What really affects hunting in the West
A disgruntled hunter wrote a Writers on the Range opinion recently about Westerners getting fed up with the many out-of-staters coming in and buying up draw licenses to shoot bull elk, deer, bear and other big game animals.
Updated: 1 day ago
Riding the magic carpet
Just this past weekend Ol’ Dutch decided to make the long journey up to Kansas and some of my past digs to see family.
Updated: 6 days ago
Still Waters: Collectible quotes
I have a fun time collecting and culling quotes sent daily from “Editor & Publisher.” Here are a few of my recent favorites:
Updated: 5 years ago
Guest opinion: The Farm Bill will set Americans up for success
The House of Representatives will soon consider a new Farm Bill.
Updated: 5 years ago
Amarah's Corner: Justin shares his story, Part 2
Hi! My name is Justin. I am 29 years old and know a thing or two about struggle.
Updated: 5 years ago
Native Writes: Youth and history
The renewed interest in history among young people is gratifying.
Updated: 5 years ago
Alamosa Flowers: Colorado native shrubs in the garden
I was surprised to find that I’ve had more than 10 Colorado native shrubs in our garden over the years.
Updated: 5 years ago
Geiger's Culture Counter: In celebration of ‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’
Last week was a roller coaster of emotions thanks to networks like Fox and NBC cancelling, renewing and picking up various television shows.
Updated: 5 years ago
Land, Water and People: Peak wildland fire season is approaching
As I write this, the snow pack for the Upper Rio Grande Basin is eight percent of the median average for this time of year based on snotel data.
Updated: 5 years ago
Rabbitbrush Rambler: Pike’s cottonwood stockade
One of the frequent visitors to the park at Pike’s Stockade reported a couple of weeks ago that a huge cottonwood had fallen on the log structure on the grounds.
Updated: 5 years ago
Movin' On with Nellie: A mother’s work is never done
I reached the door and opened it as quietly as I could. I leaned against the frame and peered out onto the porch where a mother cat and her four kittens gobbled morsels and drank fresh water.
Updated: 5 years ago
After the Fact: It came to pass
Why do we characterize seasons when we know our hopes will be dashed by the weatherman every darned time?
Updated: 5 years ago
Valley Gardening: Brown lawns are not fatal
It’s been a good week! Twice I was able to help the Sanchez family.
Updated: 5 years ago
KC at Bat: Remember the climb is what matters
“Take young researchers, put them together in virtual seclusion, give them an unprecedented degree of freedom and turn up the pressure by fostering competitiveness.” — James D. Watson, American scientist
Updated: 5 years ago
Still Waters: The Rock is still there
Teresa Arlene Pointer (now Teresa Sales), whose family called her Arlene while growing up, had a tender heart for God early on in her life, even when most of her family at the time did not.
Updated: 5 years ago
Native Writes: The place for a lady
The older I become, the more I see my mother in me.
Updated: 5 years ago
Amarah's Corner: Justin shares his story, Part 1
Amarah shares the following experience of Justin, the first male inmate to participate in an interview with her for her column.
Updated: 5 years ago
Geiger's Culture Counter: Kill your darlings
Movies, music, games, television and books are almost always universally enjoyed because they’re magic.
Updated: 5 years ago
Rabbitbrush Rambler: Visiting Conejos County’s La Isla
The southern part of Conejos County is an area that few of us often visit, but it’s worth getting acquainted with this out-of the-way area east of Antonito.
Updated: 5 years ago
Valley Gardening: Catching spring fever
Life is good in the neighborhood—that’s LODA—otherwise affectionately known as Lower Downtown Alamosa!
Updated: 5 years ago
After the Fact: I’m special
If you haven’t figured it out yet, you aren’t special.
Updated: 5 years ago
Movin' On with Nellie: In all actions, do the right thing
Mama didn’t go eyeball to eyeball with me very often; I remember how her look opened the spillway to tell the truth about eating that extra chocolate chip cookie, or rough housing too much with my sister.
Updated: 5 years ago
Still Waters: Grateful for those who serve
April and May have included several weeks, days or months of recognition for various segments or causes in our communities.
Updated: 5 years ago
Native Writes: Memories come with May
Springtime in the San Luis Valley is as varied as its people, but the memory of one remains.
Updated: 5 years ago
Amarah's Corner: Couple shares dream of children's home in the San Luis Valley
Thank you so much for inviting us to share our story! My name is Sheri Fuca. My husband Vince and I live in Tucson, Arizona.
Updated: 5 years ago
Geiger's Culture Counter: Come jump on the bandwagon
Originality is often a key factor in the success of media. However, each passing day that becomes more difficult since there are only so many colors to paint with or notes to sing.
Updated: 5 years ago
Land, Water, People: Connecting to the land through volunteering
I moved to the San Luis Valley because of the land. The flat valley bottom filled with potato fields and barley, the volcanic cliff bands at the edge of the San Juan Mountains, the vertical conglomerate of the Sangre de Cristos, the wetlands and refuges, the space.
Updated: 5 years ago
Alamosa Trees: It’s been dry – so what’s greening and popping up?
REMINDER: Tree planting this Friday at noon and 4 p.m. Please join the Alamosa Tree Board and Department of Parks & Recreation in planting trees along State Avenue north of the airport near the cemetery entrance.
Updated: 5 years ago
Rabbitbrush Rambler: Remembering Fred Haberlein (1944-2018)
On April 16 one of the San Luis Valley’s best-known artists, Fred Haberlein, died. We have had many outstanding artists here but none whose work is as familiar to residents and visitors in the Valley as Fred’s is.
Updated: 5 years ago
'Hop-ing' to it
I have been fortunate to have assistance from a couple of community service workers, so in LODA (also known as Lower Downtown Alamosa), we have been getting the flower planters (a/k/a recycled trash containers) cleaned up, some of the old soil pulled out, and new soil getting added.
Updated: 5 years ago
After the Fact: Rights and what’s left
Most of us, particularly those of an age to have been around when they were written, believe we know all 27 of the Amendments to the Constitution.
Updated: 5 years ago
Movin' On with Nellie: Note to self follows Apple in hand
The Note to Self era has arrived. What would you tell your younger self? Would the note be more than “Be sure to brush your teeth”?
Updated: 5 years ago
Still Waters: For life
I hadn’t really thought about “pro life” as being a lifelong decision before Rev. Billy Graham’s granddaughter Windsor Bauders talked about it this week during the SLV Life Center (formerly SLV Women’s Resource Center) annual fundraiser.
Updated: 5 years ago
Being Beautiful: A time for every purpose under heaven
The first time my stories appeared in the newspaper was in second grade when my teacher had the class write letters to Santa.
Updated: 5 years ago
Amarah's Corner: Pay attention to signs of child abuse
April is Child Abuse Awareness and Prevention Month so I want to share some signs/symptoms a child may demonstrate that are cries for HELP, not just ‘bad behavior’ as too many people assume.
Updated: 5 years ago
Native Writes: Robotic solutions
There was a “special report” on television recently dealing with “artificial intelligence (AI).” Robots are poised to take over.
Updated: 5 years ago
Geiger's Culture Counter: What to play on International Tabletop Day
Ah, April. According to T.S. Eliot it’s the cruelest month but I don’t think that’s the case. The slopes may be shutting down for the season but now the weather is perfect for other activities like hiking and biking. It’s also a great time to spend all day indoors on April 28 celebrating International Tabletop Day.
Updated: 5 years ago
Rabbitbrush Rambler: Costilla County's new wildlife area is unique
It’s sometimes said that Costilla County is unique because it has no piece of the Rio Grande National Forest, as the rest of the Valley’s counties do, but this one does have some Colorado State Wildlife Areas.
Updated: 5 years ago
Valley Gardening: A lesson from Texas; a caution for Alamosa
Everything’s good in the neighborhood! After the wind on Tuesday how can we complain about a little snow/rain?
Updated: 5 years ago
After the Fact: Outer space
Sometime in the next millennia, sentient beings in a distant galaxy will “discover” a very small planet weaving erratically through space, headed to no-place in particular, with no discernable reason for being where it is.
Updated: 5 years ago
Being Beautiful: Taking the road less traveled
Have you ever found yourself driving on the interstate in a big city where you are a stranger, six lanes of traffic going each way, before the days of navigation systems, locals flying past you on both sides and blowing their horns?
Updated: 5 years ago
Still Waters: Thanks to our heroes with hoses
Someone said if the saying is true that the spring winds will blow in the San Luis Valley until the snow is off the mountains, there must be at least some snow still left up there. We haven’t had much snow, but we certainly have had the winds.
Updated: 5 years ago
Amarah's Corner: Loving an addict
Hey kids like me! Kathy Suazo, Child Protection Supervisor, Alamosa County DHS, is going to share a special letter that we printed last year at this time, because April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month.
Updated: 5 years ago
Native Writes: Tale of the ticker
For nearly 75 years, my heart has ticked along.
Updated: 5 years ago
Geiger's Culture Counter: The best music is coming from movies
Because of streaming services and a steady diet of podcasts I rarely purchase new music. Until recently, I also have never bought a Kendrick Lamar album. I’m glad I did both.
Updated: 5 years ago
Editorial: Local tourist attraction?
Tuesday’s wind-driven fire emergency in the Alamosa area appeared to be a favorite for “sightseers.”
Updated: 5 years ago
Land, Water and People: The challenge of managing a travel system
My friend was totally beside herself as she told me about an encounter with some fellow ATVers.
Updated: 5 years ago
Washing mouths out with soap
It happened to me when I was a little kid. It was for being sassy about having to help with some pesky task – maybe drying a few dishes –when I wanted to go out to play.
Updated: 5 years ago
Valley Gardening: Hope and memories
As I write this valuable information to share with you, it is Friday—windy, cold and kind of miserable!
Updated: 5 years ago
After the Fact: The House of the Sitting Moon
Poor ol’ John had given his last flush, necessitating a call to my favorite plumbing contractor. I’d hoped we could save our existing fixture but was advised it really WAS very OLD and a replacement would save water.
Updated: 5 years ago
Movin' On with Nellie: Another one bites the . . . autocorrect
Some words are just fine when they slap onto the virtual page. Just fine. But then there are some that are wasted with autocorrect.
Updated: 5 years ago
Still Waters: My sister, my constant
Moving frequently while growing up, my two sisters and I depended on each other for friendship and companionship. Beth and Kristi were my constants in a changing world.
Updated: 5 years ago
Being Beautiful: The young edge of old or the old edge of young?
I truly feel like a member of my own club lately, especially when surrounded by Millennials and whatever labels we apply to those even younger.
Updated: 5 years ago
Amarah's Corner: Case aide shares more insights
Hello, my name is Ivette Atencio. I am a Case Aide for the Alamosa County Department Of Human Services Child Welfare Unit.
Updated: 5 years ago
Geiger's Culture Counter: Don’t save these damsels
On the heels of “Wonder Woman’s” success and the #MeToo movement, television and film scriptwriters are finally getting with the times.
Updated: 5 years ago
Alamosa Trees: Arbor Week and pruning
Please help plant trees on May 4 at noon or 4 p.m.! We’ll provide shovels if you don’t have one.
Updated: 5 years ago
Rabbitbrush Rambler: Earth Month
Designating 30 days as Earth Month seems inadequate.
Updated: 5 years ago
Valley Gardening: Water deeply, and then take a break
I have had numerous questions about watering lawns right now. My recommendation would be to water once DEEPLY and then take a break for 10-14 days.
Updated: 5 years ago
After the Fact: If it doesn’t add up
“Alice sleeps 9 hours every night. A cat can sleep up to 20 hours every day. Estimate how many more hours the cat sleeps in a month than Alice sleeps. Check your answer with a calculator.”
Updated: 5 years ago
Movin' On with Nelllie: On Broyles and TG’s letter from Jesus to Shakespeare
Some are saying it’s much to do about nothing and harken back to a Shakespearean play. But Shakespeare had a way with insights into the human condition.
Updated: 5 years ago
Still Waters: Another birthday for my spiritual giant
I don’t think of my father as old although he will be 89 on Saturday.
Updated: 5 years ago
Native Writes: Examining hatred
I suppose growing up in the San Luis Valley has protected most “old timers” from what’s been happening around the globe, so we are palpably shocked when something really bad takes place right here at home.
Updated: 5 years ago
Amarah's Corner: Case aide shares experiences
Hey kids like me! Watch for Every Child Matters! Bringing Awareness & Prevention to Child Abuse Carnival! April 14th, 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. at Alamosa Recreation Center (call Ivette at (719) 587-5242). April is Child Abuse Awareness Month.
Updated: 5 years ago
Land, Water and People: Forest health 2017: A mixed report
The 2017 forest health aerial survey results were recently released and once again they showed a decline in spruce beetle activity on the Rio Grande National Forest from the previous year.
Updated: 5 years ago
Rabbitbrush Rambler: Help when it’s needed
In rural Colorado, most of us enjoy good health, but illnesses send some of us to hospitals for out- or in –patient care at one of our hospitals from time to time, like it or not.
