photos – Page 5 – The Hermits' Rest

Pride That’s Justified

What are you most proud of in your life?

I’m proud of two things in my life right now. One is my son, D. He struggled for a while in his 20s but is now doing work that’s meaningful and is an outlet for his artistic and spatial awareness talents. He did the repairs on his cabin after the severe wind event almost all by himself and it’s so rustic and cute.

And even though he’s my next-door neighbor now, he’s continuing his music career and learning so much about recording, too.

Old photo. He’s now drumming mostly. Public Instagram photo.

Hard work and determination got my boy to a good position in life! He even has a work truck and leads a crew.

Speaking of hard work and determination, the other thing I’m proud of is my relationship with Apache. The two of us have struggled and had so many ups and downs thanks to my insecurity, his nerves, and his health issues. But by gosh, we’ve gotten to where we’re reaching our potential.

We cleaned up well yesterday. I even had a waist.

I was feeling pretty down about horse stuff, mainly because Drew seems uncomfortable again and I just can’t get Apache to take his medication. But, I packed up and de-burred Apache, and off we went with Sara, Aragorn, and their New Zealand visitors.

Shiny, if a bit dusty, and smooth haired.

We ended up handling the show very well. In each of the three events, we did our best. Most important to me was that I wasn’t all nervous and remembered most of what I was supposed to do, even though I didn’t bend him well and there was some hind end issue I’ll have to ask Tarrin about.

After we finished the Trail portion of the show, where you go through obstacles, Tarrin left the judging booth and ran to me, yelling, “Sue Ann! Sue Ann!” I immediately thought I must have gotten disqualified or missed something. But no, she came to tell me I looked better than I ever had. That made me cry.

I nearly cried as I watched this woman and her horse competing in their Century: where the horse and riders’ ages combine to be 100. The beautiful mare is 23.

All in all it was a really pleasant and fun event. I don’t have any photos of me and Apache, but I can tell you he stepped up and did his best, even if he’s not been exercising much lately. I at least seem to have my stamina back, though I was totally zonked last night and went to bed at 9.

I got lots of pictures of Sara and Aragorn. He seemed out of sorts in Functionality but she kept her cool and managed him beautifully.

By the last event, Aragorn was back! He had the fastest overall time! Look at him kicking up dust.

All the competitors and their beautiful horses did great work. Everyone is improving and so supportive of each other. I learn so much watching the better riders.

I just want to show you how great the competitors looked. I was especially thrilled to see two other Paint horses and my favorite cute Appaloosa, who showed in hand.

I’m proud of all of us for trying to show. I’m so happy we found a supportive discipline with no negativity or mistreatment of horses.

That’s Better! Birds and Plants and Peace

At last! I have my stamina back. I can walk as far as I want to and not start panting. So I did that today. I walked a lot.

This Dusky Blue Groundstreak butterfly has a fake head and wiggling fake antennae on its back side. Clever.

Here at Brazos Bend State Park, I investigated some of the bends, horseshoe lakes created by creeks and rivers when they change course. This morning I crossed Big Creek to check out Hale Lake, which has a cool path that loops inside the horseshoe. The paths aren’t very well maintained, but there have been so many hurricanes and such lately that aesthetics may not be a priority. The ancient benches and gazebos still work.

Anyway. Even the many, many recently downed trees didn’t detract from how pleasant the walk was and how pretty the views were.

This is a White-striped Longtail, a skipper butterfly. It’s so graceful when flying.

I enjoyed many birds, especially a pair of garrulous Kingfishers who had a lot to say to each other. It was a nice break from the incessant cawing of the crows, starting before daybreak.

It was just great to take my time and check out new plants and scenery. It’s so good to go into discovery mode and let the pressing issues of the day slip by. Peace. Ah.

I can open my eyes to amazing sights, like sedges growing out of a log in the lake.

After I got back, Lee and I went for a drive around the area where he came from. There are many pretty parts, but so many industrial complexes. I don’t think I’d want to live there just from all the chemicals in the air.

But we did find some bird sanctuaries and interesting wildlife areas to explore.

The path I went down at the wildlife management area we found was not being maintained any longer. How did I know? An immense oak tree blocked my passage. It’s probably from the most recent storm.

Back at Brazos Bend, I checked out the next lake on my list, Elm Lake. It’s made from a dam, I think. This was late afternoon, so the light was pretty. I was delighted by the number of new water plants I found.

