Weekend Happenings in Trinidad

This last weekend was the 12th annual Trinidaddio Blues Festival.  People come from all over to see this great show.  While we've been to previous shows, this year we decided to stay away and just be "locals." 

Friday the town was buzzing with excitement and was almost a bit crowded because of the many people drawn to the show.  The town put on an art-walk on Friday afternoon and early evening. 

Les and I had some California friends come to visit us for a couple of hours on Friday.  It was good to see them... our first "California" visitors.  We took them up to see our property.   I just can't WAIT until our home is finally under way.  I would so rather live up on that gorgeous piece of property. 

Don't get me wrong... our little house in town is very cute and comfortable.  But it's only temporary and I am intricately intertwined (emotionally) with our strawbale home.  If I should die before it's built, I want my ashes mixed in with the mud on the walls. 

Saturday, Les went up to Pueblo, about an 80 mile drive, to spend the day with DJ at the Diesel show.  They had drag races and burnout contests.  They had a very fun day together.

I spent the day visiting some of the local antique and art shops.  Now being a local, you'd think I had all of the time in the world to visit these unique little shops.  But I've been busy.  Saturday, spending the day alone with our two pups, (Schultz and Mindy) I just finally felt free to sit and watch movies, go for a drive, or chat with the shop owners downtown. A very relaxing day.

Sunday we spent a lovely afternoon visiting with some friends.  Every year, Jeff and Jeanine invite lots of people over for a brunch the morning after the Blues Fest.  We met Jeff and Jeanine 3 years ago on one of our yearly treks to Trinidad.  Within minutes of meeting them, they offered to have us stay with them rather than the Best Western where we stayed the first 2 years after we bought property here.  That's the kind of people they are.  We've met so many people who are just as generous and kind.  I love this place.

More On Trinidad

We've been walking in the mornings. We have walked every morning for the past several years. I always say that if you want to get into a walking routine... get a dog. Today's walk was in the neighborhood behind our house. In this neighborhood, there are a few newer homes, but by far most of the homes are vintage. Many of them are turn of the century through the 1930's I would guess... with some being even older than that. It's really interesting to see these old homes -- many of which have been restored with loving hands and others have been left to the elements -- empty and forgotten.

Someone once pointed out to us the metal ring in front of his house. He explained that people had those rings to tie up the horses when they came to visit. Unique and fun things like that pique my interest. That's something you just don't see in Southern California.

Through the center of this lovely town runs the river. The original name of this river was, "El Rio dc las Animas Perdidas en Purgatorio," or The River of the Lost Souls in Purgatory. A somewhat depressing name if I ever heard one. Now it's just called the Purgatoire River.


On our walk today, we found a happy little stream that traveled in between the houses in our neighborhood. This stream came through from the south end of town as it tumbled on its way toward the Purgatoire River. I love the sound of water. It's just so peaceful and calming to me.

We continued our walk to the edge of town before turning back toward home. Schultz enjoyed the walk, but it may have been too much for him. He was very sore the rest of the day today. Mindy is still learning how to walk on the leash. She's doing fairly well, but has quite a lot of schooling ahead of her. She bounces around like the lively puppy she is.
She has learned much in the 8 days she's had with us. She sits on command --will offer her paw upon requests to shake. She knows her name and usually comes when she's called. However, sometimes a grasshopper or a blade of grass is just too enticing for her to pay attention to us. She's a very smart, very lively little girl. 


Last night Mindy was being too pushy and Schultz let her have it. A quick bite to her face left her with a scratch on her nose and a hole in her chin. After we cleaned up the blood and swabbed the wounds, she was a little more demure. She was a little too big for her britches yesterday, but today seemed more respectful. Leave it to big dog to teach little dog a thing or two.

She's going to be a great pet.

If You Can't Be In the House You Love...

Life in small-town Trinidad, Colorado has been rolling along.  We've pretty much gotten into our routine.  I work Monday - Friday.  I've picked up a couple of local clients who seem to appreciate me.  My consulting clientele are always a big boost to my ego.  And I think we all need an ego boost now and then.

The rest of my work week consists of my clients from California who still want me to help them with their work.  I have the best of both worlds.  And for this, I am truly thankful. 

Les has been busy working on either our mountain top or our duplex.  Lately, he's been working on the duplex -- thus the title of this blog.  If you can't be in the house you love, love the house you're in.  We are painting at this point.  The entire interior of this house was a ghostly white.  Flat, uninteresting, boring.  Now it's turning into a warm, creamy gold color with accents of a darker tannish-gold and I'm deciding on a 3rd color today.  I bought a can of paint for the highlight color, but it looks too much like the middle color so it's going to go into the kitchen instead.

