Colorado

3 Haiku for a Bighorn Sheep

~ Kim of Glover Gardens ~ Leave a comment

Beautiful bighorn sheep were grazing alongside Highway 285 near Bailey, Colorado last Sunday.

A brave bighorn grazing alongside Colorado State Highway 285 south of Bailey, CO

I had my camera with me and The Grill-Meister was happy to pull the car over. One of the sheep let me get very close, and it seemed that he was either mildly annoyed or mildly amused by me. He moved slowly, turning this way and that. Posing for me, I think. What visual riches! It was an awesome experience.

So I had to write a haiku or two. Or three. Serious and not-so-serious.

ancient memories,
yesterdays and tomorrows,
in your horns and fur

Magnificence radiates from his bighorn body

regal, princely stare –
you wondrous, animal, you!
thank you for posing

Giving me the eye – is he annoyed? amused? contemplative?

what are you thinking? 
“get back, lady with camera –
let me eat in peace!”

© 2018 Glover Gardens

Snow Fallin’ and Bacon Fryin’

~ Kim of Glover Gardens ~ 8 Comments

“Desperate times call for desperate measures,”

said the Grill-Meister as he fired up the outdoor burner to cook bacon in 5° weather.

It was also snowing.

We don’t cook bacon inside because our tiny cabin will retain the smell for days. That marvelous aroma that warms your cockles when it’s freshly cooked and ready to eat becomes your worst enemy later, don’t you think? The Grill-Meister was definitely “taking one for the team” when he fried up the bacon on the snowy porch.

The steam from the bacon warmed The Grill-Meister and the whole mountain smelled great; I wondered if the bears would wake up

Simple food tastes really great in the mountains: scrambled eggs with peppers and sausage, bacon and drop biscuits were a New Year’s breakfast fit for royalty.

It’s the little things.

Copyright 2019 Glover Gardens

Haiku: Magpie’s Blue Period

~ Kim of Glover Gardens ~ 6 Comments

In almost six years, we never saw a magpie at Little House in the Rockies.

And then on the Fall Colors 2018 Trek in late September, there they were at Tarryall Reservoir. With the blue on their wings, they are mag(pie)nificent!

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And over Thanksgiving, they finally came right up to our front porch to feed on the suet. Despite their chatty reputation, our maggies were a little shy, so I wasn’t able to get many photos of their tuxedo coloring with bright blue wingtips. However, the one below, which is accidentally dark, made me happy enough to haiku. Intensifying the blue made me even happier. So I give you, Magpie’s Blue Period:

blue-winged forager 
stopping at the suet bar
gorgeous in profile

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© 2018 Glover Gardens

Autumn Haiku: Just Like Dorothy

~ Kim of Glover Gardens ~ 5 Comments

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just like Dorothy
what we sought was always there
in our own backyard

We went to Little House in the Rockies a few weeks ago, seeking the fall color.

Montgomery ReservoirWe’ve had this tiny log cabin for five years, and for five years, we’ve managed a trip up there sometime in the fall color date window. Mid-September, late September, early October, mid-October. We travel all ’round each fall, going hither and yon, looking for that perfect vista of autumn leaves, that soul-satisfying mix of reds, yellows and oranges.

We’ve seen some nice colors on these treks, taken lots of pictures and made some lasting memories.

On the last afternoon of this most recent visit, our 2018 Fall Colors Roundup, after hithering and yonning for days, we hunkered down and just enjoyed Indian Mountain where Little House is located. The bright yellow aspen, birds, wildlife and big blue mountain-bordered skies were just as satisfying as anything we encountered on our day trips. It was always right there in our own backyard.

Just like Dorothy.

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If you’ve read this far, I have a confession to make. I was almost guilty of self-plagiarism! It’s also known as “recycling fraud,” when an author uses his or her own work without citing it. I searched the Glover Gardens blog for other posts about Little House in the Rockies and I found this one from last year: Dorothy Was Right: It Was In Our Own Back Yard (fall colors). Can you believe it? How could I forget? But I’m going forward with the 2018 version anyway, now that I’ve properly cited my work. And also, although last year’s “backyard” colors are more vibrant, this year’s post has a haiku!

You have probably figured out that The Wizard of Oz is one of my favorite movies. It’s all allegory and human nature and fairy tale truths. And it was also a really good book.

© 2018 Glover Gardens

 

 

 

Autumn Haiku: My Eyes Were Happy

~ Kim of Glover Gardens ~ 2 Comments

it all just grabbed me
trees sky mountains fence road shed
“my eyes were happy”

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Outside of Jefferson, Colorado. Beautiful, peaceful, inspiring. Credit for the phrase “my eyes were happy” goes to The Girl Who is Always Hungry (as she’s know in the Glover Gardens blog), after seeing similar sights in Jefferson last autumn.

Which reminds me…we also had the Blizzard on a Train last autumn in Colorado while trying to check out the fall color…one year ago today.

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Nature supplies constant wonderment, doesn’t it?

© 2018 Glover Gardens

 

Happy Fall Equinox and a Haiku from Pike National Forest

~ Kim of Glover Gardens ~ 1 Comment

We’re at Little House in the Rockies enjoying the fall colors splashed across central Colorado and glorious azure skies.

To celebrate the fall equinox, here are couple of quick shots from yesterday’s day trip exploring Bald Mountain and Montgomery Reservoir in and around Pike National Forest.

ecotourism:
nature’s rugged perfection
on vivid display

 

Montgomery Reservoir
Montgomery Reservoir

Montgomery Reservoir
The mountain road along Montgomery Reservoir, dotted with aspen and pines in the rocks

Fall Equinox from Bald Mountain
Looking north from Bald Mountain in Pike National Forest at the majestic ranges near Breckenridge

More to come! We’re headed out now in search of an aspen canopy near Como and then lunch in Bailey at Aspen Peak Cellars.

© 2018 Glover Gardens

Peacefulness and Chipmunk Portraits

~ Kim of Glover Gardens ~ Leave a comment

Another Gorgeous Mountain ViewIMG_6381Little House in the Rockies is our tiny cabin retreat in Colorado.

We love it. It is sooooo very peaceful.

View from the back 40
Wildflower
Always a beautiful sunset
Cute young buck on Boreas Pass
Yellow-bellied marmot

I can sit for hours and watch the birds and wildlife.

I was there recently, and pretty much just watched, and thought, and wrote, and photographed.

Of note were the chipmunks. They posed for me! When I looked at the photos later, they reminded me of high school senior pictures. You know, the incredibly attractive youth with the bright future posing in the sunlight for the professional photographer that Mom paid to get a great photo for the graduation announcements? What do you think?

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© 2018, Glover Gardens