However, I was practically overwhelmed by the number of Black-bellied Whistling Ducks flying off to roost. Those are some loud and strange birds.

In addition to more Anhingas, Yellow-crowned Night Herons, herons, and egrets, I had a real-life Tippi Hedren moment. I heard noises in the swamp, which got louder and louder. I realized it was a huge flock of grackles making its way toward the lake. They were sneaky, not flying together in a murmuration, but going slowly from tree to tree until they were above me. Eek.

So I moved on, and found the swampy area where the birds roost. The herons were really pretty.

But then it got creepy again. An owl started hooting (Barred Owl), and odd sounds that were not from birds began. First there was a bullfrog. I’m okay with those. Then an alligator. It was far away. Then something else.

About that time a man who was obviously a birder showed up (camera, binoculars, birding hat). I asked him what he thought the sound was. Feral hogs. Yep. Once he proposed that it made sense.

There’s a flying heron and a duck in ia tree in this image.

We left, but had a nice chat until I turned to find Lee, who had met me in the parking lot, because the sun was setting. I was glad.

Well, I packed a lot of fun into today!

Escaped, Briefly

Woo hoo! We finally made it to Brazos Bend State Park. It’s not that I don’t like home; I just also like exploring in our rolling home. We only had one brief additional wiring issue, but it didn’t delay us much. We are here, and even have seasonal decoration.

This park was easy for Lee to set up in, and he likes the scenery, since he grew up near here. I like that there are swamps and gators, like where I grew up.

When we arrived there was plenty of time for me to go on a short walk on a trail around a little lake. I enjoyed many bulldogs, beautiful water plants, and of course, birds.

It’s quite a diverse habitat, and I’m sorry our stay has been cut short (we have to leave Sunday, not Monday night as planned) because I don’t think I’ll manage to get to all the trails. Maybe I can get Lee to come back. I want to see the bigger lakes with all the birds, and look for more new plants.

I saw no exciting wildlife, just a squirrel. The wildlife was all at home, I guess. Terry, the farrier, watched a coyote cross the road followed by a mountain lion, just before you get to our property from the west. I’m glad the hens are safely fenced in! He was pretty excited about it, for a very laid-back guy. I told him it was blog-worthy!

You have to check the tail to be sure it’s not a bobcat. He did. Photo from Pexels.

Tomorrow more trails and visits to places from Lee’s youth. Oh boy! And don’t worry, the dogs and horses are in good hands. All medication will be administered!

Going Up and Finding Mountain Wonders

Cathy and I declared ourselves better, though I think she was more healed than me. Nonetheless I agreed to go over to Keystone, where they were celebrating Oktoberfest rather early. What’s a trip out of state without some lederhosen and oompah music?

We had a hard time getting from my condo to the Dillon/Keystone area, because it’s a holiday weekend and the gas stations were full. The one where we finally got gas had a big convoy of huge trucks towing big off-road vehicles. There were at least six of them at a small gas station. Most had Mexican license plates. Serious off-roaders!

We finally got to the resort area and plowed through the exhibits (luckily we were early and it wasn’t rocking too hard). Then we went up! The Keystone gondola goes way up. It’s fun watching mountain bikers snaking down below us.

The views at the top of the ski area were amazing. I can see why Cathy likes to ski here so much. The weather was beautiful, too, neither hot nor cold. And it wasn’t too windy.

The views of other ski resorts from Keystone.

I determined I was healthy enough to embark, so we headed out on the hiking trail, which I vowed to take slowly, and I did. It was a spectacular trail through huge trees with lots of vistas peaking through.

I enjoyed lots of the usual mountain birds, but there was one I’d never seen before. It was a big, solid gray bird with white along its tail. I couldn’t get really close to it or its friends, but I did manage to get clear enough photos that both Merlin and iNaturalist were able to ID them as a bird I’d never heard of: a Canada Jay. Yes, they live here and are birds of high mountains. I think the map of where they are found is interesting.

We rested and looked around the scenic overlook for a while and enjoyed chipmunks and scary ski slope entrances. People hike up here then ski down. It’s not my idea of a good time. Walking is good. In summer.

The walk back down was through some of the prettiest woodlands I ever saw. The wildflowers were almost done, but I found a couple of new ones.