I had been looking at cellular shades for the windows, but have since decided to just give the vinyl shades a good cleaning and leave well-enough alone.  We want to save every penny for our strawbale house.  Sooner or later, the actual strawbale adventure will be under way and I want all of our creative genius and extra money to go toward that instead.

Not that I don't love this little house.  It's really quirky.  I've already talked about how the old hardwood floors creak with every step.  It has a truly frightening basement.  It's just a hole in the ground with a house built on top of it.  Someone, though, has been thoughtful enough to leave me many, many pots for plants in that basement.  (I'm looking forward to seeing them on my mountain top.)

The house also has crooked floors.  I dare not place a pencil horizontally on my desk as it will immediately begin rolling toward the far end of the desk never to be seen again behind my monitors.  There is a notable dip in the hallway just off of the dining room.  The laundry room was added much later but it was done on the cheap so when you walk on the floor, you actually feel it moving under foot. 

But all of this adds to the charm of this old house.  It was born the same year as my mother.  1923 was a very good year and I love this house.  But it pales in comparison to what is in store for us up on that mountain. 

And the clock ticks away.....

Daddy's Girl

Yesterday, we adopted a perfect new addition to our family.  Mindy was adopted from the Noah's Ark Animal Shelter here in Trinidad.  What a fun, smart, gorgeous puppy she is.

When we first adopted Schultz from the Camarillo Animal Shelter, he was nearly 6 months old -- unruly, unhealthy and un-socialized.  It took a lot of work and doggie "boot camp" to make him into a better dog.  And while Schultz loves us both, he's pretty much a "Momma's boy."  I wanted a dog who could be "Daddy's girl."

We've been talking about getting another dog for a couple of years now.  Les was introduced to a blue heeler when we lived in the hovel for those 3 months.  Blue heelers are also known as Australian Cattle Dogs.  They're incredibly smart, have gorgeous coats and markings and are all-around good dogs.  He decided he wanted a blue heeler, but with the onset of cancer in Schultz, we wondered if now would be a good time or if we would be making a mistake.  We decided that it may just do Schultz a world of good to have a little buddy around. 

We looked in the paper and on the Internet for a blue heeler.  They're around, but I just felt that "buying" a dog was the absolute wrong thing to do when there are so many dogs in shelters that are just waiting for the right person to come along and rescue them.  These dogs need rescuing!  They need a forever home with a loving family.  They desperately need someone to love them.

So last Saturday, after the Farmer's Market, we drove over to the animal shelter.  I fell in love with a beautiful red merle australian shepherd.  We had previously seen her in the parking lot of the local Safeway.  She was matted and dirty -- but so sweet.  She put her chin in my hand so I could scratch it.  She looked up at me with soulful eyes.  Afterwards, someone brought her into the shelter where I was able to meet her again.

But this was not going to be my dog... this was Les's dog.  We walked along rows of cages of anxious dogs all saying, "Pick me!  Pick me!"  No one fit the bill -- until the second to the last cage.  In that cage there were 7 effervescent, wiggling puppies all straining to be the one who would be chosen.

They were all brown & black dogs who were obviously from the same litter.  The whole "pile-o-pups" was around 3 months old and all about the same size.   The staff at the shelter explained that they were all picked up separately around town... each in a different place.  Whoever had those dogs just dropped them off around town.  It makes me sick how people don't spay and neuter their dogs, then just discard them when they don't want them anymore.

Anyway, this pile of puppies were all from the same litter except one.  And she was a blue heeler mix.  The minute we laid eyes on her we both said, "There she is!"  Our best guess is that she's a blue heeler/border collie mix.  She's so cute, and is already learning to sit and to walk on a leash.  Very smart girl.  And she's Daddy's Girl. 

When she and Schultz met for the first time, it was like she had already read the book on puppy etiquette.  She is very well-socialized.  She offered him her belly to show that she respected him.  Her ears were back in consideration of his size and age.  In the past 24 hours, Schultz has straightened her out about a couple of things, but all-in-all, I really think he likes her. 

She had a really good first night.  And so far has not had any accidents in the house.  She's really getting off on the right foot.  I'm hoping that the bond between Les & Mindy is a really strong one. 

More later...

Schultz Being a Clown

The most hysterical thing happened the other night.  I was in a crappy mood all day, but I laughed so hard I cride.

You know those trash cans with the swinging lids?  You push one side in and the other swings out?  Schultz had one stuck on his head last night.

