Long weekends...

...are the best!  Relaxed, got some stuff done, hiked up on Green Mountain a bit to watch the fireworks over the city and bagged Mount Wilcox on Guanella Pass.  Also got some rain (much needed), ate some  raspberries from our own backyard that have recently ripened and had 4 days off from work, can't go wrong there. A couple of pictures below...
 

Ginger Beer

When we were in Montserrat in February, I discovered something heavenly...Ginger Beer.  Non-alcoholic, refreshing and just about the yummiest drink I've ever had.  Ginger is a favorite of mine, in foods, drinks, etc.  I finally recreated it successfully and thought I would share this perfect summertime recipe:

1 lb Fresh Ginger
10 cups Hot Water (I mix 5 c boiling water with 5 c hot tap water)
1 to 1 1/2 cups sugar (to taste)
1/3 cup Fresh Squeezed Lime Juice (about 3 limes)
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract (to taste)
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon Almond Extract (to taste)

• Cut ginger into smaller pieces - you do not have to peel the ginger, just wash/scrub it well with a brush.
• Use food processor to mince ginger - I do this with 8-10 pieces at a time and I put in some water with each batch to make the mincing easier (keep track of how much water you use to food process and subtract that from the 10 cups in the recipe)
• Put the minced ginger and the remaining water in the large bowl, stir, cover and put in refrigerator to let steep overnight
• Using a fine strainer or one with cheesecloth, strain steeped ginger beer into another bowl, pressing the remaining ginger in the strainer with a wooden spoon to get all the yummy juice out
• Add lime juice, sugar, vanilla and almond to mixture and stir well

I store my ginger beer in a large glass container in the fridge.

Ginger beer can also be mixed with soda water for some fizz, or if it's too strong, add some water.  Tom likes to add a bit of rum to the ginger beer for a refreshing cocktail - it's pretty tasty as well!

It settles very quickly, so give it a good shake or stir before partaking, serve over ice and enjoy!!

The road less traveled

So many people head into the mountains of Colorado on any given weekend, and it’s no wonder, it’s beautiful up there.  Many trails are very busy, but what amazes me is how easy it is to avoid the crowds if you just pick the "road less traveled". 

 

The 14ers are definitely something special, but for weekend warriors with pets at home, it’s hard to travel to climb them and there are MANY 13ers within day-hiking distance of Denver.  For the past few years, Tom and I have started tackling these 13ers to avoid the crowds and enjoy some route-finding and off-trail hiking.  Tom has always enjoyed making his own trail, and I’ve come around to the same point of view.  There is something wonderful about that moment you leave the trail and start to find your own way through the mountains.

 

This weekend we parked at the very crowded Herman Gulch trailhead off of I-70 and promptly took the split towards Watrous Gulch, instead of Herman Gulch, and immediately left the crowds behind.  Finding solitude, high elevation and beautiful views, we tackled Mount Parnassus at 13,574ft.  It was about 8.5-9 miles roundtrip and 3,300ft of elevation gain, and more than half of this was off-trail.  The wind was strong, gusty and ever present during our hike, but what a beautiful day overall!  The first picture is of our destination from the trail below.  The rest are from the hike up and on the summit.

 

Hot, Dry and Baby Birds!

I just returned from a business trip to West Virginia.  What I always seem to forget about is the humidity that is part of summer back east.  Well, I guess I don't forget about it, but I'm reminded each time I head east.  It's a trade-off, humidity or dry enough to fuel many forest fires.  This is what is happening now in Colorado, so many fires, so many homes destroyed.  We are all hoping for rain, rain, rain - but looking at the forecast for the next week, chances are slim to none.  Very sad.  Last night, sitting in our backyard, we watched the sky crane helicopters heading to/from a fire - they hover over a lake and siphon water to take back to fight the fire.  I'm going to try to get a picture from our backyard if possible, it passed very low directly over our house last night.



In other exciting news, it's baby bird time in Colorado - we have baby blackbirds, robins and finches.  I'm also waiting to see if my first ever wren that has lovingly built a nest in our bird house will attract a mate, he singing his heart out right now.  I'd love to have wren babies in our yard!  I think the cats are too old to catch one, haha. 

Katy is also doing well - Sherry and Brad visited last weekend with a much better camera than we have, and below is a very good picture of her!  (Yes, she is all head.)

First weekend of summer

I know, summer isn't officially here yet, but it sure felt like it today!  Tom and I did much yardwork and drank lots of cold iced tea.

Katy Update - I've never had a small before, but have to say, they're just like big dogs...well, maybe not quite.  They're more like a cat and dog cross.  They have big dog personalities for sure, but scare easily, like to crawl on top of things and ignore squirrels - WHAT?!  Ignore squirrels?!  Yes, yes they do.  Lucy can't quite believe it either.  Maybe it's because some of them are actually larger than Katy.

Other big news - I'm saying goodbye to the Wrangler this week.  It's hard to believe - I've had it for 13 years.  It's almost too hard for me to give it up, but I know a 16 year old girl is getting it and she will have the time of her life in it.  I've done many things in that car - met my husband, moved across the country, taken it to too many trailheads to count and logged many fun miles in it.  Wrangler, you are a part of me and I will miss you dearly.  Like I said, almost too hard to give up...sniff, sniff.

Small news - we got a trail camera!!  I was so excited to hook it up, we've moved it around the yard quite a bit already and below you'll find two nice pictures from it when Tom put it next to our squirrel peanut feeder.  We don't exactly live in the woods, but we do get a healthy dose of wildlife.  Next, it'll be moving out in front of the house in the hopes of catching a fox or coyote.  Tom would like to set it up to watch the driveway to see if anyone is messing with his car (in true guy fashion).  I assured him that if it actually snapped a photo of a thief, it would likely disappear before the next morning.

 

 

Meet Katy.

She's tiny, timid, terrified and terribly unsure of herself.   We picked her up on Saturday - she's part of the Chihuahua and Small Dog Rescue.  I had hoped Lucy and her would be the best of friends from the start, but she's a bit defensive, having had a hard life thus far. 

Other interesting Katy facts:

1)      She is smaller than a tiny cat

2)      She has huge bat ears

3)      She doesn't like to chase squirrels or birds, but I may have caught her bolting after a butterfly yesterday

4)      She wants to be outside during the day

5)      She wants to be inside at night

6)      She stays where you put her – very odd, it is like she’s frozen sometimes

7)      She won't go potty on demand - this is hard when she needs to go before we leave for work!

8)      She doesn't know how to play with any toys.  Tom slowly rolled a tennis ball toward her last night and apparently she jumped up at the last minute and landed on her side.  He said it was like bowling.  :)  I may have to try this tonight.

9)      She loves cheese

Hopefully her personality will start to unfold (or form) after some time bonding with us and Lucy.  Cross your fingers everyone!

Berries.

Tom finished my raspberry and blackberry trellace today, it looks great...let the fruitfulness begin!  Let's hope we make it to them before the birds do.

Absolutely gorgeous Memorial Day weekend in Colorado!  Sunny and mid 80s, a little blast of summer.