Updated: 5 years ago
Movin' On with Nellie: Visions of a dream
As baseball season begins with the early morning metal twang of a ball splitting the air, the blue moon seems to gaze after the moving vision of teens swinging for a dream.
Updated: 5 years ago
Valley Gardening: Prepare for the giant pumpkin contest
Where in the heck has March gone? It seems like just yesterday I was telling everyone not to plant, and now I’m thinking I better get the onion plants on their way. Yikes!
Updated: 5 years ago
Still Waters: Thank God for His ‘foolish’ love
Atheists might find it amusing that Easter Sunday is April Fools’ Day. Of course God is way ahead of them, because long ago God said, “the fool has said in his heart there is no God.”
Updated: 5 years ago
Being Beautiful: Bending the arc of the moral universe toward justice
Once in a while, you invest a day of your life and when it’s over, you know it was an incredibly good investment. I had such a day on Wednesday in Memphis, Tennessee.
Updated: 5 years ago
Native Writes: Smitten for my sins
With the granddaughters sitting nearby and the grandson in the next room, my daughter-in-law advised me that Easter is over in this family.
Updated: 5 years ago
Amarah's Corner: Deputy shares heart-wrenching experiences
Reminder: FREE BOWLING at Alamosa Bowl, 204 Victoria Avenue, for Kids Like Me, 1-4pm, April 1st (Easter Sunday)!
Updated: 5 years ago
Geiger's Culture Counter: Sound the horns
Last week I had the pleasure of seeing the band Chicago live in Colorado Springs.
Updated: 5 years ago
Alamosa Trees: Mesquite and salt cedar
We just returned from a wonderful trip to Hawaii and I have mesquite and salt cedar (Tamarix) on my mind.
Updated: 5 years ago
Rabbitbrush Rambler: Another San Miguel
I’m going to write mainly today about the San Miguel community that lies in the mountains at the edge of Carson National Forest.
Updated: 5 years ago
Valley Gardening: Is glyphosate dangerous? Judge for yourself
Life is good in the neighborhood! I’m hearing that spring arrived and I forgot to celebrate with a shot of whiskey—or anything else!
Updated: 5 years ago
After the Fact: The eye of the beholder
t happens, and it was probably my own fault that Dr. Grigsby’s office couldn’t get ahold of me to tell me he’d been unexpectedly called out of town but I could have SWORN I gave them my new phone number.
Updated: 5 years ago
Movin' On with Nellie: Twitterpated - no that’s not a fake word
I recalled the guy coming into the office as being twitterpated and my friend said, “Did you make that word up?” It took me a while but I found the word in the Oxford dictionary.
Updated: 5 years ago
Still Waters: Seniors, best in show
Respect those who are farther along the path of life than you. They have something to share from that perspective, distant and distinct from your own.
Updated: 5 years ago
Being Beautiful: Memories, like flowers, seem to blossom in the springtime
The azaleas have returned to my neighborhood like old friends.
Updated: 5 years ago
Native Writes: Elusive history
Digging through history is a complicated process, especially when the subject is one kept hidden for more than 100 years.
Updated: 5 years ago
Amarah's Corner: A message from Deputy Evan Dick
“Kids like me” are kids and adults of all ages whose parents are, or were, drug addicts, and alcoholics; kids who have suffered, or who are suffering, abuse and neglect on multiple levels; and kids who are victims of bullying.
Updated: 5 years ago
Land, Water and People: Mixed conifer—Our most diverse forests
Variety is a good word to describe the mixed conifer forests that grow part way up on the slopes of the mountain surrounding the San Luis Valley.
Updated: 5 years ago
Geiger's Culture Counter: Keep Portland weird
Tomorrow marks an end for an era at IFC. Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein’s “Portlandia” will air its 77th and final episode that night.
Updated: 5 years ago
Valley Gardening: Watering reminders
Life is good in the neighborhood! The weather continues to be nice—warm, dry, a little wind (sometimes a lot) and did I mention DRY?
Updated: 5 years ago
Movin' On with Nelda: Kerplunk — I’ve fallen — now what?
A couple weeks ago I was being pretty silly when I thought I could step up on a chair and hang miniature LED lights in my front window.
Updated: 5 years ago
After the Fact: Like sands through the hourglass
More than just the people who live in them, houses and clothes have much in common.
Updated: 5 years ago
Being Beautiful: Weather forecast—Stormy with increasing clouds
Word of the day—desensitize: “to make less likely to feel shock or distress at scenes of cruelty, violence, or suffering by overexposure to such images.”
Updated: 5 years ago
Still Waters: Irish women who make me proud
On the eve of St. Patrick’s Day, let me share the stories of just a few of the Irish women who make me proud of my Irish heritage.
Updated: 5 years ago
Amarah's Corner: The story of Molly Parks
“Kids like me” are kids and adults of all ages whose parents are, or were, drug addicts, and alcoholics; kids who have suffered, or who are suffering, abuse and neglect on multiple levels; and kids who are victims of bullying.
Updated: 5 years ago
Native Writes: Birthdays and wearing green
Today is my oldest son’s 56th birthday. That means I am older, as well.
Updated: 5 years ago
Geiger's Culture Counter: Don't throw away your shot
After two years of waiting the moment finally arrived. On Saturday I saw “Hamilton: An American Musical,” arguably the hottest show of the century, at the Denver Center for Performing Arts.
Updated: 5 years ago
Alamosa Trees: Gimme a (wind) break! Part 2
This column will address windbreaks in relation to urban yards. As discussed previously, living windbreaks are more effect than wall since they actually absorb the wind as well as deflect it.
Updated: 5 years ago
Rabbitbrush Rambler: Natural and unnatural infrastructure
It’s easy to see that Ma Nature created canyons where streams could be impounded, whether the work was to be done by rock slides and beavers or by investors in irrigation projects.
Updated: 5 years ago
After the Fact: Don’t I know you?
Shopping in the coloring book section of Dollar Tree, I eavesdropped as the lady next to me asked a clerk (there’s always someone available to help in that store!) about pencils vs. crayons.
Updated: 5 years ago
Valey Gardening: It starts with the soil
Well….Alamosa and the San Luis Valley were put on the national and international map this week!
Updated: 5 years ago
David Creel: I want the Waltons to be real again
“I reckon I don’t have much to give but my stories,” Grandma said to John Boy as she sat on the bed beside him and wished for a better gift to give her eldest grandson.
Updated: 5 years ago
Still Waters: Aloha and mahalo
My folks had planned to celebrate their 65th wedding anniversary with a trip to Kauai, Hawaii, the “garden isle.”
Updated: 5 years ago
Native Writes: Women’s Day brings thought
Today, Thursday, March 8, is International Women’s Day.
Updated: 5 years ago
Amarah's Corner: My friend Erwin shares thoughts about ‘kids like me’
Teaching kids about God and His Words (the Bible) is so important God told parents in Deuteronomy 6:7 (NIV), “Impress them on your children.
Updated: 5 years ago
Geiger's Culture Counter: Jack me in
We are in the middle of a cyberpunk resurgence and I am immensely thankful for it.
Updated: 5 years ago
Rabbitbrush Rambler: Early infrastructure
Bridge and road projects in the 1800s depended on private investors to fund them, whereas in the 1900s we depended on federal and state governments, counties or towns to build and maintain them.
Updated: 5 years ago
Land, Water and People: The value of public lands grazing
As many readers of this column know, national forests are managed for multiple uses.
Updated: 5 years ago
Movin’ On With Nellie: March is Traumatic Brain Injury Month
TBI can be caused by football injuries, motor vehicle wrecks, falls, explosives, gun shot wounds and other violence.
Updated: 5 years ago
After the Fact: Frivolous ways
It’s been a long while since I went to a movie theater.
Updated: 5 years ago
Valley Gardening: Very important stuff
You know how everyone says not to go shopping when you are hungry?
Updated: 5 years ago
Still Waters: More weird items to occupy your brain
Listen up! March is Listening Awareness Month.
Updated: 5 years ago
Being Beautiful: On the outside looking in
The church was as majestic as I expected with massive, exquisite windows through which generations have looked in and looked out.
Updated: 5 years ago
Native Writes: Kids today
Following my middle granddaughter’s 17th birthday celebration, I began to think about teenagers.
Updated: 5 years ago
Amarah's Corner: ‘Won’t you be my neighbor?’
I read a post by Anthony Breznican who noted that 2017 marked the 50th anniversary of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. He told about his chance-meeting with Mr. Rogers.
Updated: 5 years ago
Alamosa Trees: Gimme a (wind) break! Part 1
Recently, I attended an excellent Conservation Seedling Workshop hosted by the Alamosa district office of the Colorado State Forest Service (CSFS).
Updated: 5 years ago
Geiger's Culture Counter: Who should win, will win the Oscars
The 90th Oscars are just around the corner, so you know what that means.
Updated: 5 years ago
Rabbitbrush Rambler: Women’s right to vote
In the 1870s, when the new Centennial State was writing its constitution, the former territorial governor, the incoming state governor, and some delegates, but not enough of them, supported enfranchisement for women in Colorado’s state elections.
Updated: 5 years ago
Movin' On with Nellie: Be kind to all God’s creatures
One of the legacies I cherish that my Mom handed down to us girls was to be kind to animals, to stray cats, dogs, and birds.
Updated: 5 years ago
Valley Gardening: RV park will help local economy
Well….I went to the meeting last Friday evening concerning the proposed Rio Bravo RV Resort.
Updated: 5 years ago
After the Fact: If, at first, you don’t succeed
“If you haven’t got time to do it right, when are you going to have time to do it over?”
Updated: 5 years ago
Being Beautiful: Butterflies and bullets just don’t mix
I sat there with tears in the corners of my eyes, first from the joy of looking into their innocent, expectant faces. Then as time went on, the tears took on a very different meaning as I became outraged and terribly afraid.
Updated: 5 years ago
Still Waters: 'Tail' with a happy ending
I like stories with happy endings. Unfortunately, sometimes they start with pretty awful villains, so awful even Disney wouldn’t cast them as villains in their movies.
Updated: 5 years ago
Amarah's Corner: Amarah shares message from Matthew
“Kids like me” are kids, and adults, of all ages, whose parents are drug addicts, and alcoholics; kids who have suffered, or who are suffering, abuse and neglect on multiple levels; and kids who are victims of bullying.
Updated: 5 years ago
Native Writes: Keep the guns, learn the lessons
Once again, people everywhere in our nation are faced with the question of gun control.
Updated: 5 years ago
Land, Water and People: Embracing the diversity of environmental values
“The elk and trout were here first; they’re native,” said the high school boy. “The rancher needs to move the cattle off of the allotment.”
Updated: 5 years ago
Geiger's Culture Counter: Tell me a story
Sports are about the stories. It has always been and always will be.
Updated: 5 years ago
Rabbitbrush Rambler: Pike’s suffering men (Continued)
At the start of the Southwestern Expedition, both its leader Lt. Zebulon Montgomery Pike at age 28 and its surgeon Dr. John Robinson at age 26, were mature men who endured the journey as well as possible.
Updated: 5 years ago
Valley Gardening: Regarding poinsettias and plums
Still no winter to speak of, grateful that Wolf Creek is at a 66” snow depth at the summit.
Updated: 5 years ago
After the Fact: Leaving on a jet plane
It was illegal as all get-out, but it was a very small school district in Northern NM where everyone knew everyone else and half of them were related.
Updated: 5 years ago
Being Beautiful: And the gold medal goes to…
Since I was a little boy, the spins on the ice mesmerized me.
Updated: 5 years ago
Editorial: 'Build it and they will come'
This famous quote from the popular 1989 movie “Field of Dreams”, starring Kevin Costner and James Earl Brown, applies to many future dreams for the San Luis Valley.
Updated: 5 years ago
Amarah shares 'Delany's Poem' again
We’ve had more comments on ‘Delaney’s Poem’ than any other. I want to share it again today because it reveals the heartbreaking reality of addiction and what it does to sons and daughters, innocent babies and children as well as to parents, grandparents, and families
Updated: 5 years ago
Native Writes: Love is commitment
Have you ever awakened with a blank slate as a mind?
Updated: 5 years ago
Geiger's Culture Counter: What to watch, play on Valentine’s Day
Ah Valentine’s Day, the polarizing holiday people love to love or love to hate based on relationship status and opinion on capitalism.
Updated: 5 years ago
Alamosa Trees: Proposed RV resort near golf course raises concerns
I’m closely watching updates regarding the proposed 500-space RV park near the Alamosa golf course.
Updated: 5 years ago
Rabbitbrush Rambler: Pike’s suffering men
Considering the ordeals that Lieutenant Zebulon Pike’s Southwest Expedition endured, it seems important to say more about the personnel who suffered terribly during the events.
Updated: 5 years ago
Valley Gardening: Reminders of how short life is
What a week…starting last Saturday with our “Helping Paws, with Peyton” Bake Sale! Words can’t even begin to express how wonderful the day was! I
Updated: 5 years ago
After the Fact: E=MC2 and H2O
My ex always accused me of wanting to build my bridges so far ahead that, by the time I arrived, the river would have dried up.