Ever since we moved into this house, he’s been scrounging for food.  I’m feeding him the same as I always have, and he’s even gained weight so he’s not being deprived.  I know the steroids made him really hungry and I'm thinking he might still have them in his system.  So Les & I go to bed last night and as soon as the lights are off Schultz goes scrounging in the trash cans.  He poked his head into this little plastic can we have and when he pulled his head out the lid came along with him. 

And the cutest thing about it was this.  My side of the bed is next to the windows in the bedroom.  Thunder comes from the windows so Schultz rarely goes over to my side of the bed.  Well last night I watch him as he walks nonchalantly into the bedroom.  He makes his way around the bed and I’m curious because he’s coming up to me on my side of the bed.  Then he stops right next to me and looks at me with these begging eyes so that I would take the thing off of his head.  I couldn’t stop laughing!

I told Les to grab my camera & by the time he did & turned the light on, Schultz had managed to get the lid off of his head.  I missed the shot of a lifetime!  Absolutely hysterical!

Building Update

I realize that I haven't been writing much about the building of the house.  It's become apparent to me that we will have to wait longer than I had hoped. 

While we intended to start building this year, the fact that the time was flying by us made us think that early next year would be better to start our home.  But since our financial situation has changed dramatically, we probably can't start building for another couple of years at the earliest. 

We have the debt to pay off from our last house.  And that's a huge bill every month.  I figure that in another 36 months, that will be paid off as well as my Jeep payment.  Then we'll have a substantial saving which we can put into our home.

Les is not happy about being in "charge" of building the house either.  I really wanted to be our own general contractor so that we can save thousands of dollars.  There are many talented people in the area we can hire to do the work for us, but he's got the notion that I want him to do all of the work himself.  Nothing could be further from the truth, but I can't get that out of his head.

At this point, I'm the sole support of our family and as Les is pretty much retired, I thought that organizing and hiring subcontractors would be right up his alley.  He's made it pretty clear that he's not interested. 

I don't know what I'm going to do.  I work 50+ hours a week and making the time will be tough, but I'm not about to give up on my dream so I will do whatever I have to do to get it done.  That's why I'm thinking that if we wait for 3 years, I won't need to earn as much and maybe I'll have time to be the general contractor myself. 

I don't know... it's really depressing.  Something that I've wanted since I was 16 years old is just outside my reach and I'm not getting any help to grab it.  It makes me cry.

Farmer's Market

One of my favorite things is the Saturday morning Farmer's Market.  After working diligently in my office Monday through Friday, (Saturday?  Sunday?) I love to get out to go to the Farmer's Market. 

Aside from the fresh, local fruits and veggies, it's a time of socializing.  In the short time we've been here in Trinidad, we've met some wonderful people.  So I make my way around the circle of tables and booths carefully choosing my produce for the week and chatting with the wonderful people I've come to know and even some people I haven't come to know yet. 

Last week the first table featured some local green chilis.  August and September is harvest time for the incredible green chilis of Southern Colorado and New Mexico.  Once they are more plentiful, I plan to get one or two bushels to last me until next year's harvest.  But because the chilis are just coming to harvest time, I bought only a few to enjoy with dinner.  Les isn't much of a chili guy, but DJ and I took pleasure in having freshly roasted chilis with our steak dinner.

Next is the corn and cantaloupe table.  They sell "Peaches and Cream" corn -- a very tasty bi-colored corn.  And the cantaloupe are from Rocky Ford, CO.  Apparently that's a well-known cantaloupe capital of the US!  They sure were yummy!  Sweet and flavorful.

Then I stop at the onion guy's table for some local, sweet onions.  They're almost like fruit they're so good and sweet.

The candle lady is next -- even though I've not purchased from her yet this year, I like the smell when I walk past her table.  I have obtained some soap from her neighbors, "the soap people."  Goat milk soap with lavender.  Lovely!

I heard my name and turned to find my friend, Jim.  He and his wife, Pamela, own Southern Colorado Realty and are just nice, genuine people.  Pamela's a kick in her own lovely, goofy way.  We talked for 5 minutes about nothing at all. 

Then there's the goat cheese booth and other veggies that I've walked slowly past every week.  By the time I get my corn and melons, my bags are too heavy to buy much else, but last week as I was making my way past some of these tables, there were 2 young men -- probably around 11 & 7 years old.  They were selling jam they helped their mom make.  Mom was no where around as it was these boys' job to sell their merchandise.  They had a sign in front of their table that explained the proceeds were for their college fund.  They were not about to let me pass without talking to me.  And after hearing about how the mixed berry jam was the younger boy's favorite and how good it tasted over vanilla ice cream, I was charmed into buying some. 

