Late Summer at the Cabin

Late August is a wonderful time to visit the cabin. 

The air is fresh and cool, a nice change from the 90+ degrees in Denver. 

The wildflowers are blooming and the daytrippers have left to get ready for back to school. 

The cabin is surrounded by wildflowers and rock outcroppings.

After a storm ... mist settles into the pines.

When it storms at 11,000 feet, the lightning literally bounces off the mountain tops.

We've whittled down our "to do" list.
Our front deck had too much space in between the boards, making it very unsafe. 

Here, Ron is putting 2x2s in between the boards to close up the spaces, a simple fix.

 I really like how it turned out!

We'll use this deck more often now that we won't twist an ankle.

Inside the cabin we brought a primitive bench I had up to the living space.
It makes a perfect small coffee table.

We're loving this room.

Roxy is really adapting well to the altitude.
She's our new Scrabble partner!!
I think she's saying, "What do you mean Grrr is not a word?"

'Til next time.

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Ready for a Sweetness Overload?

Brace yourself for the sweetest faces you've ever seen! 

Ready? Here they come!

Alpacas! All fifty of them on a beautiful ranch in Colorado. 

I'd met the lady rancher/weaver at a vintage market earlier this year 

where she was selling Alpaca socks, scarves and other items. 

As we talked about these adorable animals, she told me they open their ranch 

once a year to the public. I made a note to follow up and find out when it was. 

When the day finally came, I couldn't wait to see these unique animals close up. 

What made this so fun was being allowed to walk among the alpacas, 

quite a different experience than viewing animals at a zoo.

Sometimes we saw them at a distance, other times they were curious about us 

and checked us out up close and personal.

There were several yearlings that were just too cute for words.

How do you catch an alpaca?

You sneak up on them from the rear and straddle them from behind,
then hold onto their long necks.

And no, this picture is not out of focus.

That's just how soft and airy their hair is.

Alpacas are not pack animals. They're raised for their wonderful hair!

This ranch was located in an area I'd always considered the plains

but it was surrounded by giant pine trees and green green meadows.
Heaven.

Alpacas, originally from Peru, come in several different colors -- 

white, dark brown, light brown. black and light gray.

And when they sleep, they really rack out. 

Their breathing is so shallow, they appear to be dead.

This group had been sheered three weeks ago but they do get quite a thick coat.

I must have taken a hundred pictures but I think my favorite was these "babies."

Don't you just love their "leg warmers and top knots?"

And lest we forget . . .

this adorable farm dog eyeing a few treats while all the attention was on the alpacas!

What a perfectly beautiful day.
I think I left a piece of my heart on this ranch. 

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Just subscribe in the upper right column of this page
Thank you and enjoy your summer!