Restoration Now

As most of you know, our brother-in-law Josh recently started a non-profit called Restoration Now. It is his dream to minister to those in need through home renovation. Ryan & I were able to experience his dream first hand on a work project last Saturday. We drove down to Berthoud to help Bob & Lloyd. Their yard was completely over-grown and in complete disrepair. We spent the day mowing, weed wacking, tree-trimming, exc. As we worked, we spent some quality time with Bob & Lloyd... getting to know them more. I must say that they stand out as two of the nicest men I've ever met! Lloyd is a retired college professor and Bob is an amazing pottery artisan. Bob showed me around his studio. He makes the most unbelievable clay bird houses and succulent pots! As we finished off the day, I mentioned to Bob that I would like to purchase some of his pots, but he wouldn't let me pay. He gave me 4 succulent pots and 3 coasters! I have made a life-long friend!

Living in National Geographic

Everytime Ryan & I venture down to the river, we feel like we've walked right into a National Geographic special. We've witnessed 6 bald eagles flying together, an oprey flying with a huge rainbow trout in its talons, and the list goes on. Yesterday we discovered the American Dipper. The bird dives into the river to get its food. It had made its nest on the side of a cliff 8ft above the river. While enjoying our fishing outing, we watched as the mom & dad continuously brought food back to their chicks.

Poudre River

There are so many things that we love about living up here... but one towers above the rest! Easy access to great trout fishing. When Ryan has the itch for fishing (which is pretty frequent), we drive 10 minutes down the road and hike 5 more down to the river and voila, big trout in beautiful water.

Wildflowers

Ryan & I went down to the river this afternoon. Check out the amazing wildflowers.

Recent Birds Sightings

It seems like every day we have a new bird come to the feeder. Today it was the Indigo Bunting. I was beside myself, because I've always wanted to see one. Isn't he beautiful! The other bird is a White-Crowned Sparrow. We have lots of different sparrows, but I thought this one was especially interesting. If you're bird nerds like we are, the bird names have links to information pages on the Cornell Lab - All About Birds website. I also added some new comments & photos to our previous bird post. To view it CLICK HERE. Or you can just scroll down. :)

Moths

After the sun goes down, the moths come out. They are an enormous nuisance, especially since they always seem to find a way into the house and flap around like they own the place. BUT, the other night, I spotted 2 moths that were incredible. The red one was huge! If they all looked like this maybe we wouldn't dislike them so much.

New Portrait for Website

Last Sunday, Ryan took these photos of me for my bio page on my photography website. Let me know what you guys think! Click on the "COMMENTS" button below to leave us a note.

The dogs wanted to be in the photos, too!

The Rainbow

A dark cloud blew over this afternoon. We got a light sprinkle and an incredible rainbow! Jolly & Cherie stopped by after their day hike and snapped this picture of the two of us. :)

The Birds

Our favorite thing about the Ranch is all of the amazing songbirds we see & hear. Now that things are warming up, the birds are coming in droves! Here are some of the more unusual birds that we've seen.

Lazuli Bunting (above) - These guys have been visiting in droves... especially in the evening. There will be 4 to 5 swarming the feeder at once.

American Goldfinch - They are also a popular visitor. I've been told that they are Cindy's favorite. :)

Golden Eagle (?) - We have seen several golden & bald eagles down by the river, but this is our first (maybe) up by the house. We also have redtail hawks and turkey vultures... so that could be a possibility as well. It is hard to tell with this light. Check out the links & decide for yourself.

Black-headed Grosbeak - These guys are a daily vistor to the feeder. I love his fat beak.


Broad-tailed Hummingbird - They are all over the place. We can hear them coming from a long ways off... like Tinkerbell. Ryan says that when he's fishing on the river, he hears them almost constantly.




Spotted Towhee - This guy is our bird seed vacuume. He likes to pick up the seeds on the ground (Gunner participates in this job, too).

Western Meadowlark - This was the first "new" bird that we spotted this spring. They rarely come up to the house (we snapped this shot during our last snow fall). We frequently see them out on the phone lines and perched on the fence posts. Meadowlarks have the most unique call... if you're not familiar with it CLICK HERE to hear one.

Ollie at 7 months

Ollie has been army crawling for weeks now and he just made the leep. He's officially crawling! And he's dying to stand up any chance he gets. We're pretty proud of our little nephew!

Animal Encounters!

Today was pretty eventful! I was out in the yard pulling weeds and the dogs starting going nuts. I ran over to see what the commotion was about and I saw this huge snake. I put the dogs inside and grabbed Ryan. Turns out it was a bull snake - not poisonous! Thank goodness! Ryan & Josh are working on a snake barrier to keep the rattlesnakes out of the fenced area around the house.

A couple hours later, we spotted 3 elk running across our property.

I've been published!

Last Saturday, I was recognized as Ruminate Magazine's featured artist. Two of my linoleum prints were published in their last issue. The magazine is a note-worthy arts and literary journal. If you enjoy poetry & short stories, this is a must-have subscription. They are currently taking submissions for their summer issue. Check out their website at www.ruminatemagazine.com.

A New Start

Most of you know that Ryan & I are loving our new life in Colorado! We decided to start this blog to keep you guys informed on our life here at the Ranch! For those of you who don't know, back in January, Ryan's parent bought a 40 acre ranch just north of Fort Collins, CO. While they are enjoying their new life in San Franciso, we get the pleasure of looking after the place. We love it so much, we may never leave.