REBOOT

I retired from my 30-year position as the executive director of a local Pennsylvania land trust on June 15, and four days later Kali and I headed west to start our new life in Livermore, Colorado, at 7,200 feet in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains northwest of Fort Collins.

I'm more physically active than Kali and take a lot of walks around our neighborhood, reporting back to her what I see when I'm out (partially as a way to try to encourage her to come out with me--so far, with relatively limited success).  In any case, Kali said I should keep a journal of my observations in our new habitat, so I decided to revive It Just Comes Naturally.

I'm not going to start from the beginning just yet; I'll probably catch up over the next few days.  I'm going to start with the walk I took yesterday (August 8).  Our rural development includes 400 acres of protected open space, and there is a trail system throughout.  Unfortunately, the trails are very lightly used and, thus, not particularly well maintained, but they are passable with some effort.  Yesterday, I walked on the gravel roads through out neighborhood to reach the Crellin Canyon Trailhead.  I descended Crellin Canyon, then caught the Sloan Trail that heads east, skirting a steep, rocky hillside mid-slope until I reached Mount Moriah, a  promontory just outside our house.

Looking back westward to the mouth of Crellin Canyon

Mount Moriah's south face; the north face is wooded.  There's a trail cairn on the right.

The whole hike covered a distance of about three miles, with a change in elevation of about 450 feet.  Along the way, I spotted three Canyon Wrens on Mount Moriah and a few American Robins in Crellin Canyon, but I was walking mid-day, so most birds were taking a siesta.

I've been using my cell phone camera a lot (as I did for these images).  They're not as good as the images produced by my Canon.  If I continue this journal, I'll start to use my Canon more frequently.

Stay tuned for more.