Updated: 5 years ago
Movin' On with Nellie: What the world needs now is love
In the 60s, Petula Clark sang “My Love is brighter than the brightest sunshine.” Jackie DeShannon sang “What the World Needs Now.”
Updated: 5 years ago
Being Beautiful: Not an angel, but my angel
She came to me, not like an angel, but as my angel, her embrace just as I remember.
Updated: 5 years ago
Still Waters: Making a spectacle of myself
Forty years ago when I was in high school my folks bought contact lenses for me.
Updated: 5 years ago
Native Writes: The big conspiracy
It’s becoming more difficult to separate fact from fiction as we live each day.
Updated: 5 years ago
Amarah's Corner: Hope offered for pregnant addicts, babies
We have a message from a special friend, Mary Lambert (I love Miss Mary - five-years ago, she was my baby sister’s teacher here in Alamosa).
Updated: 5 years ago
Land, Water and People: Piñon-juniper woodlands—Life zone of many uses
Some of my favorite areas to hike are in the piñon and juniper woodlands that ring the San Luis Valley.
Updated: 5 years ago
Geiger's Culture Counter: The death of hype
Sunday evening something unexpected and monumental happened, and I'm not talking about the Eagles beating the Patriots in the Super Bowl.
Updated: 5 years ago
Rabbitbrush Rambler: The mysterious Dr. Robinson
As always at this time of year, I write something about the expedition of Zebulon Montgomery Pike, and this year I have chosen to consider Pike’s companion, the mysterious Dr. John Hamilton Robinson, the expedition’s surgeon.
Updated: 5 years ago
Valley Gardening: Support Peyton's bake sale today
Is this weather ever going to get cold again? I know we have had nice winters before, but I don’t know that we have ever had it so nice for so long…like really long.
Updated: 5 years ago
Movin' On with Nellie: #MeToo is about bullying
Let’s just say it: The #MeToo movement bringing light to sexual harassment is also therefore about bullying, i.e., workplace bullying.
Updated: 5 years ago
After the Fact: Thanks for the memories
You may not think your life has been exciting enough, different enough or filled with enough wisdom to justify writing a “memoir.”
Updated: 5 years ago
Still Waters: Bottoms up!
Important periods of local history are not always the kind that result in police tape around crime scenes and murder suspects in court.
Updated: 5 years ago
Being Beautiful: Have you visited memory lane lately?
I wish we could go back to the moments in life that seem to stand still in our minds. Like Cher says, “If I could turn back time…”
Updated: 5 years ago
Amarah's Corner: 'D' shares her story
My name starts with a ‘D’ and I grew up in a small town outside of San Luis, CO. My father was an alcoholic and abusive with my mom.
Updated: 5 years ago
Native Writes: Getting straight info
I fell asleep during the State of The Nation speech and am currently trying to piece together what was said.
Updated: 5 years ago
Geiger's Culture Counter: Butterfly in the sky
Facebook reminded me last week that I started Robert Jordan’s “Knife of Dreams” a year ago without completing it. That's not exactly a good pace for a 782-page book.
Updated: 5 years ago
Rabbitbrush Rambler: Holding our breaths
While I was remembering children’s stories lately, it was impossible for me not to think about some of the legends that grownups tell.
Updated: 5 years ago
Movin' On With Nellie: Alcoholism takes its toll on brains and families
If the reader has ever caught Dr. Phil in the afternoons, then she knows that this statement is true to the cell level.
Updated: 5 years ago
After the Fact: Pants on fire
If there was one cardinal sin in my mom’s book, it was telling a lie.
Updated: 5 years ago
Valley Gardening: Shop local please
Wow! I just had a phone call from _____________, telling me that I had said something nice in his defense, while talking to someone at City Market.
Updated: 5 years ago
Being Beautiful: The enduring love of a gentle giant, kisses and all
I have often wondered what goes through her mind when she curls herself into a big ball on the sofa and sleeps, and she does this a lot.
Updated: 5 years ago
Still Waters: Good night, sweet Ebony
Ebony went to sleep on Tuesday evening. She was 13 years old, older than any dog I had ever had.
Updated: 5 years ago
Guest Opinion: Medicaid dental benefit is working
The 2018 Colorado General Assembly started recently, with opening day speeches from Republican and Democrat leaders outlining their priorities for the session.
Updated: 5 years ago
Amarah's Corner: A message to my stepdad
I‘m sick and tired of holding this stuff in. All of my life I’ve held it in but no more.
Updated: 5 years ago
Native Writes: Watching people is my joy
Anyone who knows me already knows I love watching people. This column is for them, as well as those who would like to know what rings my bell.
Updated: 5 years ago
Alamosa Flowers: Dream Garden
REMINDER: The 2018 Seed Exchange is Saturday, Jan. 27, from 2-4 p.m. at Adam State’s Nielsen Library.
Updated: 5 years ago
Geiger's Culture Counter: The never-ending fad of faces
Like a lot of people I spent the other weekend staring at my phone’s camera infatuated with a newly discovered application.
Updated: 5 years ago
Land, Water and People: A drive up Pinos Creek Road
One of my favorite summer and autumn drives is up County Road 14, Pinos Creek Road, which heads southwest from U.S. Highway 160 at the western edge of Del Norte.
Updated: 5 years ago
Rabbitbrush Rambler: Tell me a cuento
Once a month children come to the Alamosa Public Library for story time.
Updated: 5 years ago
After the Fact: The sweet smell of success
“Blue Waltz” was a high dollar perfume, displayed in a heart-shaped bottle and sold in fine stores everywhere.
Updated: 5 years ago
Valley Gardening: Plant flags in Centennial Park
I moved to the Valley in July 1973 from Luverne, MN. What I missed most that first summer was the thunderstorms that used to roll through the Midwest. And now, I am missing the snowstorms!
Updated: 5 years ago
Still Waters: Hug a bowl of popcorn
National Popcorn Day is today (January 19), and the 32nd Annual National Hugging Day is Sunday, January 21. I’m in.
Updated: 5 years ago
Amarah's Corner: Amarah shares emotions, message for 'Sarah'
Hey, kids like me, I thought I would talk about emotions today because that’s what I’ve been thinking about lately.
Updated: 5 years ago
Native Writes: Power in unity
I attended a meeting this week which awakened my belief that people united hold immense power.
Updated: 5 years ago
Geiger's Culture Counter: Colorado comes out on 'Top Chef'
I love cooking shows. I love Colorado. So when I heard that Colorado was going to be the location of season 15 of “Top Chef” I was extremely excited and intrigued.
Updated: 5 years ago
Guest Opinion: A productive year ahead
It is an honor to represent the people of Colorado’s Third Congressional District, and with the second session of the 115th Congress underway I am focused on continuing to advance legislation to build economic opportunities for hardworking Colorado families, protect our nation’s public lands, and guarantee safe and healthy communities.
Updated: 5 years ago
Rabbitbrush Rambler: No Spanish land grants here
Let’s try repeating this statement 10 times, just to help remember it. There were no Spanish land grants in the San Luis Valley.
Updated: 5 years ago
Valley Gardening: Fishing weather?
And…it continues to be dry….and pretty dang warm!
Updated: 5 years ago
After the Fact: Breakfast of champions
Oatmeal is still not high on my list of favorite breakfast foods, regardless how healthy if’s supposed to be.
Updated: 5 years ago
Still Waters: Thank you for the music
Last year my brother-in-law Kevin asked if I would be interested in a musical instrument.
Updated: 5 years ago
Native Writes: The ‘50s weren’t that bad
I was recently asked if I would like to return to the 1950s.
Updated: 5 years ago
Amarah's Corner: Grown-up ‘kid like me’, Delia, shares her story: Part 2
Delia. Part 2 What I swore for years that I would never do - I ended up doing. Heroin destroyed my life growing up and there I was putting my kids through the same thing my mom put me through.
Updated: 5 years ago
Alamosa Flowers: Winter watering decisions
What crazy winter-weather conditions! Last year we had record snowfalls on two days during the first week of January.
Updated: 5 years ago
Geiger's Culture Counter: Pray for snow
It’s 10 days into 2018 and I have yet to go skiing.
Updated: 5 years ago
Land, Water and People: The health benefits of nature
I count myself lucky to have grown up in rural southern New Hampshire. Our house sat on a small one and a half acre lot next to a northern hardwood forest.
Updated: 5 years ago
Rabbitbrush Rambler: Roof over their heads
For more than 30 years La Puente Home has been offering a roof and food for people who needed them desperately.
Updated: 5 years ago
After the Fact: Wedding bells
By the time we were in our 40’s, my friend Sarah had been married seven times.
Updated: 5 years ago
Valley Gardening: In dry winter it's OK to water a little
Wow…where did 2017 go? And where in the heck is winter? Next Tuesday it is supposed to be 54 degrees and the following Tuesday it is supposed to be 54 degrees!
Updated: 5 years ago
Still Waters: Bailey for Christmas
He was the first Christmas present of the weekend, which we were celebrating a week late with my family.
Updated: 5 years ago
Being Beautiful: Remember the lessons of history in 2018
With the New Year’s Eve Champagne barely behind us, 2018 unfolds full of promise and challenge.
Updated: 5 years ago
Amarah's Corner: Grown-up ‘kid like me,’ Delia, shares her story: Part 1
Hey, kids like me! I’m happy to tell you we were able to help about 140 kids like me in the San Luis Valley (SLV) have a better Christmas, 2017.
Updated: 5 years ago
Native Writes: Changing the unremarkable
The new year had a slow start for me. I managed to stay awake until midnight and was glad I did. Neil Diamond led a huge crowd singing “Sweet Caroline” and that led to sweet dreams.
Updated: 5 years ago
Geiger's Culture Counter: We are what they grow beyond
It took 34 years to move away from the colossal shadow of the original “Star Wars” trilogy.
Updated: 5 years ago
Rabbitbrush Rambler: Efficient weight loss
If we lived in Southeast Asia, Africa, or many other places, we would not have to make the nation’s No. 1 Resolution on January 1 to lose weight, as we do here. There, many people stay trim by starving to death.
Updated: 5 years ago
Valley Gardening: I am thankful for …
As we end this year, I have to be thankful!
Updated: 5 years ago
After the Fact: Another New Year’s Eve
It’s been eons since I stayed up on a New Year’s eve long enough to watch the crystal ball drop in Times Square.
Updated: 5 years ago
Still Waters: People who touched my life in 2017
While the nation had no lack of national chaos and scandal in 2017, we plunged and plodded through our ordinary lives in this high mountain valley.
Updated: 5 years ago
Amarah's Corner: Amarah shares special column from 2017
Today’s column is the last one for the year, 2017, and I want to re-share a special column that spoke volumes to me from July of this year.
Updated: 5 years ago
Native Writes: Entering 2018 as an old woman
When I was 18, I couldn’t imagine going into the year 2018 or 2000, for that matter.
Updated: 5 years ago
Land, Water and People: Icescapes abound when there is little snow
It’s mid-December as I write this and the snowpack is a bit on the light side.
Updated: 5 years ago
Alamosa Flowers: Berries for wildlife
Happy New Year! It seems we have a lot of birds in Alamosa this winter.
Updated: 5 years ago
Geiger's Culture Counter: An ode to the internet
Earlier this month the Federal Communications Commission voted to strip away protections preventing broadband providers from throttling, blocking or otherwise restricting websites and content.
Updated: 5 years ago
Rabbitbrush Rambler: Read a great book
I have just read a fascinating new book about wolves that is sure to be popular among many of the Valley’s recreational enthusiasts, environmentalists, biology students, farmers and rancher, and wildlife managers.
Updated: 5 years ago
Valley Gardening: Support for cancer fund is amazing
Life is good in the neighborhood! Our fifth annual Memories and Reflections celebration was held on this past Tuesday.
Updated: 5 years ago
After the Fact: A Christmas carol
Father Brown (of the BBC mystery series) was chided by the bishop for a poor performance by the children in the Christmas pageant the previous year.
Updated: 5 years ago
Still Waters: Is the door locked?
“We should have locked the door,” I heard from the other room as I rang the bell at the front office of the homeless shelter’s outreach office around 4 p.m. one day last week.
Updated: 5 years ago
Being Beautiful: High kicks and modest kisses in a winter wonderland
I’m dreaming of a White Christmas, even though technically I have already had one.
Updated: 5 years ago
Guest Opinion: Giving rural Colorado the same opportunity for financial success
There are many challenges facing hard-working families trying to maintain their way of life in rural America, but one of their greatest obstacles may be lack of access to a physical bank or credit union.
Updated: 5 years ago
Native Writes: Message of the muff
After talking with a friend yesterday, there was temptation to stop on Main Street, roll down a car window and listen.
Updated: 5 years ago
Amarah's Corner: Amarah shares the Christmas story
Hey kids like me, today I want to share the true Christmas Story (Luke 2:1, 3-20, KJV) about the birth of Baby Jesus.
