Mother nature has blessed Golden, Colorado, with an abundance of wildlife that inhabit the clear mountain streams, forests, and valleys. So much to see, so little time. Coloradans love their trails so much that even when the lakes are hard frozen and snow covers the pathways, they come out in droves to breath in the beauty of their state. It’s hard not to catch their passion, put metal cleats on your hiking boots, pull on your long handles, and a good goose down parka. When all this melts away, white turns to green on their network of pathways through it all; the joy of feeling the warm sun on your bare arms and legs is hard to beat. Tank tops and shorts are the new uniform, and a very welcome respite from the cold. On one particular path, Ika, Bo and I happened upon a crowd of hikers transfixed by what they saw below. It was a hawk feverishly constructing a nest so he could reside near the delicious fish nearby, available for the taking.

Back on the Clear Creek Trail, closer to home, the locals had spruced up the place with indigenous flowering plants for Bo to enjoy. They added some local art painted on the rocks that are so abundant near the Rockies:) Hand painted rocks are a very popular medium for the locals; as it really doesn’t take much talent to make a rock look artistic.

Now for the downside of spring, the yard was suddenly knee deep in rich green bermuda grass that grows so well there. Amazingly it survives under a blanket of snow until the great thaw, and effortlessly pops up to announce that spring has arrived. Matt bought a new electric lawnmower, perched Bo in his papoose, and taught his son how it’s done. As you can see, Bo prefers swinging to mowing. Who can blame him?

All good things must come to an end. It was time to go back to Texas reality. There was two-months worth of mail waiting, a condo balcony that was the worse for wear, and time to visit the family and friends back home. The wind-powered “wop-wops”, as my dad calls them, added interest to the flat Texas panhandle. It felt good to see the plains, flat all the way to the horizon. It felt even better to look out across the Gulf of Mexico once again. I am truly blessed to have both worlds.