It’s not every town that gets amped up year after year over a vegetable, but leave it to Carbondale to keep such traditions alive and well. In fact, Potato Days is coming back so strong this year that that plural days is not a misnomer. That’s right, Potato Days will expand the weekend, Oct. 6-8, […]
agriculture
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Branching Out: So excited for seed season
Every spring starts in my living room in February and March. I collected seeds all last autumn, a compulsive habit born of years of desire. Rambling about, Juniper and I inevitably see something— “Oh, my god, I want that!” I say, pointing to an unfamiliar plant. “Mom, you always say that!” she teases… Thanks to […]
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Shipmans aren’t ready to give up
Tragically, the day before Thanksgiving, the Shipman family’s home on the Dooley Creek Farm in the Crystal Valley burned to the ground. Mollie Shipman knew the home her whole life. Her grandparents came over from Leadville, bought the property in 1949 and lived in the same house. The home was built in 1900 by, Mollie […]
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Potato Day’s 2022 mash-up grows engagement
For 112 years, through two pandemics, ‘Bonedalers have harkened the fall with a celebration of spuds. At the time of the very first Potato Day, 1910, Eugene Grubb had just published his book, “The Potato” and Irish immigrant Thomas McClure’s red variety, unique to this valley, was gaining national prestige. “The Roaring Fork and Crystal […]
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Ps & Qs: Ship of fools
Do you ever think life is like a treasure hunt? Kind of like a cosmic bingo game and as we gain experiences, the squares on our board fill up until we yell, “Bingo!” For instance, in my life, I have sung karaoke a handful of times — not well mind you, but every time I […]
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Branching Out: Magic of the Lost Trees
Once upon a time, a young woman typed the last of data into a computer at a desk in a cubicle back East. The saltwater coursing within her ached to lap at shores of earth, to kiss the trees and touch the sky. She encountered masters on her new journey, with whom she studied the […]
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May there be pumpkins over the Rainbow Bridge
Capturing the hearts of families around the Roaring Fork Valley, Daisy, the Yorkshire pig of Happy Day Ranch (HDR) in Emma, passed away on May 2 surrounded by the farmers who loved her. She was eight years old and weighed 500-600 pounds. Alizabeth Koster, Daisy’s owner, said that Daisy “put HDR on the map” when […]
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AVLT strives to protect 50,000 acres by 2032
Aspen Valley Land Trust (AVLT) has recently published a 10-year strategic plan which lays out the organization’s ambitious goal of conserving 40,000-50,000 acres in the next 10 years. AVLT was the first land trust in Colorado and, in its 55 years, has helped conserve 69 square miles of land from De Beque to Aspen. The […]