise of spring. However, we really enjoy the
return of dozens of
brightly colored evening grosbeaks, red crossbills, and finches (both
house
and Cassin’s varieties). They always brighten up an otherwise gray and
white
landscape.
Hummingbirds
should start to arrive in
early April. We especially look forward to the hummers since when they
show up we can begin to truly
think about spring and warmer days ahead.
We hope they come sooner rather
than later.