Then came my friend, Marie's table.  She has Aracuna chickens and sells their eggs.  Aracuna eggs are sometimes called Easter eggs because they're colored with blue, green and brown.  I love fresh eggs and hope to have chickens when we can finally get up to our mountain.  Of course, I had to stop to not only buy some eggs, but to chat and see how her week went.  She is working the Farmer's Market so that she can buy herself a new sewing maching.  She also bakes and sells brownies and scones.  A talented, down-to-earth lady who also happens to live in a straw bale house.

Next to her was my friend Jan and her friend Albert -- also known as Demitri.  He was up at 6am that day picking the young tender lettuces he was selling.  Boy-oh-boy were they good!  So Jan, Albert (aka Demitri) and I talked for several minutes about trees and plants, the weather and the goings on of the week. 

After about an hour I was on my way back home, loaded down with corn, jam, cantaloupe, onions, lettuce, brownies, eggs, chilis and I don't remember what else.

I love the Farmer's Market!

Flash Flood

Friday evening, DJ came down from Fort Carson to visit for the weekend.  We met with some friends for dinner Friday night, then yesterday DJ & Les went up to the property.  I decided to go up and hang out with them so I loaded Schultz up in the Jeep and we drove up to the mountain.  It was a warm, bright and sunny day.

During the summer months, it tends to cloud up in the mid-afternoon pretty much every day.  Yesterday was no exception and when it clouded up shortly after my arrival yesterday, it did so with a vengeance!  

It absolutely poured!  There was lightning all around us and very loud thunder.  We didn't dare leave the safety of the garage and I went from window to window... door to door just watching the storm as it slowly progressed.  You know it's close when the thunder accompanies rather than follows the lightning.  Schultz didn't know what to do so he climbed up into the Polaris and we put a rug over his head.  He stayed like that for over an hour.  

Once the rain started to subside, I decided that I wanted to get back home so I loaded Schultz back into the Jeep and slowly made my way back down the mountain.  

I love the rain.  I really do.  I drove so slowly because everything is different in a rainstorm.  I just wanted to soak it all in.  :) HA!  I stopped to take pictures of the impromptu waterfalls and robust streams of water making its way down the mountain.  

Once I reached the county road that is at the entrance to our subdivision I saw that water was crossing the road.  A flash flood had carried so much water and debris that it left the culvert clogged with big trees and branches.  The water had no choice but to flow over the road rather than under it.  On the far side of the flood there were 2 pickup trucks.  A man had gotten out to pull the flotsam off of the road to make it passable.  The water wasn't too deep so we crossed safely.

The storm moved slowly off to the northeast like a great creature flashing its eyes and growling at the earth.  Within minutes, the clouds parted and the sun was shining again.  All was right with the world.  But today, Sunday, it's 2:00 and the clouds are gathering again.

Critters

While I haven't actually seen very many animals on our property, I know they're there.  They leave their footprints and the remains of "last night's dinner" around. 

On the 3 mile dirt road up to our land, I've seen quite a few deer.  Today, as Les was coming home, he saw a black bear crossing the road literally a few yards from our property line.  I wish I had seen him (her) too.  I know they're there, but actually seeing one is rare.

I've seen several other bear in various places near here.  I saw one on two different instances on the way into New Mexico... 15 miles from here.  DJ and I stopped and watched one hanging out in a meadow.  She knew we were there and we were so far away we weren't bothering her.

On the highway up to Pueblo and early in the morning, a huge bear crossed the highway just in front of me.  So I know they're here.  We just need to stay out of each-other's way.

I've seen many, many deer here.  They're not like the scrawny little deer from California.  These deer are big, well-muscled beautiful creatures.  Les & I took a drive into New Mexico on Saturday.  We took a road that isn't well-traveled and we passed a total of maybe 3 cars the whole time.  I saw a buck with a huge rack of antlers spring over a fence like a young child skipping to school.  Effortless, full of life, in his prime, not a care in the world and absolutely gorgeous.

I've also seen many deer along our little 3 mile dirt road.  We saw a large bobcat crossing the road.  I've seen a "Red Racer."  It's a snake that is bright pink.  I came around a corner and this 4 foot long snake was sunning himself on the gravel.  He raised his head to look at me, then he doubled himself over his body and disappeared in a flash.  They are quick!

We've heard the coyotes and have seen a fox.  There are elk in the area although I haven't seen any this year.  The wildlife is so abundant and is right at home in this wild place.

More later...