hiking in eldo

paul hikes or bikes in the middle of his work day, it makes him happy. the past couple of weeks i've been tagging along with him on his hikes. it has been great and it is....well....it is just so beautiful around here. come join us and we will show you around our neighborhood, eldorado springs affectionately known as eldo. we meet up at each of the trailheads from our property at an elevation of 5600 ft., rise about 1000 feet, cover 4 miles, and hike for about an hour. a nice, polite senior pace ;) ready?

i love our backyard.

i tried something new while editing this post adding the fade filter to the photos. it subtly captures the temperature and light surrounding us at this spring-in-waiting time of year. i like it.

real life: so, i do love the mountains and living in this beautiful semi-rural part of boulder. it is truly incredible but it does have its challenges. yesterday, we had a sad incident. you dear and faithful blog followers know that i have finches. these little birds, of which i have had many, have been a happy part of our household for years. when the weather is warm, i put their cage outside on the deck so they can enjoy fresh air and the sights and sounds of the outdoors. yesterday's mild weather invited this routine and even enticed a friendly (or hungry) squirrel to join them, picking up the birdseed tossed from the cage. 

later in the evening while i was making dinner, i glanced outside and noticed a falcon perched next to the birdcage and quickly ran outside to scare it away. when i looked over at the cage i couldn't see the finches. as i got closer, i saw that one was dead on the bottom of the cage bleeding from a pierce through his chest. the other finch was nowhere to be found. i was too late. this bird of prey had attacked my finches somehow extracting one from the cage. he continued to come back to this perch throughout the evening and this morning hoping to claim his other little victim. go away......

living in the foothills of colorado also means living amongst wildlife. we are sad today at the house. my bird chapter is over and as much as i have also wanted to raise chickens, i am reminded why i cannot; falcons, foxes, coyotes, mountain lions, bobcats......they just have no chance. so today, even roxy feels something is amiss as she lays in the sun next the space where the bird cages have always hung.