As we headed back to the end of the trail I got tired and had to stop to breathe a lot. The only thing that motivated me was the fact that Cathy found a marmot, which we’d been looking for all day, at the top of the hill. Up up I went and I got my marmot sighting!

We made it back down on the gondola and wound our way past the German fun. We then went to Cathy and Ken’s house so I could meet Aspen the grand-dog. She is a real cutie, full of love and energy. Aspen joined us for a patio Mexican dinner and was very good. My carnitas were incredible, not like the ones at home. It was basically a delicious roast pork.

That was a long and fun day, and I’m glad I was able to relax and watch college football this evening. Tomorrow I have to get ready to leave. Oh boy, laundry and packing.

Illness is Tedious

Really. I’m tired of being tired, sick of being sick, and irritated at my gastrointestinal irritation.

I envy people who get mild cases of Covid, that’s for sure. I do feel better in the sinus and coughing aspect, but the medications have made my digestion very sad and painful.

Work was a struggle, but by gosh I did the meetings and fixed the documents I needed to fix. It’s a good distraction, really. And I can talk better, so meetings have been easier at least! If I’m better tomorrow I can get the bunch of new assignments I got started.

I’ll share some sunset views from my east-facing condo.

I’ll be better set up for healing, thanks to my friend Cathy, who didn’t get as sick as I did. She picked up helpful medicine and things that will soothe me, like bananas, yogurt, and Pedialyte. I’m sure grateful to have nearby friends!

Cathy sent me this sunset from her house (plus grand dog)

It’s been pleasant and quiet here in Breckenridge, other than lots of helicopters for a few hours. I couldn’t tell if they were construction copters or firefighters. I can’t believe I’ve rested for three whole days. I don’t think I’ve ever rested like this for so long before.

It can get better now. I’d be okay with that. But at least I’m safe and cozy with knitting and reading! And there are sunsets.

Seeking Peace and Quiet

I have been enjoying the weather here in Breckenridge, and the views never get old. The only thing that is getting to me is how LOUD it is. I think I’m too accustomed to the relative quiet of the ranch (relative: we do have Alfred, Goldie, the House Sparrows, occasional farm machinery, and numerous pickup trucks with altered mufflers).

It’s probably the fact that summer is the only time that construction, road repairs, and other outdoor activities can be done. I get that. I lived in Illinois before, where the seasons were snow and construction. I just happen to be in a vortex of construction where I am staying. The sidewalks on the road I’m on are being systematically jackhammered and replaced (the new ones look great; it’s just loud). On the next block, a large hotel is under renovation. The workers need to shout, often. And on the OTHER side of the next block, a large condominium complex is being completely rebuilt. That requires many nail guns. Whew. It’s going to look great here when ski season starts, but you sure can’t hear a dang bird over that.

Luckily, I could SEE this hummingbird on the main road.

What else do large construction projects require? Why, dump trucks, heavy equipment haulers, semi trucks hauling supplies, etc. It seems to me that in Colorado there aren’t any regulations on the noise levels these vehicles produce. They are WAY louder than the ones I used to hear all day when my neighborhood in Texas was under construction.

Right behind this woods were the growling vehicles

And now I’ll make you laugh at me a little. I also find all those babbling brooks, flowing streams, crystal clear creeks, and rushing rivers really overwhelming after a while. They are beautiful and I love them. But wow, they are loud. All this messes up my birding agenda. Heck, I’m even laughing at myself here.

Anyway, I traipsed all over this cacophonous city today in search of my bird buddies and discovered that no matter how far I tried to hike, there were giant trucks and blatting motorcycles. Oh well, the hike I went on near the troll statue and ice rink was pretty!

I got this dog posing in front of the troll

And I did eventually find some relative quiet, in the residential area just outside the downtown area. I could actually hear birds! That will have to do! I did enjoy my walk, honestly.

Other than that, I did a bunch of work and sat in the hot tub a bit to help my sore back from all that exercise. And I did watch television. It was good.

I Got Enough Exercise

I wonder about me sometimes. I ended up working weird hours today, because I intended to walk for an hour and ended up taking a long horseback ride on it. It made for a long day all right, but it was worth it. I can sure be spontaneous!

Yesterday, I talked to the concierge at the condo place, who really didn’t seem enthusiastic about the idea of me walking up the mountain to the local riding stable. That annoyed me. I know I’m not 20 anymore. But I’m in better shape than I was then!