Updated: 5 years ago
Geiger's Culture Counter: Holiday Gift Guide 2017: Games
‘Tis the season to find a special gift for friends, family members and loved ones. As a young culture connoisseur I am frequently asked for recommendations on the latest and greatest things. For this final part in the series I recommend six video games and one board game that came out in 2017.
Updated: 5 years ago
Rabbitbrush Rambler: Christmas togetherness
Activities have been building up to Christmas with joy-aplenty.
Updated: 5 years ago
Valley Gardening: A night for Dad
Well…winter was here on Thursday…and now it’s gone again.
Updated: 5 years ago
After the Fact: Progress isn’t always
My grandfather was the world’s fastest typist, or so I thought when I’d watch him banging out a story on his old upright Royal typewriter, just before deadline at the Santa Fe New Mexican.
Updated: 5 years ago
Being Beautiful: Twelve days of springtime
It was a few weeks before Christmas in 1981 and all the halls of Richton Elementary School came alive with handmade Santa Clauses made from construction paper, scissors and glitter.
Updated: 5 years ago
Help make Christmas better for ‘kids like me’
Hey, kids like me! Where are you? I am looking for YOU! Parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, foster parents, caretakers of kids like me - we have some good things for kids like me this Christmas!
Updated: 5 years ago
Native Writes: Fighting the big bug
Somehow, I allowed myself to catch a bug. It’s either the “thing that’s going around” or something different.
Updated: 5 years ago
Geiger's Culture Counter: Holiday Gift Guide 2017: Movies
‘Tis the season to find a special gift for friends, family members and loved ones. As a young culture connoisseur I am frequently asked for recommendations on the latest and greatest things.
Updated: 5 years ago
Land, Water and People: Public comments vary about the draft forest plan
As many readers know, the Rio Grande National Forest released its draft land management plan and environmental impact statement at the end of September.
Updated: 5 years ago
Rabbitbrush Rambler: Put Mother Earth on your gift list
Mother Earth needs the gift of our care.
Updated: 5 years ago
Valley Gardening: Like people, Zygos offer winter blooms under right conditions
Life is good in the neighborhood! I am a year older, and I think I just might start acting my age—not really!
Updated: 5 years ago
After the Fact: Oldies but goodies
Patience, the newly minted 10 year-old, asked, “Grandma (though I’m actually “Great-grandmother”), when were you born?”
Updated: 5 years ago
Being Beautiful: Of miniature marshmallows and times gone by
Just last night while lying in bed with my Great Dane, flannel pajamas and the classic holiday movie “A Christmas Carol” playing, I sipped hot chocolate from my favorite Rudolph mug, the one with the chip on it.
Updated: 5 years ago
Still Waters: In His hands
God’s hand was in it from the beginning, although it probably did not seem like it when mamma was throwing up for so many hours the weekend after Thanksgiving.
Updated: 5 years ago
Amarah's Corner: Amarah shares application for ‘kids like me’
Please, help me help kids like me have Christmas this year! Do you know a kid like me who needs help for Christmas
Updated: 5 years ago
Native Writes: Generations of love
A friend just posted photos of a newborn girl – his first grandchild -- on social media. What a wonderful gift to the world!
Updated: 5 years ago
Alamosa Flowers: Winter container gardening
In Alamosa, I move several plant containers indoors over the winter months.
Updated: 5 years ago
Geiger's Culture Counter: Holiday Gift Guide 2017: Books
‘Tis the season to find a special gift for friends, family members and loved ones.
Updated: 5 years ago
Rabbitbrush Rambler: The countdown
Of the many ways to count down to Christmas, the most popular one is marking off the days until Santa and his reindeer lift off from the North Pole.
Updated: 5 years ago
Valley Gardening: Time to pray for snow
Where has the month of November gone? And where is the snow?
Updated: 5 years ago
After the Fact: Closing the gate
You’ve heard the expression about closing the barn door after the horse has bolted?
Updated: 5 years ago
Being Beautiful: Friends beat out toys and tractors as Christmas gifts
My Christmas list to Santa reads quite differently than the one I penned under the supervision of my third-grade teacher, Mrs. Jeffcoats, all those years ago.
Updated: 5 years ago
Still Waters: Laughter in the neighborhood
I heard laughter outside in the street, children’s laughter. It was a good sound.
Updated: 5 years ago
Amarah's Corner: Grandma cares for grandkids whose parents are addicts
Hey, kids like me! I received a letter from a grandmother who is raising her grandchildren who are kids like me and I wanted to share it with you.
Updated: 6 years ago
Native Writes: Love doesn't die
Someone once observed that one always remembers, even with a special affection, the neighborhood children one once played with.
Updated: 6 years ago
Geiger's Culture Counter: Holiday Gift Guide 2017 — Comics
For the next month my column will be devoted to giving you my picks on what 2017 has to offer. First up are some of this year's best comic books.
Updated: 6 years ago
Land, Water and People: Are you up for the black and white challenge?
I stepped out of my truck at a pullout within the Bureau of Land Management’s Rio Grande Natural Area.
Updated: 6 years ago
Rabbitbrush Rambler: Tomorrow’s junque
The president returned to the White House from China with the gift of a valuable gold table runner. With his penchant for gilt in his residences, a gold table runner should be just the thing.
Updated: 6 years ago
Valley Gardening: Taking care of puppies and business
Another beautiful week! Loved being able to take my 3-week old puppies outside on Thanksgiving.
Updated: 6 years ago
After the Fact: Trial and many, many errors
Buying anything that’s not manufactured in the USA requires knowledge of a foreign language or two, or three.
Updated: 6 years ago
Being Beautiful: Star of wonder, star of light
“Look at lights! Look at lights!”
Updated: 6 years ago
Native Writes: Look on the bright side
The time has come for all of us to give thanks.
Updated: 6 years ago
Amarah's Corner: Kids Like Me toy, food, clothing drive underway
Hey, kids like me! I can hardly believe it’s that time of year, again! What time is that? It’s time for our annual Kids Like Me Toy/Food/Warm Clothing Drive!
Updated: 6 years ago
Still Waters: Cherish every moment
During this holiday season — and forever — cherish time with those you love.
Updated: 6 years ago
Geiger's Culture Counter: Putting the humor into the hero
Comics used to be silly. As a child I spent my Saturdays watching the imaginative and outlandish animated adventures of the X-Men, Batman and the Teen Titans.
Updated: 6 years ago
Alamosa Trees: Trees are included in revamped zoning code
I am so glad that the City of Alamosa is revamping the zoning code.
Updated: 6 years ago
Rabbitbrush Rambler: Before American turkey dinners
Before supermarkets sold frozen turkey and aluminum roasting pans, the Mayans of Central America were domesticating wild turkeys.
Updated: 6 years ago
Valley Gardening: Of plants and Peytons
It continues to be a beautiful fall with next week temperatures in the 50’s and the nights in the balmy 20’s. So nice!
Updated: 6 years ago
After the Fact: Thanksgiving
Dinner with the in-laws was always preceded by a lot of heavy-duty, Southern Baptist, down-home blessing and Amen-ing.
Updated: 6 years ago
Still Waters: Thankfully speaking
Entering the Thanksgiving holiday, I share some thoughts from folks more profound than I am to remind us to always keep a grateful perspective.
Updated: 6 years ago
Being Beautiful: Does anyone have any extra fairy dust?
There are so many things I miss about Thanksgiving now that the light in my little stone cottage on Dykes Chapel Road has dimmed.
Updated: 6 years ago
Amarah's Corner: Judge's words provide dose of reality
I found a dose-of-reality for a ‘kids-like-me’ dad a few months ago and I believe it should be shared again.
Updated: 6 years ago
Native Writes: Run, women, run
If reincarnation exists, I know I lived in the Victorian and Late Victorian eras, when too much was not enough.
Updated: 6 years ago
Geiger's Culture Counter: It had a name and it made joy
Last week marked the end of an era for Colorado’s music scene. After 11 years of performing wondrous melodies, Paper Bird announced their farewell tour.
Updated: 6 years ago
Land, Water and People: Rediscovering the Needles
It was quiet. Really, really quiet.
Updated: 6 years ago
Rabbitbrush Rambler: Navajo neighbors
Readers might have noticed a recent newspaper item about The Navajo Nation’s purchase of Wolf Springs Ranch in the Wet Mountain Valley, across the Sangre de Cristo Range from our San Luis Valley.
Updated: 6 years ago
Valley Gardening: Hemp, hemp hooray
Life is good in the neighborhood! You all know how much I love Peyton Sanchez. He’s my absolute hero!
Updated: 6 years ago
After the Fact: Veterans’ Day
Today is Veterans’ Day. So far, I’ve started writing this column about four times.
Updated: 6 years ago
Still Waters: Honoring a hero
It’s just a little spot by the highway at the edge of a small town with a gas station on one side of the road and a post office on the other.
Updated: 6 years ago
Being Beautiful: “Outside of a dog, a book is man’s best friend…”
Well, that’s according to Groucho Marks. This much I know: the books we read while children stay with us our whole lives.
Updated: 6 years ago
Amarah's Corner: Pianist shares personal journey
My friend, Mr. Randy Macy, is the most awesome pianist, ever. I met him when I sang in the off Broadway play, “Opening Night” written by another special friend, Corliss Taylor Dunn!
Updated: 6 years ago
Native Writes: Gun control is a family matter
We send our children to school believing it is a safe place and then we go to worship in a church, which also must be safe, right?
Updated: 6 years ago
Geiger's Culture Counter: It isn't trivial
If you’ve read this column at least once before then it should come as no surprise that I’m a big nerd.
Updated: 6 years ago
Alamosa Trees: Have you ever barked up the wrong tree?
As I write it is very windy outside so I wandered my mind, rather than outdoors Alamosa, looking for a column idea.
Updated: 6 years ago
Guest Opinion: A proactive approach to forest management
This summer, scenes of catastrophic wildfires in the West dominated the news. While wildfires are not new to those of us living in Western states, these recent fires have once more triggered important conversations about the federal government’s response to these disasters and its overall forest management strategy, or lack thereof.
Updated: 6 years ago
Rabbitbrush Rambler: Japanese settlement
At present, the San Luis Valley’s diverse cultural traditions are receiving increasing appreciation, thanks to this region’s Sangre de Cristo National Heritage Area.
Updated: 6 years ago
Valley Gardening: Gardening in November
Every Thursday afternoon, for about two years now (if my memory serves me right), Jenny Kroschel has come to the Green Spot to hang out, and sometimes we even get some work done.
Updated: 6 years ago
After the Fact: Home grown
Boys eat a lot. Boys eat prodigious amounts of food from dawn ‘til past dark.
Updated: 6 years ago
Still Waters: Drive through etiquette
It had been a long, tough week, I had been struggling with a cold, and a strawberry smoothie from McDonald’s sounded good to me.
Updated: 6 years ago
Amarah's Corner: Randy Macy shares why music is important
Hey, kids like me! My friend, Mr. Randy Macy, is the most awesome pianist, ever!
Updated: 6 years ago
Native Writes: My peaceful place
I was gratified to see that there will be a new office – with restrooms – at the Alamosa Cemetery.
Updated: 6 years ago
Geiger's Culture Counter: Murder on the mind
As a genre, true crime has been around for at least a century. Yet within the past few years there has been a surge of the gruesome and grotesque tales across all media.
Updated: 6 years ago
Land, Water and People: Deciphering the draft forest plan
The Rio Grande National Forest released its draft land management plan and environmental impact statement at the end of September.
Updated: 6 years ago
Rabbitbrush Rambler: Playing safe
When the World Series started this year, I was off base.
Updated: 6 years ago
Valley Gardening: B&B is not bed and breakfast for trees
What’s great about this small town is the people!
Updated: 6 years ago
After the Fact: Untimely ends
They say there are four seasons in the San Luis Valley: Almost Winter, Winter, Still Winter and Road Construction.
Updated: 6 years ago
Being Beautiful: Bubble Gum and Tootsie Rolls for Wonder Woman and the Wolf Man
My mind is a cauldron of memories bubbling over, especially appropriate for Halloween.
Updated: 6 years ago
Amarah's Corner: Pianist Randy Macy—Music nurtures the spirit
Hey, kids like me! My friend, Mr. Randy Macy, is the most awesome pianist, ever, and I met him when I got to sing in the off Broadway play, “Opening Night” written by another special friend, Corliss Taylor Dunn!
Updated: 6 years ago
Native Writes: Conspiracies and facts
Seeking information about a particular “hot button” item, I received an introduction on how conspiracy theories are created.
Updated: 6 years ago
Alamosa Trees: Do trees sleep and hibernates?
We’re entering into the darker and colder time of the year in Alamosa. I know I’ve started pulling out warmer clothing and want to linger longer in bed in the morning greyness.
Updated: 6 years ago
Spooky on the small screen
Christmas has the classic flicks, Thanksgiving has football and Halloween has horror movies. Yet why limit yourself next week to only watching theatrical releases?
