2002 - April 11, 2016

She was a good cat.

A few days ago we transitioned the chickens from their old coop to a new one we've been building for several months. This project involved more than just the coop, which is why it took several months. We replaced a crumbling fence with a gate, and built another gate to fully-enclose one of our side yards to serve as a chicken run. The new coop is very sturdy, has french doors for easy access, and should be very comfortable for the chickens.

There is still some work to be done, including figuring out what kind of siding we want to put on it, and also an automatic chicken door.

Here are some photos and a video from the weekends activities: the Rocky Mountain Airshow on Saturday, and and a hike up Rattlesnake Gulch Trail in Eldorado Canyon State Park] on Sunday.

Here are some photos from our hike today up Flagstaff Mountain. The kiddo really likes riding in the carrier!

Today we went on a small hike to Fourmile Creek. Here are some photos and videos.

We have some friends that, due to a change in their housing situation, are in need of someone to take on their chickens for a while. So, we now have 5 egg-laying chickens in our backyard! It should be an interesting challenge.

Here are some photos of the solar powered LED lights for our sheds. My father very generously put together the lights, battery, solar panel, and wiring, and shipped it out to us. Over the last couple days I installed them in the sheds.

How do you get 20 tons of gravel from street level to a side yard without carrying it up by hand? With a Stone Slinger! In the first video, yes, the man is driving the truck with a remote control.

You really need to click on the image and see the full-sized version!

We have a tradition (2010, 2011) of going for a hike on Christmas eve in Boulder. This year we decided to keep it easy and go for a stroll/hike (Melissa calls it a "strike") at Dowdy Draw open space south of Boulder.

Yesterday evening it started snowing, and by this morning there was roughly eight inches of fluffy snow on the ground, giving us a true white Christmas!

It's been over five months since I last posted on this blog! It seems appropriate that I come back with the counterpoint to the last photo I posted, this time showing the snowy Flatirons fronted by NIST.

Who knows when I'll post next!

Since we have moved to our new house at the other end of town, my ride to campus is a bit different. In some ways I don't like it as much as my old route because it is next to Broadway for most of the way. Broadway is a very busy street, it's noisy and unpleasant. My old route did go for a short while on a busy street, but most of the time it was on roads in quiet neighborhoods or on bike paths.

Note that I wrote "next to Broadway" above. In fact, my new route is almost entirely on grade-separated bike paths/sidewalks (it's legal here for adults to ride on sidewalks some places) or frontage roads next to Broadway, and I actually never ride on Broadway. The big bonus on my new route is that the views are far superior. Above is a photo of the view looking over NIST towards the fog-enshrouded Flatirons. They are not often covered in clouds like this, but it had rained heavily the day before and the air was still humid. Also note that the grass in the foreground is brown. Before our heavy rains we had two weeks of record-setting heat. It's been a feast or famine summer in Boulder.

Here are a few pictures from my ride today at Walker Ranch.

Above: Such a lovely trail!

The wildflowers are out in force.

When I was taking pictures, the California Zephyr rolled by on its westward journey to Emeryville. The full-sized image shows the train better than the preview. This is the train that Melissa and I took last Thanksgiving, and I remember seeing the Walker Ranch trail from the train.