It’s just a mountain, not the highest one or anything.

So this morning after my first meetings, I wanted to get away from the loud construction trucks (they are rebuilding the road), so I headed up to the ski slope service road and hoped I’d hear some birds and see some flowers. I did, indeed! There were loud Steller’s Jays and crows, and some truly gorgeous flowers dotting the ski slopes.

It was a bit of a climb to get there, and there were more loud trucks, but when I saw horses, it was all worth it!

I decided that, while I was there, I might as well ride. It turned out the only other people there at that time had booked a private ride, so I got one, too. I’d been afraid that I’d be in a big line of horses. But no, little palomino Dreamer and I just followed one butt, that of Ethel, a young draft mare just learning to lead groups.

Both nice horses, though a little scruffy.

Kayley, the young woman leading us, was very personable and fun to talk to about our horses. I did spend a lot of time alternating between enjoying the beautiful woods and mountain streams and trying not to look down when we were in the edges of the steep trails. At least Dreamer did respond to my aids and keep to the inside of the trail.

The horses were so sure-footed. I was thankful! It was a lovely experience and exceeded my expectations. We crossed water, went between trees, and had a blast!

I’m glad I came when I did, because the next ride was full of people. There was a tiny kid, too. He probably wouldn’t even realize he should be cautious on the rocky slopes.

I truly enjoyed the walk back down. I went on the little paths by the woods. Boy did that disturb the squirrels!

When I got back I was quite tired but felt great. I had time to take pictures of tiny, vocal birds.

After working, I roused my tired body to go down to the cozy lounge and had a glass of wine and some conversation with nice folks. It’s fun to meet all these travelers! I’m glad I left the condo to get some new scenery!

Work at 6am tomorrow! Off to snooze!

The Motivation Inside

What motivates you?

I’m at an age where getting prestige at work or fame or fortune. My drive to achieve doesn’t motivate me. If it ever did, that probably wasn’t a good idea, in hindsight.

Enjoying a moment is better than striving for glory.

External achievements don’t motivate me, but internal ones do. As you’ve probably noticed by reading earlier blog entries, my drive is to learn more and more and improve my skill set. Doing this will help me become a better spouse, parent, relative, and friend. That’s what I want to be, the best me I can be.

I don’t know, but that’s probably the motivation of many of us, at least in some part. I don’t think I’m special or unique, just realistic about my internal drives.

Also I’m realistic about my limits. Like heights. Not my favorite.

How did I use my motivation today, you ask, hoping for photos of pretty scenery? Why I admit that I mostly worked today, but I did rest my brain a bit by just enjoying the beauty of a ski town in summer. Wow, flowers hold up well in this climate! Everywhere you look here you see flowers, dogs, water, and beautiful buildings.

I did stretch myself to improve my skills, though, with the encouragement of my local friend Cathy. She invited me to go on a bike ride, a long bike ride. Now, I used to ride a lot…over 20 years ago. But it’s hard/dangerous to ride a bicycle where I live now. So a long ride was a challenge for me.

Cathy convinced me that the whole ride from Vail to Frisco was downhill and I could do it. So, her husband Ken drove us to the trail head, and off we went.

Once I got my bike legs back, it was so much fun to zoom along the beautiful trail, which wound along Tenmile Creek, mostly in between lanes of Interstate 70. There were flowers, ponds, rocks, and forests to whiz by and enjoy. We only stopped a couple of times, so I couldn’t obsessively photograph everything.

We never hit any of the cute ground squirrels or tiny chipmunks we passed, and the moose I saw (yay) was far enough away that she posed no threat. But there she was! I saw beaver dams and some mallards in the ponds.

We stopped at an area where people make images in stones.

The best part was that I wasn’t hot and tired when we were done. I felt great! I highly recommend downhill cycling for the out of shape.

We had a nice dinner afterwards, too, even though I was dressed in exercise clothing (glad I brought some). Cathy said that’s how everyone in Summit County dresses, so it was fine. With a belly full of sushi, I enjoyed what was on television and can now crash again!

I’m all motivated for bright and early work again tomorrow.

My Rest Day

I tried to rest today. But there are woods, rivers, creeks, and wildlife to see. Of course I got work done, but with lovely mountains out the window. Not too shabby.

I also got through another temperature blanket row. It’s going to have hot pink tomorrow —over 105 in Cameron.

