Today's Snow (with Photos)

It started to fall a little after midnight - I was reading, and noticed the raindrops mixed with snow.  It was still a mixture after 1 a.m.  About 2:30 I could see snow accumulation on vehicles in the parking lot.  When Lovey and Nedi awoke me at 6:45, there was about 5 inches of snow on the balcony. It continued snowing until 1 this afternoon, then the sun tried to come out; and almost everything melted away.  Since 5 p.m., we've had brief periods of heavy snow, and snow mixed with rain...  There's an icy glaze on the balcony floor now, but that's about it.  I'll have to see what the local NWS says about snowfall amounts....  The National Weather Service says 8.2 inches of snow fell on 4 April.

Deer in Evergreen

Looking west in Boulder

Hiking in the snow at Chautauqua

Crab apple blossoms this afternoon

Train near Niwot

Farm in the Foothills

Bison in Evergreen

I Am Moving

Yes, I am moving out of the apartment that has been "home" for nine years.  The man who owns the building has decided to put everyone on a month-to-month lease, and has major renovation plans in mind.  He's decided that my apartment is the one to start with, so I have 30 days to move out.  He believes that by renovating these 500-square-feet studio apartments, he will be able to charge $1500 per month in rent, and get it.  I'm afraid that I didn't impress him with my reaction - Diet Coke sprayed out of my nose from bottled-up laughter.  This is the lowest-rent apartment complex in the city of Boulder.  The owner has increased the rent to $800 per month; this includes water and sewage, trash pick-up, and electricity.  I pay extra for my television delivery and for the use of my telephone and internet service.  There is no air conditioning, nor is there central heating.  There is a radiator strip that has a length of five feet, and is placed directly under the only window in the apartment and alongside the sliding glass door that opens onto either a balcony or a patio.  Your view is either east or west.  There is a tile floor everywhere, except the linoleum in the full bathroom.  There are three overhead lights in the apartment - the entrance hall, the walk-in closet (which one must walk through to enter the bathroom), and the bathroom.  There are three electrical outlets in the main, open area of the apartment, two outlets in the closet and one in the bathroom.  There is a full-size refrigerator freezer (which takes up the electrical outlet nearest the kitchen area), a three-burner ranger, a non-working oven, and a single sink with a garbage disposal. There are two cabinets above the sink and no drawers at all in the kitchen.   -  Having written that out, I'm glad to be moving.
  The only problem is that I do have a small income.  My friend Beatrice (who lives on the second floor in this building) and I have decided to become roommates.  We are seeking a place that has two bedrooms and two baths, and where I can have both cats with us.  We are looking for any place that we can afford that is within walking distance of the bus service here in Boulder, out in Gunbarrel, Niwot, Lafayette, Louisville, and/or Longmont.  I have friends that will help me make any deposits needed, and who will help me/us move.  The biggest problem is the short time-span I have to find a new place.  I'll be busy on the internet, and on the phone, for the next couple of weeks.  I'll try to keep the same phone number, but that can't be guaranteed....  It's all up in the air.  (Which, actually, is keeping me sick to my stomach...)

