Surprises on Mt. Evans!

As we ascended Mt. Evans on the Colorado leg of the trip we were in for a number of delights.  The internet says:

....travel south on CO Hwy. 103 to the junction of CO Hwy. 5, the entrance to Mount Evans Road. Groves of pine trees first greet you on this section, but gradually give way once timberline is breeched. Riding along the exposed mountainside yields magnificent views of glacier-cut valleys and a seemingly endless horizon of sharp, rocky peaks.

To say the heights of this mountain peak afforded breath-taking views is an understatement.  The snows were becoming more common. (Enlarge any photos to better enjoy them) 

And we came upon a beautiful lake....but we didn't stop now.  More about the lake on our descent in a later post....

And suddenly, as we began to negotiate a hairpin turn, we noticed several vehicles pulled off to the left, with some people taking photos.  Of the view?  Maybe....we had to check it out.  My hubby pulled off and Grandson and I bailed out.  And this is what we found!

 It was so exciting!  Wild mountain goats!  I had promised our grandson some wild animals on this trip, and our expectations were being realized. Linking in with Saturday's Critters with Eileen and Camera Critters with Misty.  Thanks both of you!

There were even three baby goats, little kids at play, running in circles and tumbling over one another.  This man was very close getting some great shots!

I can imagine the closeup the man just took of this little kid's face! :-)

 I ran back and got Russell.  He has COPD and was having some trouble breathing because of the altitude.  But I knew he just couldn't miss this!

The adults were gorgeous as well.

But the babies were just too cute!

Our grandson was in heaven!  The young lady also in the photo is apparently taking a shot of the mountain view (as you can see it is quite beautiful!) but our Grandson was glued to those baby goats! :-)

 Then suddenly we noticed something else....Two marmots joined the party!  They were as unconcerned by our presence as the goats were!

You can see how close one of them came to Russell.  They are about the size of a woodchuck or medium-sized beaver.

 This couldn't have been a sweeter surprise!  We stayed at that spot for a little while, then reloaded and moved on up the mountain road.  Little did we know there would be more delights ahead.

We said goodbye to the furry marmots. Now off to the summit!

Here are two videos I took.  I apologise ahead of time for the poor quality!  I'm still not used to taking video with my camera.  I'm sure I will get better the more I do.  Hope you enjoy them anyway!:-)

I'm A Winner!

What a nice surprise...the doorbell rang and when I opened the door, there was my prize sitting there.  You see, when Candy and I went to the Book Fair, I entered a raffle for a drawing.  The note said that, for the first time in nearly FOREVER, I had actually won!  The raffle was sponsored by Liberty Fund Books, and at their booth they had a wonderful array of very scholarly volumes on history, economics, the basis for our Constitution, and similar themes.

The little wooden cart is approximately 16" long and 9" wide.  I remember when I signed up, thinking how cute it would look filled with plants!

Of course it was already filled with some pretty wonderful things.  This is a closeup of the ceramic boot mug.

I very much look forward to reading this book of writings by Declaration signer Gouverneur Morris!  There were two other wonderful books, scented soaps, some lovely handmade candles that had unfortunately not done well in the heat (perhaps I can straighten them) an ink pen shaped like a saguaro and a little ceramic saguaro.  Oh, and the scarf underneath it all was really lovely too!

If you are interested in  seeing more of the amazing volumes made available by this wonderful company  (they sent me an impressive catalog of the listings!) check them out online at www.libertyfund.org.

This wonderful delivery of goodies just made my day!

Lemon Tree Serendipity and Some Potpourri

Off we went through the neighborhood headed to the movies....we are having a hard freeze here in Tucson right now.  Lots of people with citrus trees, mostly orange, naturally worry about their fruit when it gets this cold.  As we passed a house we had never passed before we saw two people standing in front of what we thought was their orange tree, looking up into it, so we stopped.  "Did your oranges freeze last night?" my husband asked.  No, they were not frozen....and they were not oranges either!

I show you the tree in the yard to give you an idea of its enormity!

They were bright, beautiful yellow lemons!  

And these neighbors we had never met before shared two big handsful with us!  They made the car smell heavenly as we went onto the movies and later returned home.  And now they are making some delicious lemonade!  What a serendipitous moment, and kind neighbors, as well!

Here are a few other things....

This is one of two harvests of lima beans I had for us in the late fall.  They were big beautiful beans, and were so delicious!  I'll be growing more this year!

And store-bought apples....

vinegar, sugar and cinnamon.....

For the apple butter I made before Christmas and gave as gifts.  Oh, we saved some for us too...and it is yummy!