Updated: 6 years ago
Rabbitbrush Rambler: La Veta Pass
The first time I crossed La Veta Pass in 1959, I was riding on a bus that wheezed to a stop at a rustic, two-story bus station-restroom-café on top of the pass before continuing down Sangre de Cristo Creek to the San Luis Valley.
Updated: 6 years ago
Valley Gardening: If I could vote on these ballot issues …
I’m a little nervous this week, maybe even a LOT nervous. I’m going to write about a couple of the election items for Alamosa.
Updated: 6 years ago
After the Fact: On my way to the forum
Over coffee the other morning at the Alamosa Sr. Center, the Golden Girls were discussing writing their “memoirs.”
Updated: 6 years ago
Still Waters: Reputations: Fragile, handle with care
A reputation can be a lifetime in the making and a few moments in the breaking.
Updated: 6 years ago
Being Beautiful: The price of education and the cost of not learning
My daddy was the eldest of 13 siblings born far in the backwoods of Mississippi with a hard life to navigate from his earliest days.
Updated: 6 years ago
Amarah's Corner: Symposium provided great information
Hey, kids like me! I attended the 2017 Neonatal Substance Exposure Awareness Symposium IV in Alamosa last Thursday and Friday.
Updated: 6 years ago
Native Writes: The truth will keep us free
Someone recently asked me what I would do if the government subpoenaed my emails.
Updated: 6 years ago
Geiger's Culture Counter: Abolish the ceiling
The Harvey Weinstein news is only the latest scandal to highlight the long history of toxic masculinity and gender inequality in entertainment.
Updated: 6 years ago
Land, Water and People: Fall colors—New England versus Colorado
The reflection of the brilliant ruby red maple and wooden covered bridge shimmered in the smooth, slow moving river glide.
Updated: 6 years ago
Rabbitbrush Rambler: Sangre de Cristo Pass
After writing about Robidoux/Mosca Pass last week, I’ll move south today to Sangre de Cristo Pass on the eastern flank of the Blanca Peak massif.
Updated: 6 years ago
Valley Gardening: 'Hops' to it and get involved
Last week I mentioned that we would be having a small bake sale, spaghetti dinner (Jaiden Rogers) ticket sales and free coffee and apple cider today from 10 to 2.
Updated: 6 years ago
After the Fact: The joys of childhood
My young friend, Teri Leep, just had her tonsils removed.
Updated: 6 years ago
Still Waters: Thank you, Calvary Bible Chapel ‘girls’
Thirty years. That’s how long the ladies at Calvary Bible Chapel have been hosting women’s conferences in their Alamosa church.
Updated: 6 years ago
Being Beautiful: How are you today? I really want to know…
We need more simple acts of random kindness.
Updated: 6 years ago
Amarah's Corner: Mom wishes she could turn clock back
Hey, kids like me! I had the privilege to ask questions of some mothers in Alamosa County Jail about their struggle with addiction. Today is the 10th story.
Updated: 6 years ago
Geiger's Culture Counter: Time is fleeting
As an introvert who is content with staying in and reading all day I sometimes struggle a little with making social plans.
Updated: 6 years ago
Rabbitbrush Rambler: Mosca Pass or Robidoux Pass? Part II
Throughout the 1830s and in the early 1840s, travel increased through this pass. What Spanish-speaking settlers had long called “Mosca,” but traders and trappers began to call it “Robidoux Pass” as they were using it to access Fort Uncompahgre and others places farther west.
Updated: 6 years ago
Valley Gardening: Plants and people benefit from being outside
What a beautiful fall! I’m still working on planting shrubs into Mom’s Garden and also at Society Hall, so the moisture has been absolutely wonderful.
Updated: 6 years ago
After the Fact: Good old golden school days
Spell-check, that computer generated censor of words it doesn’t recognize, consistently tells me that “serendipitously” is NOT a word.
Updated: 6 years ago
Being Beautiful: With liberty and justice for all
“O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave…”
Updated: 6 years ago
Still Waters: Sweet dreams, Boca Burger
I had already told my coworker Julia I would take the male dog she had rescued from an abusive situation but could not keep because her grandson, who lived with her, was allergic.
Updated: 6 years ago
Native Writes: Thanks for the memories
As I grow older, I cherish more the times spent in the Alamosa schools, first with my sons and now with my grandchildren.
Updated: 6 years ago
Amarah's Corner: Please attend drug awareness symposium
Today would have been the 10th story with Christina, but something really important is happening in a couple of weeks and I wanted to tell you about it ahead of time in hopes you will attend!
Updated: 6 years ago
Land, Water and People: A cold night in the mountains
“Geez, this is heavy! What do you have in your pack Miiiike?” asked my friend with his southern drawl.
Updated: 6 years ago
Geiger's Culture Counter: Twitter doesn’t understand itself
Last week Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey revealed that their service would unshackle itself from the iconic 140-character message limit to 280 characters.
Updated: 6 years ago
Alamosa Flowers: Where do florist flowers come from?
Our recent low temperatures and high winds have mostly wiped out the flowers in my yard.
Updated: 6 years ago
Native Writes: Mosca Pass or Robidoux Pass? Part 1
Some historians have suggested that Mosca Pass’s Spanish name honors an explorer in Texas, Luis de Moscoso Alvarado of the 1500s.
Updated: 6 years ago
Valley Gardening: Keep the blooms, not the bugs
Where should I start? I guess I need to talk a little bit about the budget meeting the City of Alamosa held on this past Wednesday.
Updated: 6 years ago
After the Fact: Flight plans
My grandmother was a world-class backseat driver.
Updated: 6 years ago
Still Waters: Jamie and Joleen lead the way
Jamie Dominguez was fed up with the drug use in his community, so he did something about it.
Updated: 6 years ago
Being Beautiful: Tales of Ferris wheels, funnel cakes, and first cousins galore
The fair is coming to town!
Updated: 6 years ago
Amarah's Corner: Amarah shares Kendra's story
Hey, kids like me! I had the privilege to ask questions of some mothers in Alamosa County Jail about their struggle with addiction.
Updated: 6 years ago
Native Writes: The NFL protest isn't worth a war
I love watching football, not just any football, but the Broncos, Maroons and all SLV grid teams, along with the ASU Grizzlies.
Updated: 6 years ago
Geiger's Culture Counter: Fall TV doesn’t need to be good
35, 52 and 36. Those are the respective scores for television shows “Marvel’s Inhumans,” “Me, Myself and I,” and “The Orville” on Metacritic, which averages a bevy of critic’s reviews and places them on a 100-point scale.
Updated: 6 years ago
Rabbitbrush Rambler: Crossing Marshall Pass
With National Public Lands Day coming up on September 29, this weekend will be a good time to pause and appreciate our national forests along with our other public lands.
Updated: 6 years ago
Valley Gardening: Spray weeds now for a better spring
Well…the Raise the Roof Celebration last Saturday at Society Hall was wonderful, absolutely great and fun, and well organized—if I do say so myself.
Updated: 6 years ago
After the Fact: On the back of the milk carton
With little to no interest in genealogy, I attempted an artistic interpretation of my family tree for my infant (then) daughter’s baby book.
Updated: 6 years ago
Still Waters: Family, friends and neighbors
I had the rare and wonderful opportunity to go to Denver last weekend to be with my two sisters.
Updated: 6 years ago
Being Beautiful: Tethering hot air balloons, loosely
There has always been more than a little bit of Peter Pan in me.
Updated: 6 years ago
Native Writes: Organizing by the book
Sometimes it’s best to remain ignorant.
Updated: 6 years ago
Amarah's Corner: Mom: I pray my kids learn from my mistakes
Hey, kids like me! I had the privilege to ask questions of some mothers in Alamosa County Jail about their struggle with addiction. Today is the 8th story:
Updated: 6 years ago
Land, Water and People: Savoring the journey
Clusters of vibrant red berries contrasted boldly with yellowing leaves below a skeletal ceiling of spruce branches.
Updated: 6 years ago
Geiger's Culture Counter: How the realest TV show features a cartoon horse
This has been the fourth summer in a row where I’ve watched a cartoon about a horse that for roughly six hours sends me on a rollercoaster of emotions. Each season I brace for melancholic impact and by the end I’m glad I took the journey.
Updated: 6 years ago
Alamosa Trees: Forest bathing
I had never heard the term ‘forest bathing’ until I stood in the old growth forest in MacMillan Park on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada last month.
Updated: 6 years ago
Rabbitbrush Rambler: Harvest time
Several years ago in Jordan I saw a man winnowing grain as people did in ancient times.
Updated: 6 years ago
After the Fact: Abracadabra
It was advertised as “Non-Hypnotic Past-Life Regression.”
Updated: 6 years ago
Valley Gardening: Grateful for changing seasons
Fall is definitely coming—YAHOO! I can’t even imagine living in an area where it never freezes.
Updated: 6 years ago
Being Beautiful: To persist or to aggravate?
Southerners know it all too well, the lush green vine that coils, winds, and climbs over everything in its path from trees to houses--Kudzu.
Updated: 6 years ago
Native Writes: Life’s lessons
My life is a process of constant education. I learn something new every day and sometimes two or three times a day.
Updated: 6 years ago
Amarah's Corner: Mom: Addiction hurts everyone
I had the privilege to ask questions of some mothers in Alamosa County Jail about their struggle with addiction. Today is the 7th story:
Updated: 6 years ago
Geiger's Culture Counter: 13 down, 41 to go
Since graduating high school I’ve tried to summit at least one 14,000-foot mountain in Colorado, also known as a 14er, once per summer.
Updated: 6 years ago
Rabbitbrush Rambler: Ag education
Although I have always been a town-dweller, I learn a lot by reading articles in the Courier about urban gardening projects in our local schools and communities and also the interesting articles written by our extension agents.
Updated: 6 years ago
After the Fact: Observing holidays
When there are younger brothers or sisters in a family, you get to practice essential parenting skills long before you actually become a parent.
Updated: 6 years ago
Valley Gardening: Tough plants — and people — always come back
Wow! How did we ever even live without the Internet? And no phone service?
Updated: 6 years ago
Being Beautiful: Heaven must surely have a special place for dogs
All dogs go to Heaven, and you will never convince me otherwise.
Updated: 6 years ago
Still Waters: Prayer for my sister
Please bless my big sister Beth today on her birthday.
Updated: 6 years ago
Amarah's Corner: Mom shares dreams of a better life
Hey, kids like me! I had the privilege to ask questions of some mothers in Alamosa County Jail about their struggle with addiction.
Updated: 6 years ago
Native Writes: God save us all
I was fairly young when the Korean War took place; in fact, I was unaware until I became a college student that the war really never ended.
Updated: 6 years ago
Geiger's Culture Counter: The gang’s all here
Nostalgia-fueled executives are creating reboots, remakes and reunion shows left and right.
Updated: 6 years ago
Land, Water and People: Kudos to the Saguache-Upper Rio Grande Resource Advisory Committee
Finally! Finally, the stars aligned, the moon passed in front of the sun, and the Saguache-Upper Rio Grande Resource Advisory Committee met to recommend a half million dollars’ worth of projects that will benefit the Rio Grande, San Juan and San Isabel National Forests.
Updated: 6 years ago
Rabbitbrush Rambler: After Labor Day
After the summer fun, it’s time to get back to school or to get back to work. Or to try to find a job
Updated: 6 years ago
Valley Gardening: Plants outwitting people & vice versa
Life is good in the neighborhood! I had a customer come in this week looking for a concrete angel.
Updated: 6 years ago
After the Fact: Unconventional wisdom
Good writing is like great art: there are some masterpieces that simply take your breath away. It resonates with something that’s personal to you and may be entirely lost on someone else.
Updated: 6 years ago
Still Waters: Chevy Prizm, RIP
I am the stereotypical woman when it comes to cars.
Updated: 6 years ago
Being Beautiful: Walking a mile in someone else’s shoes
The peacock rests in shards of broken glass.
Updated: 6 years ago
Native Writes: Good people everywhere
In the course of nearly 50 years in journalism, I have seen and covered so many instances of humans’ inhumanity to fellow humans, my ability to trust has been damaged, at best.
Updated: 6 years ago
Amarah's Corner: Mom shares painful story
I was privileged to ask questions of some mothers in Alamosa County Jail about their struggle with addiction.
Updated: 6 years ago
'Half-Life' is dead, long live 'Half-Life'
A decade of waiting is finally over.
Updated: 6 years ago
Rabbitbrush Rambler: Natural events
Last week when eclipse-chasers were zooming down the highway, I hoped that a few slowed down long enough to notice the wildflowers.
Updated: 6 years ago
Valley Gardening: Great time of year to spray weeds
Life is good! Be thankful for what you have, stop what you are doing and sit on the floor with your grandchild, or go see an older neighbor, or go out to the nursing home—no doubt you will know someone who would appreciate a visit. Just do it!
Updated: 6 years ago
After the Fact: Getting around to it
“When I retire, I’m going to” (fill in the blanks here). We spend more time planning for the future than actually doing anything with it when it arrives.
