Colorado Aspens

I noticed today there is color starting to show in the trees. I have some very beautiful spots on my route and will try to carry my camera so I can post them. We always enjoy the fall in Colorado. The Aspen are primarily yellow, but it is interesting how they turn in the fall. Doug and Drue tell us that Aspen are connected by roots underground. Consequently, they tend to turn yellow as a unit. It is especially awesome when a mountain is green with pines and interspersed among them are groves of bright yellow Aspens. To walk among them is also beautiful because they are so straight and tall. When you look up, the color is stunning. Very gentle and soothing.

I have a few days off work. Hooray, Yaaaah, Coooool, All Right Then.

Live What You Believe

Nellie & Al are retired. I am not sure what all they did the first few years, but they do have a beautiful big camper and they traveled. Then children begin playing in their yard. One day I asked if her grandchildren were visiting and she said they had decided to take foster children. That was several years ago and there are still children playing at their house. I called Nellie today to let her know she had big packages and to leave her gate open. When I arrived she was waiting for the kindergarten bus with hot cookies for me.

I have been hearing the candidates and reading their mailings. It is hard to believe all the political rhetoric and promises. I started thinking after talking to Nellie this morning that she and Al are not just talking about what is wrong with the world, but doing something about it. From the Presidential candidates on down, I am going to read, listen and then ask myself, would this person be willing to retire and care for four foster children. For me, Nellie and Al are the norm for all candidates to measure up to.

Taken by Doug 14er Crestone Needle

Let's hEar It For Corn

It is perfect day and the farmers are taking advantage of it. It seemed every corn field I passed on the mail route had a combine in it. It occurred to me that not too many years ago most of those fields would have been planted to wheat.

I checked at the USDA National Agricultural Statistics web site, and sure enough, the acreage planted to corn and soybeans is up and wheat substantially down. There are probably many reasons for this, but a major one could be the lifestyles of the consumers of our farm products. With the currant thinking that “carbs” are bad, it would stand to reason consumers are buying less bread, pasta, etc consequently using less wheat. On the other hand, according to the University of North Carolina, high fructose corn sweetener, which is cheaper to make than beet or cane, is partly responsible for the current obesity epidemic. There are a lot of sweet products out there and we like them all. And, the farmers like for us to eat them.

I love sugar, but if I had my way, all of the corn fields would be the pop variety!

Fall Haiku

Favorite Season
Gold Red Leaves, Football, Hot Dogs
Winter Stay Away!

Football Friends and Food

This about says what I've been up to for the past two days. We went to the Shawnee Hts HS game Friday night to see Taylor, our nephew, play. Since he is only a sophomore, his playtime was limited to special teams. It was exciting to see him catch a kickoff and run it back for about 8 yards, though. Paul & Janice invited us over for snacks & coffee afterwards.

Yesterday was the KSU game. We won, but there will be a lot of talk this week that we did not win by enough. Snyder's plan seems to be to just win and not worry about by how much. The Big Twelve starts in two weeks--that's when it gets exciting. We didn't tailgate--had too many projects around here. Too bad because the weather was beautiful.

After the game we visited Barb and Darrell. We don't see them enough because we visited six or seven hours and still didn't get caught up. We had great food as usual.

Got to get my paint clothes on--we are planning a big day. I might post a picture later--I know everyone (or no one) who reads this is anxious to see how it looks. Later