Sand Creek Massacre Revisited

The cold has settled in for awhile, apparently.  I have much more congestion, fever and chills, a headache and I feel like I've been run over by a truck - just squashed flat and with absolutely no energy.  Rosie and Remy slept much better than I did last night.  At least I stayed at home yesterday and did not go to Niwot and infect the extended family...  It was 12 degrees this morning - supposed to stay clear and get up to freezing before noon, with clouds coming in and causing the temperature at the beginning of the Broncos game to be in the upper 20s (then the sun goes down behind the Rockies, and everyone will turn into icicles).       I am still with Rosie and Remy so far this morning - I'll go home and watch most of the Jets game with Lovey and Nedi, and return here for the rest of the day (and the Broncos game, followed by the Redskins game).
  I was a little miffed yesterday that the History page listed the anniversary of  "the Battle of Wounded Knee" in 1890.  Battle?  It was a massacre performed by the US Army; there was no battle! Then in today's Denver Post, there was an article about the descendants of the survivors of the Sand Creek Massacre (here in Colorado, at dawn of the 29th of November 1864) still trying to collect the land and monies promised in a treaty in 1867.  A mixed village of Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes were camped along the dry bottom of Sand Creek - the able-bodied men (or warriors, if you wish) were out hunting buffalo, antelope, deer for the community cook pots.  Colonel Chivington of Denver led  several hundred men in attack at dawn.  The chiefs of these tribes were known to be friendly; the Natives were flying an American flag and a white flag (to show they were peaceful) when Chivington ordered his men to attack. One hundred and sixty two people were killed on the spot - all children, women, and elderly men.  Some white traders were visiting the camp; they, too, were killed; Chief Niwot (or Left Hand) was killed.  There were a little over 20 survivors, who buried themselves in the sand of the dry creek, or who managed to bury back into two caves.  After the Indians were killed, atrocities were committed upon their bodies; both male and female genitalia were cut from bodies and taken by  the Army men as "battle trophies."  A pregnant woman was shot in the shoulder, and her abdomen and womb were ripped open by knives, and the child crushed against a rock.  When the US Army conducted their military hearing about Sand Creek, Chivington had retired, and faced zero charges and paid no penalties.  The other, still-enlisted, men received a dishonorable discharge; but that was the limit of their punishment. -  This is the kind of horrific treatment that seems to be the basis for today's mass killings - "Hey! - It's fun! I'm gonna go kill a bunch of people!"
  A young man, recently returned from the Civil War, whose father was a trader and whose mother was a Cheyenne, witnessed the attack.  Having no weapons, and seeing others being shot and killed without mercy, he managed to hide in a cave.  This young man had been raised as a Cheyenne, in a tribal camp until the age of 7; then he was sent to a white school in St. Louis, Missouri, to learn the ways of his father and other white men. After the Sand Creek Massacre, this young man joined a band of renegade Cheyenne braves, and they pillaged and killed any white settlements or settlers they came across in Kansas, Colorado, Wyoming, and Nebraska.  Several years later, the man decided to be an emissary for the local Native Americans - he did his best to record all of the "old ways" so that future generations would not forget an already disappearing way of life.  He encouraged writers and photographers to visit and document the ways of the Native Americans of many tribes, and he, himself, wrote his own story.  He regretted much - but what hurt him most was that he was forever branded a "half breed"; after the Sand Creek Massacre and his year with the rampaging braves, the white people didn't trust him.  Because he was half white, and became an interpreter for the US Government, the native tribesmen did not trust him.  He was truly a man between two peoples, and I wish I could have known him.  His name was George Bent, and his father and uncle established Bent's Fort in Colorado in the early 1830s.

About Niwot

I awoke both yesterday and this morning to see an intense gaze from blue eyes - located about 4 inches from my nose. I swear that Spike performs some kind of magic or wishing that awakens me 5 minutes before the alarm - or maybe my subconscious is reacting to "the stare" while I'm asleep. Yesterday morning, I heard a familiar, but still unfamiliar, sound in the yard. It was a bird, and I knew I should know the sound it was making and know what kind of bird it was without even looking... I had to look - and was disheartened to see it was a common blue jay. Of course, blue jays are not common (yet) in Colorado - but I grew up with multiple blue jay nests in our yard in Florida, so I felt I should have recognized the call. Maybe I'm getting old and forgetful.

As I got off the bus at the Niwot stop yesterday afternoon, the bus driver muttered, "Niwot... weird name." So before taking the last step, I turned and told him it was from the Arapahoe language and that it meant left hand... my good deed and teaching bit was done for the day. I find it odd that people have no curiosity about local history and how places and/or things got their names. Niwot was a local Arapahoe , who became a leader (chief) of his people; he spoke 5 languages, including English; nearby Neva Road is named for his brother. Niwot was left-handed, which earned him his name - and there is Left Hand Canyon, Left Hand Creek, and several other places with his name in English or Arapahoe nearby. He and his brother died in the Sand Creek Massacre in eastern Colorado; their sister, Snake Woman, two other adults and 6 children were the only survivors... You say the Sand Creek Masscre sounds familiar? After Chuck Connors starred as Lucas McCain in The Rifleman, he followed it up with a series named Branded - about a US Army officer stripped of his rank "for cowardice" at the Sand Creek Massacre.