Updated: 6 years ago
Still Waters: Too many rocks
“Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone …” (John 8:7, NIV) There seem to be a lot of people in this country right now with rocks in their pockets.
Updated: 6 years ago
Amarah's Corner: Janee shares story of struggle, hope
I had the privilege to ask questions of some mothers in Alamosa County Jail because of their struggle with addiction. Today is the fifth story:
Updated: 6 years ago
Native Writes: Finding myself
The young woman was sitting in a yoga position on a mountain rock as I approached.
Updated: 6 years ago
Geiger's Culture Counter: Don’t be afraid to condemn
Recently Trump was hesitant to denounce neo-Nazis and white supremacists. However, the president shouldn’t have to second-guess if he should say that Nazis aren’t good, neo- or otherwise.
Updated: 6 years ago
Land, Water and People: The art of strolling
The pullout at the Crater Lake trailhead was full, so I drove on, turned around at a wide spot and drove back past the trailhead to another parking area near Elwood Cabin.
Updated: 6 years ago
Guest Opinion: Legislator Valdez welcomes state fair
With less than one week to the opening of the 145th Colorado State Fair in Pueblo, we look forward to the tourists that are attracted to our city, not only from within our state but, from all over the US to participate in the agricultural and cultural events and programs.
Updated: 6 years ago
Guest Opinion: County jail conditions are shocking
It is often said that you can judge a society by how it treats its prisoners. We are failing that test in Alamosa County, despite the concerted efforts of Sheriff Robert Jackson and county leaders.
Updated: 6 years ago
Rabbitbrush Rambler: Sheep in national forest
In times gone by, when I was hiking or 4-wheeling near the Continental Divide, I sometimes saw flocks of sheep with herders and dogs or a horseman bringing supplies up to a camp.
Updated: 6 years ago
K.C. at Bat: Must see for small businesses
Every small business owner in the San Luis Valley needs to see Creede Repertory Theatre’s latest production “General Store.”
Updated: 6 years ago
Valley Gardening: Low EIQ is good for gardens
Where in the heck has this summer gone? Before we turn around, it will be Labor Day and the hundreds of cars for the Early Iron show will be cruising through town—less than two weeks away!
Updated: 6 years ago
After the Fact: To sea food or to not sea food
Have I lately mentioned my granddaughter, Jordyn the Gypsy?
Updated: 6 years ago
Movin' On with Nellie: It’s national soft ice cream day, today
According to the Internet it is national soft ice cream day today.
Updated: 6 years ago
Being Beautiful: Turn up the radio and turn down memory lane
What has the magic power to transport us through space and time back to a moment, whether happy or sad?
Updated: 6 years ago
Still Waters: Happy 65th anniversary, Mamma and Daddy
She was invited to a welcome home party for a college kid she didn’t know. Since she didn’t have other plans that night, Teresa Arlene Pointer went to the surprise party
Updated: 6 years ago
Guest Opinion: Celebrating World Breastfeeding Month—One woman's heartfelt story
A breastfeeding journey brings many unforeseen circumstances.
Updated: 6 years ago
Amarah's Corner: Amarah shares Renee's story of addiction
Hey, kids like me! I had the privilege to ask questions of some mothers who are in Alamosa County Jail because of their struggle with addiction.
Updated: 6 years ago
Native Writes: It's not a matter of black and white
I am constantly amazed at the attempts of well-meaning persons to revise history.
Updated: 6 years ago
Alamosa Trees: How to kill a tree
Usually, we don’t set out to kill a tree unless we need it removed for a specific reason.
Updated: 6 years ago
Geiger's Culture Counter: We need less streaming sites, not more
It’s not news that many people my age prefer streaming shows and movies to watching live television.
Updated: 6 years ago
Rabbitbrush Rambler: Counting sheep
Looking at some of today’s communities, it’s hard to imagine the influence that sheep once had on their economies a century ago.
Updated: 6 years ago
After the Fact: The last place you look
Dr. Grigsby is a terrific cardiologist at San Luis Valley Health, even if he seldom agrees with my own diagnoses.
Updated: 6 years ago
Still Waters: Local couple change immigrant’s life
I will share more of Maria Matias’ story when I have time to do it justice, but today I want to acknowledge the influence a local couple had on her life.
Updated: 6 years ago
Being Beautiful: My fountain of youth has run dry
Mark Twain might have said it best: “Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.” Well, Mark, lately it’s beginning to matter.
Updated: 6 years ago
Native Writes: Using up the roll
The death of Glen Campbell from Alzheimer’s brought a message of mortality for many people who are aging.
Updated: 6 years ago
Amarah's Corner: Mom in jail shares her story, advice
Hey, kids like me! I had the privilege to ask questions of some mothers who are in Alamosa County Jail because of their struggle with addiction. Today is the third story:
Updated: 6 years ago
Geiger's Culture Counter: Why I'm thankful for the wacky and weird
Not everything needs to be a prestige television show like “Mad Men” or “Breaking Bad.” Not everything should be. I may lose my sanity if that was the case.
Updated: 6 years ago
Land, Water and People: The perpetual spruce budworm outbreak
It’s hard to miss the impacts of the feeding frenzy currently occurring on many of the coniferous trees in the mid-elevations of the Rio Grande National Forest.
Updated: 6 years ago
Rabbitbrush Rambler: Storing railcars
While some rail fans were visiting this summer, they asked me about a long string of railroad cars they had passed along U.S. 160 in Rio Grande County. I had to admit that I knew little about them, although I frequently pass them, so I’ll share a little o
Updated: 6 years ago
Guest opinion: Mom brings awareness to sepsis threat
My name is Shawna Manzanares. With school just around the corner, and September being the official month for “Sepsis Awareness,” I would like to bring a bit of knowledge and awareness to the community about sepsis and what devastation it can and does caus
Updated: 6 years ago
Valley Gardening: Lift up 4-H 'pool,' take down weeds
Life is good in the neighborhood! Mom’s Garden continues to take shape.
Updated: 6 years ago
After the Fact: Hi-Yo, sister, away!
According to some studies, people in a group or in a family will accept roles either ascribed to them or fitting into a situational experience.
Updated: 6 years ago
Still Waters: ‘Strange inheritance’ might reveal treasure – or not
My big sister and her husband turned me on to “Strange Inheritance,” a television show focusing on exactly what it says, “strange inheritances.”
Updated: 6 years ago
Being Beautiful: Homes are where the heart is
I have always heard you can never go home again. Well, that’s simply not true, although I do understand the more subtle meaning.
Updated: 6 years ago
Native Writes: A little old lady
A photo taken at a very happy reunion recently taught me that I may be in line for a new career.
Updated: 6 years ago
Amarah's Corner: Jail inmate shares her story
Two of my favorite quotes are from French author Alexandre Dumas, 1844, in The Count of Monte Cristo
Updated: 6 years ago
Alamosa Flowers: Herb harvesting
The late July rain has made our yard green and lush. I’m spending little time watering and more time weeding! But weeding isn’t the only happening. It’s herb harvest time.
Updated: 6 years ago
Geiger's Culture Counter: Farewell Adobe Flash
Last week software company Adobe announced that they’d be killing off their famous animation product Flash. While I’m glad to no longer see that annoying red square asked to be updated when it was just updated, Flash had an enormous impact on internet cul
Updated: 6 years ago
Rabbitbrush Rambler: Governor McIntire
It’s Colorado Day and what better time is there to learn something about one of our state’s governors with a link to the San Luis Valley.
Updated: 6 years ago
Valley Gardening: It's looking good in Mom's Garden
Already the end of July—Yikes! Where has this summer gone?
Updated: 6 years ago
After the Fact: Kindergarten was better
It wouldn’t have the same barb it once had to be told “Your momma wears Army boots!”
Updated: 6 years ago
Movin' On with Nellie: A glance at ADA Service Animal requirements
Strangers and friends sometimes stop me with my service animal/dog and ask how one trains and gets a service animal certified.
Updated: 6 years ago
Still Waters: Inventions of the bizarre nature
I really shouldn’t be saying anything, because the news is embargoed until Wednesday, August 2, but I’m going to let the salt out of the shaker
Updated: 6 years ago
Being Beautiful: The past is never dead; it isn’t even past
When I was a little boy, Mama told me stories of sights and wonders she had seen.
Updated: 6 years ago
Native Writes: A demanding relationship
I just discovered I am in a long-term relationship created online.
Updated: 6 years ago
Amarah's Corner: Amarah shares story from inmate with addiction
Hey, kids like me! I had the privilege to ask questions of some mothers in Alamosa County Jail who are there because of their struggle with addiction. Today
Updated: 6 years ago
Land, Water and People: High Country Journal 2017—Backpacking Canyon Verde
The flash of lightning penetrated the walls of my tent and closed eyelids followed by a loud clap of thunder that rolled on and on echoing between the canyon walls. Then the rain started.
Updated: 6 years ago
Geiger's Culture Counter: Teaching with television
Educational television has existed long before I was born.
Updated: 6 years ago
Rabbitbrush Rambler: Nearby Chimney Rock National Monument
Several years ago, some friends in Alamosa and I enjoyed a one-day outing over and back across Wolf Creek Pass to visit Chimney Rock.
Updated: 6 years ago
Valley Gardening: Beware of loopers and looters
Life is good in the neighborhood! Our tire planters are looking great—and they don’t even break if someone backs into them
Updated: 6 years ago
After the Fact: Campaign promises
My life is filled with controversy: should I have my oatmeal with or without the banana on top this morning?
Updated: 6 years ago
Still Waters: Need a new name?
“Do I have to put my real last name?” the young man asked as I came to him in the row of children whose names I was taking down for a photo.
Updated: 6 years ago
Being Beautiful: Remembering screen doors left unlatched
It’s hot as Hades in Mississippi and that’s even in the shade with a pitcher of ice cold lemonade.
Updated: 6 years ago
Native Writes: Saving the memories
Talking with an old friend recently, I was reminded of the many unique places in our San Luis Valley and I had to admit I have probably been to most of them, but revisited few.
Updated: 6 years ago
Amarah's Corner: Poem shared about heroin addiction
Hey kids like me, I found this story about the heartbreaking reality of addiction and wanted to share it with you, today. It says everything:
Updated: 6 years ago
Alamosa Trees: Trees and shrubs for birds
“A common thread that runs through the fabric of America is our love for wildlife,” according to the Arbor Day Foundation (ADF).
Updated: 6 years ago
Geiger's Culture Counter: Comics have a universe problem
Though I haven’t seen it yet, the critical consensus of “Spider-Man: Homecoming” is that it’s another blockbuster for Marvel.
Updated: 6 years ago
Letter to the editor: Ice cream truck runs over dog twice and keeps going
Sunday, July 11, around 7 p.m. our beloved Shitzu dog, Oscar, slipped out of the back yard and wandered a half a block down First Street and onto State Street where he was struck twice by the Alamosa ice cream truck.
Updated: 6 years ago
Rabbitbrush Rambler: Fish stories
When hordes of miners and new towns appeared in Colorado Territory, the supply of native fish quickly diminished because of fouling and diverting water for prospecting and mining, town building, farming, dynamiting fish out of pools and many other events
Updated: 6 years ago
Valley Gardening: Pizza and Portulaca
Everything is better in the neighborhood! I’m not feeling so stupid this week for leaving a door open and being robbed on the Fourth of July.
Updated: 6 years ago
After the Fact: Climbing the ladder
“Only 32 percent of adult employees in the U.S. are motivated at and interested in their jobs.”
Updated: 6 years ago
Still Waters: Like a secret language
Someone sitting next to me in a meeting might look over at my shorthand notes and make a comment like, “My grandmother used to do that. I haven’t seen that in years.”
Updated: 6 years ago
Being Beautiful: Where have all the dragons gone?
It’s hard to argue with a fire-breathing dragon.
Updated: 6 years ago
Amarah's Corner: Son of alcoholic shares his story
My friend, Jerry Moe, National Director of Children’s Programs at the Betty Ford Center, a part of the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation, says:
Updated: 6 years ago
Native Writes: The Congressional soap opera
It would be nice if one could declare everything he or she didn’t like “false” and have it be so.
Updated: 6 years ago
Land, Water and People: July is peak wildflower month in the high country
I was met with a rainbow of colors as soon as I stepped onto the trail leading to Hunters Lake.
Updated: 6 years ago
Gieger's Culture Counter: When four wheels beats two legs
I’ve never been a car guy. However, it’s hard to deny the thrill of recreating a Jeep commercial by blasting Cat Stevens while driving over Stony Pass towards Silverton.
Updated: 6 years ago
Rabbitbrush Rambler: D&RGW
Ahead for the valiant “Baby Road,” as it was popularly called, lay receiverships and bankruptcies during the half century after its arrival at Alamosa in 1878.
Updated: 6 years ago
Valley Gardening: Better to wilt than rot
Life is good in the neighborhood—kind of! I did something pretty stupid on the Fourth of July.
Updated: 6 years ago
After the Fact: Bullwinkle
After a not-exceedingly pleasant experience with a man out of his element in the floral department at a local grocery store, my daughter asked, “What has happened to common courtesy?”