This morning I did a nice 2-mile walk along the Blue River and the adjacent woods. I certainly enjoyed all the birds and flowers. It is hard to hear the birds for all the water, but that’s okay.

After work I intended to do a short walk and stay off trails. Nope, I went up the mountain behind us, alongside the beautiful Sawmill Creek. I enjoyed some white-crowned sparrows and looked for beavers.

Before I knew it I was at the reservoir I intended to hike to later. It’s still beautiful as you can see above.

There were more flowers, of course. These are poppies.

I hiked back home down my favorite snow trail from last visit, and was lucky to hear a Western Flycatcher and a Red Crossbill. The latter sounds very interesting.

At the condo I crashed and listened to a lot of speeches. It’s all good, but I’m tired.

Writing You from the Mountains

What do you enjoy most about writing?

Thought provoking! I enjoy all aspects of writing, but my favorite part is how it helps me refine my thoughts. Taking the time to write down my ideas gives them another chance to become well-formed and coherent expressions of how I feel or what I think.

Sometimes, though, I just like writing, the act of it. Like today I wrote a ridiculously long Facebook post about my entire day today, even though I’d intended to do something short that I’d expand on here. Oh well.

It feels like I packed an entire vacation’s worth of activities into today, but it was nearly all great fun. How so? Allow me to blather on and share photos.

I had a bit o’ trouble sleeping due to altitude headache, but it ended up fine. After coffee on the balcony I intended to just walk down the road here in Breckenridge, but ended up finding a beautiful trail along a creek. I went down it and listened for birds, until I had to get back to meet up with my local friend.

You should take it easy your first day at high altitude. That’s what they say. Instead, my friend Cathy and I went to the slightly lower altitude of Vail and spent an entire day walking and hiking. I drank a lot of water, so I was fine. We also didn’t do any big ascents on foot.

View from bathroom window that proves where we went. Nice bathroom.

First we went to a wonderful art festival with vendors from all over the country. I’m grateful I don’t have a car here, because a couple of things tempted me, such as these ceramic items that were made with a colored slip technique.

The crow on top had a berry in its mouth

Cathy got us reservations at a well-known Vail restaurant, where we had an amazing breakfast of eggs Benedict. We sat at the counter and watched the cooks, which was fascinating.

After that we took the fancy gondola all the way to the top, which was really cool. No moose were seen, but that’s ok. I enjoyed the views of mountains, trees, and flowers.

Next we hiked from the Big Bear gondola to Gondola 1. That was a beautiful trek with many wildflowers. I saw many new plants that are native to the northwestern US and Canada.

After going down, we hit the Vail Farmers Market, where I got fancy local peaches and regret not getting some bread that looked soooo good. There were many attractive dogs, in addition to great vendors. All rather upscale, duh.

And finally we headed over to Ford Park, where I had an absolute blast at the Betty Ford Alpine Garden. On the way were more plants and a beautiful hummingbird.

That Alpine garden one beautiful place, both in design and plants. It’s a great time to visit there. We got tired and took a couple of buses to get back to the car, but still enjoyed the scenery.

On the way back there was a traffic delay , but I’m always looking for animals. I was rewarded by this pretty mule deer.

In late afternoon, Cathy was kind enough to take me to Walmart (not my favorite store) to get a charger for my watch, which will let me keep my move goal streak going. She did bring her charger to me so I got charged this morning before we headed out so I could collect my 14,000 steps. Whew. I decided to just get some food at Walmart rather than go to a real grocery store. That was a mistake. It took forever to check out.

No photo of the store, so here’s a ground squirrel.

Interesting tidbit is that in fancy Frisco, CO, practically all the workers were African. And they spent a lot of time talking to each other. It appeared many did not speak English much. I wonder if there’s some program helping refugees? I hope they get better at English so they can help customers, but am glad they have a chance to work.

Wise words they could learn. Very existential.

After I got back to the condo and identified the plants and animals I saw on iNaturalist, I went to the owner lounge to see if they had drinks. Nope, the bartender had an emergency. I did meet some other guests and talked a little with them, then I talked a long time with a woman from Austin who owns horses. We both enjoyed that chance to tack about our passions. She even had on horse jewelry.

No photo of her, but here’s a young Robin.

And then I fell asleep writing this. But I woke up to add photos. My point in all this is that I do love writing!