I'll be headed home for Lovey and Banichi in a few minutes... besides loving them to pieces, I need to give their litter boxes another scrub today. And I think I'll probably need to refill the bird feeders again - yesterday I had the pleasure of watching RedBoa, the squirrel, enjoy several peanuts while sitting in the patio chair. Spike is a wonderful companion, but he isn't either of my kids. I miss Lovey burbling to get attention, and Banichi's odd cries as he brings me his shoestring (tastefully dipped in clean drinking water, of course!). I finished the book on voodoo and obeah in the Islands, and started a new book about small communities in the Highlands of Scotland last night. Spike seems to be enjoying the information.

Kits and Niwot Nostalgia Day

Well, I'm definitely having problems with my PC at home. I'll continue this blog from Spike's house and try to get my PC cleared up during this upcoming week. I missed cousin Pete from Indiana yesterday - while I did get to speak with him on the phone, I didn't get to actually see him and his wife. Ah, well... Our high here yesterday was 54 degrees; it's supposed to be in the low 70s today, but if these afternoon clouds don't break up, I doubt it will get that warm. Today is the first home game for the CU Buffs, so I swept my patio and made certain things were "nice" as soon as I arrived home (and let the kits out for 90 minutes). Before I left to return here, the backyard was almost full of parked vehicles for the game; and several children had commented on Banichi and Lovey watching them through the window.

Spike had a grand time marking my face and hands with his chin and lips last night - I know the routine he has, so I wasn't surprised that as soon as I was in bed, he was on my chest, purring. He is extremely thorough, beginning with my chin and working up, and then tackling each of my hands. Lovey and Banichi know that I belong to them, and so there is no big deal about another animals' scent on me. I did shower this morning, but Spike marked most of my face again before I left to go home...

Today is Niwot Nostalgia Day, with events planned from 7:30 in the morning until 10 tonight. It opens with a pancake breakfast, and a parade through Old Town at 10 a.m. From 11 to 2, there are rides and games specifically for the kids, as well as two different magic shows; there will be a quilt show going on, and the Niwot Timberline Symphony Orchestra will perform for 90 minutes. Later, there's a duck race in the creek; and, of course, there are food and arts and crafts booths open, as well as the local stores. The Community Band will perform during dinner time, and the Fab 4 will play in the square from 7 until 10 tonight. The Dapper Dog Day Spa will be taking free photos of man's best friend, giving away doggie treats, and will have both an animal communicator and a pet massage therapist on hand - it's a good day to be a canine in Niwot!

Cool Morning Walks, Literally

For the past two mornings, I have awoken in Niwot. I have watered potted plants and let Spike out for his early morning roam around the yard; then I have gone for my walks. Walking out and around Niwot is very different from walking in Boulder - the scenery is much more bucolic, and the number of different critters and birds and insects is much higher. Yesterday i thought it was just my imagination that I felt chilly while out walking - it turns out it was 47 degrees, and, as usual, I was walking in sneakers, shorts and a T-shirt. It was 54 this morning, but felt warmer.

Walking around Niwot I have seen prairie dogs, fox, cottontail rabbits, cats and dogs, horses, cattle, goats, sheep, llamas, and a black bear. I've seen meadowlarks, bluebirds, red-winged blackbirds, blue jays, gray jays, and several smaller birds that I'll have to look up in my bird guide. (Eastern birds I know, pretty much - western birds, I'm learning.)

Spike has been in fine fettle - he patrols the fence-line several times each morning and evening. We spent last night curled up togteher and watching Jimmy Stewart in Harvey - one of my favorite movies. Maybe I'll end up like Elwood P. Dowd and be adopted by a pooka, too!

Niwot Arts & Crafts Show

I arrived in Niwot yesterday to take care of Spike for a while. He is a sweetheart. After checking in with him, getting the mail in, and unpacking my few things, I headed over into Old Town Niwot and looked over the Arts & Crafts Festival. There is also one in Lyons this weekend, as well as the 5-mile Lyons River Run (where my sisiter and brother-in-law are this morning). The different types of art-work in Niwot were amazing - some breath-taking beautiful, some so-so, and some (in my poor judgement) simply awful. But the small community was really buzzing - it was so busy that I ducked out earlier than I intended due to the crowds.

Spike had a restless night; he was up almost once every hour. I know this because he rubs his nose and chin all over my nose when he returns to bed, which awakens me. But he seems fine this morning - had a nice turn out in the yard before I began watering the plants - and chowed down well. He is currently sleeping in my lap while I write and post this. Will head home for a couple of hours to see and love my kits, and then return to Spike.