Updated: 6 years ago
Still Waters: Vacationing at home
Last weekend was a mini vacation for me with two of my best friends, my older sister Beth and her husband Kevin, who has been part of our family for probably four decades now, even before they got married.
Updated: 6 years ago
Being Beautiful: Equal parts sugar and patience, a winning recipe
Summer and homemade ice cream seem to go perfectly together.
Updated: 6 years ago
Native Writes: The warfare on our minds is winning
Whenever someone declares that it was difficult to celebrate Independence Day this year because of real and perceived threats to our nation, I remember people in our country who still aren’t independent.
Updated: 6 years ago
Amarah's Corner: A teacher’s point of view
Hey kids like me! I’m sharing a letter today from a retired music teacher who knows what she’s talking about! One of my goals is to stop kids from being kicked out of band/music/sports in school because, “their grades aren’t good enough,” especially if th
Updated: 6 years ago
Alamosa Flowers: Water smart shrubs and trees
Two weeks ago I addressed some challenges of creating a sustainable landscape in Alamosa while reducing water consumption and maintenance costs.
Updated: 6 years ago
Geiger's Culture Counter: Ten years of tapping, pinching, swiping
Last week was the 10th anniversary of Apple’ iPhone. The 3.5-inch multi-touch screen changed the world of mobile phones and the way we communicate forever.
Updated: 6 years ago
Rabbitbrush Rambler: Fourth of July, 1878
When the first train officially crossed the Rio Grande River into Alamosa on the Fourth of July, the new town was ready.
Updated: 6 years ago
Guest Opinion: Famous song takes on new meaning
Linda Morrison had the kind of son of which any mother would be proud.
Updated: 6 years ago
Valley Gardening: The sodful truth
As I write, the clouds have rolled in, and it feels wonderful You would think coming from Minnesota I would have coping skills for the heat but I don’t.
Updated: 6 years ago
After the Fact: It seemed like a good idea
One of our neighbors, a gentleman well over 6’ tall, donned a hot pink terrycloth rabbit costume for the country club’s Easter party and egg hunt.
Updated: 6 years ago
Still Waters: Don’t take Fido to the fireworks
I love fireworks. There’s something magical about the sparkling colors in the sky at fireworks shows like our local display at the fairgrounds.
Updated: 6 years ago
Being Beautiful: Wouldn’t take nothing for my journey now
I awoke this morning to the unmistakable aroma of sausage frying.
Updated: 6 years ago
Native Writes: Redesigning Ken and Barbie
Thinking about last week’s column on Mattel’s Ken and Barbie, I wondered why the pair must forever be young and never age, so I began my own design line.
Updated: 6 years ago
Amarah's Corner: Amarah offers free Bible correspondence course
Did you know Jesus told us to, Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature (Mark 16:15, KJV)? You may be thinking, “But, I’m just a kid!” Well, I’m a kid, too, but I found a way to do it! (Thank you, Brother Erwin)!
Updated: 6 years ago
Geiger's Culture Counter: A tale of two seasons
Media doesn’t exist in a context-less vacuum and the television show “Queen Sugar,” based on Natalie Baszile’s 2014 book of the same name, is no different.
Updated: 6 years ago
Rabbitbrush Rambler: D&RG to the mines
When mines began to open in the San Juan Mountains, the narrow-gauge Denver & Rio Grande Railway was between a rock and a hard place.
Updated: 6 years ago
Valley Gardening: Special brew helps plants survive summer
It is so dang hot! My favorite part of the last few days is when the clouds cover the sun—even if only for a few minutes.
Updated: 6 years ago
After the Fact: Gourmet dining
We are all guilty, at one time or another, of saying (or writing) something really stupid, foot-in-mouth events that we live to regret.
Updated: 6 years ago
Movin' On with Nellie: Two poems about Alzheimer’s
In recognition of June as Alzheimer’s Month, I share two poems
Updated: 6 years ago
Still Waters: A ‘forever stamp’ to hold on to
I don’t think I’ve ever been this excited about a postage stamp before and not this excited about the official release of anything since the Sand Dunes quarter.
Updated: 6 years ago
Being Beautiful: Roll over, Beethoven
There are not many things that stir the soul quite like hearing the one you love play familiar gospel hymns on his new (well, actually used and very old) baby grand piano
Updated: 6 years ago
Native Writes: The changing complexion of play
Today’s Associated Press reports the effort by Mattel toy maker to redesign Barbie’s 56-year-old “boyfriend,” Ken.
Updated: 6 years ago
Amarah's Corner: Father shares heartbreaking story
Hey kids like me! Today, I’m sharing a heartfelt letter from a dear grandfather:
Updated: 6 years ago
Alamosa Flowers: The challenge of a beautiful yard in the heat
The last two weeks of June and the first three weeks of July tend to be the hottest days in Alamosa.
Updated: 6 years ago
Geiger's Culture Counter: Know when to quit
Whenever I watch a new show I give it three episodes to hook me. A show’s pilot is designed to be engaging so I give it two more chances to see if the momentum can keep up
Updated: 6 years ago
Guest Opinion: Creating an all-of-the-above energy future
For too long, the U.S. has operated with no comprehensive plan for meeting the inevitable increased demand for energy created by both traditional and renewable resources.
Updated: 6 years ago
Rabbitbrush Rambler: Honoring San Luis
The name of the San Luis Valley and Colorado’s first permanent plaza might seem to be a puzzler.
Updated: 6 years ago
From a mom: Lessons for my best friend
An ultrasound a little over 10 years ago wasn’t enough to convince me that I would finally have a little girl sidekick.
Updated: 6 years ago
Valley Gardening: Grasshoppers and columnist jump all over the place
Man…it’s hot in the neighborhood! Years and years ago Mickey Widhalm and I would place bets on how hot it was going to be during the summer.
Updated: 6 years ago
After the Fact: Dear ol’ dad
“Unit comes complete with 473 screws and (snickering in the background) 471 nuts.” Have you ever tried to assemble one of those prefabricated pieces of furniture they sell at WalMart?
Updated: 6 years ago
Getting lost and getting found through friendship
I have always heard that friends are the family you choose. Virginia Woolf said it best: “Some people go to priests, others to poetry, I to my friends.”
Updated: 6 years ago
Daddy, the fix it man
Even though my daddy is now well into his 80’s with some vision and hearing issues, he still is a pretty good handyman.
Updated: 6 years ago
Native Writes: Tourists in your own hometown
It’s amazing how a couple of little things can change one’s perspective on the moment at hand.
Updated: 6 years ago
Amarah's Corner: Music makes the soul happier, brain stronger
Hey kids like me! I want to share an awesome note I received about something that means a whole lot to me:
Updated: 6 years ago
Land, Water & People: Remembering the Million Fire
June 19th will mark the 15th anniversary of the start of the Million Fire near South Fork.
Updated: 6 years ago
Geiger's Culture Counter: Summer beers to sip
With the train for Rails and Ales pulling out of the station this weekend now is the perfect time to ready one’s taste buds to sip glasses of sudsy beer.
Updated: 6 years ago
Rabbitbrush Rambler: Honoring San Juan
In the San Luis Valley, we have few place names honoring San Juan, whether the mountains or the saint.
Updated: 6 years ago
Valley Gardening: Gardening … and other advice
All is good in the neighborhood! Peyton Sanchez, and his family, and his customers raised over $2,000 for the Jerry Reed Scholarship Fund. Way to go Peyton—I am guessing that you slept really well for the past week.
Updated: 6 years ago
Movin' On with Nellie: The missing shoes: An Alzheimer’s story
(In recognition of June as Alzheimer’s Month, I write this story.) Aunt Leona was 79 years old when she became 3 again.
Updated: 6 years ago
After the Fact: Singing in the shower
While my mom was a fan of all things cultural (and a really good artist who gave up what could have been a fabulous career in favor of raising a whole bunch of wild street urchins, otherwise known as my brothers and sisters), dad couldn’t tell a Picasso f
Updated: 6 years ago
Tips and drips from an interior decorating dropout
I doubt HGTV will be giving me my own home improvement show anytime soon, unless it would be for comic relief.
Updated: 6 years ago
Even mama's boys should remember dad now and then
Most folks who know me would declare I am always five or ten minutes late. I have heard it said that I will probably be late for my own funeral, but if so, at least that day, I won’t get fussed at about it.
Updated: 6 years ago
Kids Like Me: Columnist celebrates one year anniversary, thankful for answered prayers
It wasn’t that long ago when my whole world was darkness with no light at all except the hope I had that my grandma would find me and my baby sister Ava and take us home with her.
Updated: 6 years ago
Native Writes: The real deal
Whatever happened to the good old belly laugh? You know, the one that brings tears to the eyes?
Updated: 6 years ago
Alamosa Flowers: Roots are the problem and nyctinasty
Increasingly I have perennials (plants that live for more than two years) and shrubs (a woody plant smaller than a tree, usually having multiple permanent stems branching from or near the ground) in my flower beds.
Updated: 6 years ago
Geiger's Culture Counter: It’s time to join the clone club
This weekend the fifth and final season of “Orphan Black” premieres on BBC America.
Updated: 6 years ago
Rabbitbrush Rambler: Off to summer camp
Campfires and singing “Down in the Valley,” story time, awards ceremonies, marshmallows on sticks, poison ivy — anyone who ever attended a summer camp will have indelible memories.
Updated: 6 years ago
Movin' On with Nellie: Erik Mestas is a stucco artisan
Valley born and raised, Erik Mestas is an artisan of grand standards and his medium is stucco.
Updated: 6 years ago
Valley Gardening: Lemonade and ‘Butters’
As I write, it is Friday late afternoon, and the rain is coming down! This is all so wonderful…unless you are down in Cole Park for the Summerfest on the Ri
Updated: 6 years ago
After the Fact: Liar, liar, pants on fire
Telling lies used to be cause for some pretty serious punishment.
Updated: 6 years ago
Still Waters: Go outside and play
No one can legitimately complain that there’s nothing to do in the San Luis Valley, especially in the summertime.
Updated: 6 years ago
Being Beautiful: All dolled up and everywhere to go
If you squinch your eyes just a little, open your imagination as far as it will go, and add a sprinkle of pixie dust if you have it handy, it’s not that hard to make them “real.”
Updated: 6 years ago
Native Writes: Accidents present a puzzle
There have been a number of bad vehicle accidents on our roads recently and the dinner table conversation surrounded the question: Why?
Updated: 6 years ago
Amarah's Corner: True stories of hope shared
Corliss Taylor-Dunn is back this week and shares two true stories of the lives of children who successfully came out on top in spite of rough beginnings.
Updated: 6 years ago
'Master of None' is the show of my generation
If you read a random selection of headlines it looks like us millennials are the scourge of the earth. We’re killing malls, grocery stores, restaurants, vacations, the diamond industry and we can’t buy houses because of our avocado toast fetish. We’re bei
Updated: 6 years ago
Land, Water and People: Summer is when the magic happens
Managing the 1.8 million acre Rio Grande National Forest is a monumental task. Hundreds of thousands of people visit every year using the Forest’s campgrounds, picnic areas, restrooms, fishing docks, parking areas, and extensive road and trail system.
Updated: 6 years ago
Rabbitbrush Rambler: Smoke gets in your eyes
Full disclosure: I have never tried marijuana, so I cannot testify personally about the weed’s effects on relaxation, pain, or detachment from reality.
Updated: 6 years ago
Valley Gardening: Just do it!
Life is good in the neighborhood! Peyton and Landon Sanchez, with their dad Charlie in tow, came by for lunch yesterday. What a wonderful family!
Updated: 6 years ago
After the Fact: Will you still need me when I’m 64?
Our high school yearbook, with photos that would do a passport proud, featured a print version of the angst-worn teenage popularity contest.
Updated: 6 years ago
Still Waters: Moments of sacrifice
It was only one battle but a decisive one.
Updated: 6 years ago
Being Beautiful: A Kodak moment shared with my Daddy
I wished that moment would last forever.
Updated: 6 years ago
Amarah's Corner: Part 2: One mom to another
This week we have Part 2 of the thoughts and feelings of a young mother regarding the fate of her friend who was recently arrested on drug charges:
Updated: 6 years ago
Native Writes: Three generations of Maroons
The end of May is a time of new beginnings. Baby calves cry for their mothers while older calves head for new homes, bird eggs develop life in nests and children excitedly pass to a higher grade, some in brand new schools.
Updated: 6 years ago
Alamosa Flowers: Time to divide – perennials that is
It’s time to divide some garden perennials.
Updated: 6 years ago
Geiger's Cultuer Counter: Duality of HBO
Sundays are historically the best night in television.
Updated: 6 years ago
K.C. at Bat: I fish, therefore I am
Great friends don’t grow on trees. And yet, like a tree, if you don’t nurture friendships they won’t grow. I’ve only known a few friendships like that as most of us probably have.
Updated: 6 years ago
Rabbitbrush Rambler: Happy days, sad days
We need holidays and vacations to help us refresh and get through the realities of life that await around the next corner, so it’s little wonder that next weekend will bring an outburst of relaxation and summer fun.
