The first secret I ever kept was who I loved. It was also, in the end, one of my greatest gifts — the first step toward living my authentic life. I grew up in Green Mountain, a quiet part of Lakewood that rolls into the foothills west of Denver. On the surface, everything looked ordinary: […]
life
Posted inColumns, Opinion, Uncategorized
Making peace with Turtle
Special to The Sopris Sun For years, people have gathered at the base of our mountain. Many thousands of years. Over centuries, a succession of aspen, juniper, pinyon, ponderosa, scrub oak and spruce exchanged places, descending into valleys filled with sage brush and, at the river’s edge, cottonwood thrived. There were trails but no fences, […]
Posted inColumns, Opinion, Uncategorized
Ps&Qs: We can’t jump ship
Here’s what I know for sure: water is life, life is fragile, and we are lucky ducks to live on this little frickin’ miracle of existence — the SS Earth. I had a dream recently where I was traveling across the ocean on a steamer when I realized that I was tied to a horse […]
Posted inColumns, Opinion, Uncategorized
Branching Out: What could be more important?
I assumed it was a sobriety check and downshifted. My truck was packed for camping and a bluegrass festival; I would drive through the night. Emergency lights split the darkness, spinning and flashing on a scene so horrific I gasped at the sight. A cow elk — her eyes wide, head thrown back — and […]
Posted inNews, Uncategorized
Post-burn, life returns at Hanging Lake
Peak summer heat. Drought and Code Red winds that had brawled with billowing skies of black, gray and amber. Fifty square miles of wildfire shut I-70 down for thirteen days. Between the recent Lake Christine Fire, COVID, global warming and species collapse — the 2020 Grizzly Creek Fire unleashed grief among locals. “That initial helicopter […]