“Human beings, who are almost unique in having the ability to learn from the experience of others, are also remarkable for their apparent disinclination to do so.” – Douglas Adams
Monday, May 17, 2004
In Search of the Black Morel
From all the reading I’ve done, it seems like the cabin property would be a great place to find wild black morel mushrooms in the Spring. So, for the past two weekends I’ve searched likely places, but with no luck.
Of course, I have no idea what the likely places are since I’ve never found one!
The cabin is at about 8600 feet in altitude with hills and valleys surrounding it that are probably beween 8200 and 9000 feet. The woods are a mixture of aspen, pine and fir trees. The bottom of the valley where the Spring creek runs also has willows and other brush.
The snow is mostly melted, with a few large drifts on the Northerly sides of hills remaining. The pasque flowers are blooming. The aspens have just leafed out.
All of these things seems to be signs of the right location and time.
In many of the photos I’ve seen, the mushroom is next to a Fairy Slipper or Shooting Star (wild flower). These have not yet bloomed, so maybe it is still too early.
I plan to keep looking every weekend that I am up there. If anyone reading this has experience in finding black morels in the mountains, I’d love to hear from you!
Posted under: Mushroom Articles • by Rick on 05/17/2004 at 02:11 PM
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Great Weekend at the Cabin
We had a great and productive weekend at the cabin this past weekend. We went up on Thursday evening. It had been snowing on Wednesday and Thursday (and continue into Friday morning). There was probably 6” of new wet snow on the ground. It was a “winter wonderland”. On Friday, the sun came out and melted the snow and it warmed up to be a nice day.
Friday night we took a late afternoon drive around the area and saw 4 moose! We saw a cow that is probably 3 years old very near the cabin. We think she has been visiting the salt lick at the cabin. A little later we saw the “twins”—a cow and bull probably 2 years old. They were along the main county road. Then, we drove down to Sand Creek and saw another cow there! Four moose, all within about 45 minutes and all within a mile of the cabin!
On Saturday, Ted Hanlon and a helper, Simon, brought 8 new Kyocera PV panels up and installed them. They work! For the first time in two years I am able to charge my batteries from the PV panels! In fact, they were performing beyond their specifications, each 24 volt string was providing about 8 amps of charging current, for a total charging current of 32 amps! Combine that with what comes from the wind generator, and we are in great shape. I am so happy this ordeal is finally over.
On Sunday, we cut some wood. I’ve been dragging dead logs from the forest out to the road and we cut one of those piles into logs small enough to fit in the wood stove and fireplace. I still need to do some splitting, but we have a good invetory of wood now.
Posted under: Cabin News • by Rick on 05/17/2004 at 10:37 AM
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Tuesday, May 11, 2004
Is My Solar Electric System Problem Solved?
After two years of total frustration, I think we may finally have solved the problem behind my inability to get electricity from my PV system…the PV panels are likely bad! We will know more this weekend. For the scoop, read this post on the Sand Creek Park Forums site.
Posted under: Cabin News • by Rick on 05/11/2004 at 10:16 PM
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Monday, May 03, 2004
Dawg’s Deli
A new deli just opened up last week. It is located halfway between Loveland and Fort Collins in the industrial area that homes the UPS facility and the Veterinary Hospital. It is called Dawg’s Deli and is open for breakfast and lunch Monday-Saturday.
The official address is: 235 W. 67th Ct., Loveland. Their phone is 970-278-1481.
Lynne and I went there for lunch the other day and we were very impressed. They are a bit pricey but the food was great. Read more for the story behind Daw’s Deli.
Posted under: Food and Cooking • by Rick on 05/03/2004 at 03:23 PM
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Thursday, April 29, 2004
Hailey Gave Us Quite A Scare
Yesterday, we got quite a scare from Hailey.
It was time for her vaccinations. And, we suspected she had a bladder infection. After acquiring a urine sample (“Mom, what are you doing behind me while I try to pee?”), Lynne was taking Hailey to the vet mid-morning. On the way, Hailey started coughing up blood. Well, instead of vaccinations she got a good examination to figure out where the blood was coming from and why. Actually, there was no definitive answer. The urine sample did show lots of white blood cells and an infection, so antibiotics were prescribed and she was sent home.
After an hour or so, Lynne noticed continued bleeding, now coming from the nose. So, she rushed Hailey to a close-by specialty/emergency hospital (which we happen to know very, very well…).
Posted under: Dog Stuff • by Rick on 04/29/2004 at 09:07 PM
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