By George Sibley It’s the culmination of summer over here in the Upper Gunnison, plantwise anyway. My partner Maryo is a serious gardener, and she’s gradually weaving me into that web of life. I reached my current relatively ripe old age without learning much about growing things – something I increasingly see as a flaw …
By John Mattingly As FACEbook proves itself worthy of being another F-word, Inner Old Man has squeezed out a new B-word: BUTbook, an emergent social media platform with but one rule: Each message and response must end in the word BUT. By BUT-ending sentences, and BUT-splicing paragraphs, a conversation can be reversed, enhanced, or surprised …
As many readers know, I’ve spent the past year having a house built on a two-acre parcel south of Salida. It has been an eye-opening experience and at the request of many readers, we are running a timeline of the construction process, from dirtwork to finish. Here is the first installment. – Mike Rosso Several …
By Jennifer Welch As Dr. Devine began the endoscopy procedure on Alex, he explained the symptoms of choke and the possible complications that could go along with it. I spent part of the time admiring his short handlebar mustache which was waxed into a slight twist at the ends. He was young, straightforward, and very …
High atop the Continental Divide, near Monarch Pass, on the eastern margin of the Upper Gunnison Basin, are the prehistoric remains of an intriguing and innovative hunting method employed by ancient tribes. The Monarch Pass Game Drive was an ingenious system of low boulder walls, hunting blinds and ambush pits designed to lure big game …
By Peter Anderson You could begin with everything in the house: the phones, the tools, appliances, the knick-knacks, the paintings on the wall. Clear out all the piles of paper – bills, tax returns, term papers written in graduate school, back issues of obscure magazines and journals. Take all your books to the library. Give …
By Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer ISBN: 978-1-77349-016-8 $19.95; 114pp. Reviewed by Eduardo Rey Brummel At the bottom of the menu board for the hospital kitchen where I work, is a place for “Quote of the Day.” It’s an odd week without any quote by Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer. Trommer has been an integral part of Colorado poetry …
By Tina Mitchell As we waited to pull onto U.S. Hwy. 50 from Coaldale on a September afternoon, a scampering movement low on the asphalt caught our attention. Four tarantulas skittered across the road toward the river. Whoa – tarantulas? In Colorado? What were those hairy arachnids up to here? Autumn looms right around the …
By Daniel Smith The election is about two months off, and it’s a bit quiet in the Fifth Congressional District race between incumbent Republican Doug Lamborn and Democratic challenger Stephany Rose Spaulding. Voters may wonder whether a debate might be in the works; well, nothing yet. Last month I wrote about surprises; the infighting …
By Kenneth Jessen Located in Colorado’s San Luis Valley, Jaroso resident Lynn Kircher and his wife Jane managed one of the largest, most complex sculpture projects in the United States. It consists of 14 larger-than-life Stations of the Cross, now installed at Cloisters on the Platte between Lincoln and Omaha, Nebraska. In 2015, Kircher was …
Evy’s work is inspired by nature, especially the tenacious, inconspicuous forms growing in the rugged Southwest. Seedpods, thistles, fungi and cones fill the frame with their intricate structures, and the complex micro-landscapes are aggrandized in oil on canvas. Evy began her art career at a young age, making posters and signs for local events in …
By Hal Walter At the starting line of the World Championship Pack-Burro Race in Fairplay, an ill-saddled donkey exploded bucking and kicking, causing a minor riot among the other animals and their humans waiting for the gun. On the other side of the street, another burro kicked out repeatedly in angst. My own burro tried …
By Jane Provorse It’s fall and ’tis the season for stupid hikes. Now, I’m not referring to those glorious treks beneath yellow-dappled aspens and china-blue skies. I’m talking about the other kind; the not-so-pretty, dumber kind. Stupid hike definition: “A misguided walk that ends up pointless and offers little, if any, reward for the effort.” …
Salida resident Erin Kelley is running for Colorado House District 60, a seat held by Rep. Jim Wilson since 2013. The District encompasses Chaffee, Park, Fremont and Custer Counties. She represents just one of the many younger women nationwide who have decided to run for office in 2018. Kelley is currently the secretary/treasurer for the …
By Jan MacKell Collins No, no, not that Trump. His Donaldness has not made a visit to our fair state since before his election, back when he was just a paltry billionaire seeking our votes. He might come to Colorado again, but something really catastrophic needs to occur for that to happen – like a …
By Martha Quillen Today in the U.S.A., ordinary citizens regard their political opponents as dangerous. Political anxiety is creating an almost universal sense of injustice. In the July 11 Mountain Mail, frequent contributor Linda Taylor addressed that phenomenon in a letter to Judith Ann Smith, who had previously expressed concern about the influence of Democrats. …