Updated: 6 years ago
Valley Gardening: Roll the dice and plant anyway
The weather this week certainly explains why I call gardening and farming, legalized gambling! I even had to move a few of my flowers at the store inside—not all of them, but things like Coleus, Impatiens, Portulaca and some of the herbs, like Basil.
Updated: 6 years ago
After the Fact: Believe it or not
In that I will believe anything that agrees with what I already believe, I am no different than the next dozen people you’ll meet.
Updated: 6 years ago
Being Beautiful: With all due respect to cats and hamsters, dogs rule at my house
I remember the days leading up to when she would be ours. We said a hundred names aloud to try them out in full sentences. "Mildred, welcome to your new home." "Good girl, Mabel. Good girl." "Loretta wants a treat?"
Updated: 6 years ago
Still Waters: To the mattresses!
No, I don’t plan on going to war with the mafia, but I did “go to the mattresses” in a more literal sense this week.
Updated: 6 years ago
Amarah's Corner: Part 1: One mom to another
This week we have Part 1 of the thoughts and feelings of a young mother regarding the fate of her friend who was recently arrested on drug charges:
Updated: 6 years ago
Native Writes: My rebellion for the day
From time to time, I have entertained the idea of running for office. My inner “critters” have held their own “roast” each time.
Updated: 6 years ago
Geiger's Culture Counter: The Olympics of singing
Every May the world witnesses something great. I’m not talking about epic season finales, the coming of a beautiful summer, or hardworking students graduating. I’m talking about the international reality phenomenon Eurovision, aka the Olympics of singing.
Updated: 6 years ago
Land, Water and People: Hard Tread: The impacts of illegal mountain bike trails
My first mountain bike was tank heavy, but my favorite means of traversing the vales of the Yampa Valley. Since that time I have bounced (and sometimes crashed) down miles of back road and single track
Updated: 6 years ago
Rabbitbrush Rambler: Celebrating National Egg Month
Some people may have a hard time deciding whether they want scrambles, once-over-lightlies, soft-boils, hard-boils, omelets, whatever.
Updated: 6 years ago
Valley Gardening: Always a good time to sow seeds of kindness
Happy Mother’s Day to everyone! My mom passed away seven years ago, (right after Mother’s Day) and I miss her every day.
Updated: 6 years ago
Movin' On with Nellie: Mom
We posed for the formal photograph when I was in third grade.
Updated: 6 years ago
Still Waters: Because of her
My mother raised four children, three daughters and a son. The three sisters have always been close and supportive of each other.
Updated: 6 years ago
Being Beautiful: Musings on bridges built with love by women forged of steel
My mind is saturated with unforgettable mothers, I suppose because Mother’s Day marks our calendars once again.
Updated: 6 years ago
Native Writes: Remembering mom
As we look forward to Sunday, Mother’s Day, thoughts turn to the women who have been responsible for populating the planet. Even test tube babies need mothers.
Updated: 6 years ago
Amarah's Corner: Doctor shares effects of alcohol, opiates on babies
Hey kids like me, Dr. Svetlana Bresnitz is back today with very important information about the harmful effects of alcohol and opiates on babies when a pregnant mom drinks alcohol and or uses opiates.
Updated: 6 years ago
Alamosa Flowers: Spring blooms and plants for birds
Taking a deep breath in the garden I smell rain and the scent of spring flowers.
Updated: 6 years ago
Geiger's Culture Counter: ‘The Dark Tower’ doesn’t excite
I’ve spent the last few weeks glued to Youtube watching a variety of trailers on my computer.
Updated: 6 years ago
Rabbitbrush Rambler: Conservation on a landscape scale
Contrary to what we might suppose from reading gossip magazines and political news, there really are some wealthy people who value things such as science and the environment.
Updated: 6 years ago
Guest Opinion: Legislation will help rural hospitals
As the 2017 session winds down it appears that Colorado lawmakers are close to reaching a bi-partisan agreement on SB17-267, “Sustainability of Rural Colorado,” allowing us to avoid major cuts and closures to rural hospitals by creating the Colorado healt
Updated: 6 years ago
Valley Gardening: Hardening off plants and people
Everything is good in my neighborhood! By that I mean, I am gardening, the grand kids are healthy and life is good
Updated: 6 years ago
After the Fact: Keeping up with the Joneses
In the very middle of winter when there’s 20” of snow covering my sidewalk and driveway, dust accumulates.
Updated: 6 years ago
Movin' On with Nellie: Compassion should be heart of all health care
I met Dr. Kelsey Walker at Rio Grande Hospital Clinic, Del Norte; she has experience with complicated humans, like me.
Updated: 6 years ago
Still Waters: Friendly fire casaulties in the war on drugs
We have a drug problem in our country and in our neighborhoods. No one denies that. It is visible in spent syringes and spent lives. It crowds our court systems and our jails. It destroys bodies, families and souls.
Updated: 6 years ago
Amarah's Corner: The awful, stinking reality of smoking cigarettes
Memories of my beautiful mother include nasty, stinking cigarettes. I can still see her with a cigarette in her mouth and exhaling the nasty smelling smoke. I still smell the awful stench and I remember being caught in the seemingly inescapable, suffocati
Updated: 6 years ago
Native Writes: Heroes and women
I recently commented that my heroes were being claimed by death at an accelerated pace.
Updated: 6 years ago
Geiger's Culture Counter: The comfort of the familiar
Humans are creatures of habit. If we have an outfit we enjoy, we’ll wear it a lot. We return to a favorite restaurant to order our usual dish and drink. If a classroom doesn’t have assigned seating, we still end up sitting in the same spots class after cl
Updated: 6 years ago
Land, Water and People: Take a break from your spring chores
Spring is a time when many people are consumed with an assortment of chores around the house. The to-do list is often long and one’s mind is often stressfully thinking about the next item on the list while working on the current chore.
Updated: 6 years ago
Rabbitbrush Rambler: Unearthing Summitville
It was obvious from the standing-room-only crowd at the Rio Grande County Museum on April 22 that Summitville played an important part in the life of the San Luis Valley.
Updated: 6 years ago
After the Fact: John 11:35
Some of my best friends are Catholic. Quite a few are Jewish. There’s a smattering of Greek Orthodox and dozens of assorted Protestants.
Updated: 6 years ago
Movin' On with Nellie: Patrons of Caton’s love the customer service
I’d been through the automatic car wash many times with my small car; however, I was aghast, as say, Jessica on Murder She Wrote might be, when I saw parts fly and the hood swing in the wind. The operators shut the fan off and I checked the damage with th
Updated: 6 years ago
Valley Gardening: Plant now, regret later
Farming and gardening, are just other words for legalized gambling.
Updated: 6 years ago
Being Beautiful: Memories, like flowers, bloom brightly in all seasons
What is it about flowers that we love so much?
Updated: 6 years ago
Still Waters: Scenes of quiet heroism
A small selfless act can be heroic, like giving up a seat on the train or paying for someone’s groceries at the checkout counter. It can be more noticeable and affect more people, like comforting others at the scene of a horrific vehicle crash when you ju
Updated: 6 years ago
Native Writes: What if I die?
Recent events have moved me into another realm of thought: What if I die?
Updated: 6 years ago
Amarah's Corner: Don't give up on your dreams
In spite of the hurtful things our parents who are addicts say and do to us, they don’t seem to realize we still love them.
Updated: 6 years ago
Geiger's Culture Counter: Remembering Reed’s room
I didn’t send any words of encouragement. I didn’t want any message to be my “last” message.
Updated: 6 years ago
Alamosa Flowers: Alamosa Arbor Week and early blooms
There’s still time to help plant trees during Alamosa Arbor Week!
Updated: 6 years ago
Editorial: Overdue to brand the SLV as ONE
Over the course of two years, 55-plus meetings, 2,000 volunteer hours, at least 5,000 miles of in-valley travel and 25 gallons of coffee, leaders of the San Luis Valley may be just hours away from branding the area as ONE.
Updated: 6 years ago
Rabbitbrush Rambler: ah-CHOO
In Del Norte, not far from the San Juans, every morning I’ll find that my car has a blanket of dust, blown from the Four Corners. In Alamosa, Monte Vista, Center, Mosca, and Hooper, people will close their windows while the wind blows across the Valley.
Updated: 6 years ago
Just the Facts: Meteorite or meteor-wrong?
The oldest thing in Colorado is more ancient than Earth itself. It’s a meteorite.
Updated: 6 years ago
After the Fact: Smarty pants
My mom was somewhere barely short of brilliant: she had the answers to all of my questions and she read stories to me every night before I fell asleep
Updated: 6 years ago
Valley Gardening: Low water landscaping doesn't have to be ugly
Life is good in the neighborhood—and it is almost warm enough for me to unload the flowers and vegetables out of my truck.
Updated: 6 years ago
Still Waters: This is how it’s done
I’m so proud of our Alamosa city staff, city council and local residents for developing an ordinance amendment regarding feral cats that I think (most) everyone can live with, especially the cats.
Updated: 6 years ago
Being Beautiful: Revision, reunion, and the joy of second chances
My favorite prefix is “re.”
Updated: 6 years ago
Native Writes: Love lives on
When I was in college, I took a course called Thanatology, which dealt with death and dying. In fact, the instructor, James Douglass, attempted to deal with it in writing as his own death neared. I treasure a long note he wrote explaining his decision.
Updated: 6 years ago
Amarah's Corner: Loving an addict
Kathy Suazo, Child Protection Supervisor, Alamosa County DHS, is my guest this month.
Updated: 6 years ago
Movin' On with Nellie: Fight cancer with memories
My cousin Jerry is fighting liver cancer. Like so many families today, our loved ones have fought some tough battles with cancer. I wish that it could be different.
Updated: 6 years ago
Land, Water and People: Desert Journal 2017—Photographing Factory Butte
Blue-grey ridged slopes curved 1,600 feet upward, increasing in steepness the higher they went, ending with a golden, vertical sandstone cap. From my perspective, the geologic sculpture looked like an accordion lampshade.
Updated: 6 years ago
Guest Column: You are loved
In his eulogy for his brother Robert F. Kennedy, Ted Kennedy said, “My brother need not be idealized, or enlarged in death beyond what he was in life; to be remembered simply as a good and decent man, who saw wrong and tried to right it, saw suffering and
Updated: 6 years ago
Valley Gardening: ‘Tracing’ minerals
I think it is finally spring, and you can start planting some of your seeds and plants.
Updated: 6 years ago
Rabbitbrush Rambler: Moving water through acequias
It’s a short growing season for crops like corn and squash – only about 90 days or even less. Prayer and good luck might help.
Updated: 6 years ago
Movin' On with Nellie: A lesson for every story
There’s a lesson for every movie & story we watch and read.
Updated: 6 years ago
After the Fact: Observing holidays
When there are younger brothers or sisters in a family, you get to practice essential parenting skills long before you actually become a parent
Updated: 6 years ago
Being Beautiful: Far across the distance and spaces between us…
I grew up with brothers, three of them, not a single girl child in our house when we were children.
Updated: 6 years ago
Editorial: Quaff more economic growth
We believe that within the next year, the SLV will also become a target for lovers of craft beer.
Updated: 6 years ago
Still Waters: Flawless
At the beginning of the music video, nothing is white except the lead singer’s teeth as he begins to sing the words:
Updated: 6 years ago
Native Writes: Snow on Easter
This Easter looks to be a better one than the past, though fellow old timers have a way of reminding me that Mother Nature is, if nothing else, deceptive.
Updated: 6 years ago
Amarah's Corner: 'Kids like me' recieve a 'terrible gift'
In Matthew 18:10 (KJV), Jesus said, “Take heed that ye despise not (hurt or be mean to) one of these little ones; for I say unto you, that in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.”
Updated: 6 years ago
Geiger's Culture Counter: ‘Attack on Titan’ reintroduced me to anime
It’s no secret that I’m a fan of animated television shows. I’ve written about “Voltron,” “Samurai Jack,” “Steven Universe,” “Rick and Morty” and other shows in this column. However, my love for anime is a bit more reserved
Updated: 6 years ago
Alamosa Flowers: Tree plantings, pruning, and species worldwide
Arbor Week and Earth Day are coming up. Celebrate Earth Day by helping to plant trees and shrubs at the Rio Grande Farm Park (RGFP). There will be a breakfast at 9 a.m. followed by planting and kids’ activities at 10 a.m. You will also have a chance to le
Updated: 6 years ago
Rabbitbrush Rambler: Turning the other cheek
It’s time for another of my columns usually called “Going to the Movies.” The film I’ve chosen this time is “42: The Jackie Robinson Story.”
Updated: 6 years ago
Editorial: Some growing pains with new website
The Valley Courier is excited to announce a brand new look and a whole new functionality for our website, which changes the way our readers can interact with us.
Updated: 6 years ago
After the Fact: It’s a small world
There aren’t too many things that, between the daughter and I, cannot be managed in the arena of household maintenance and repair.
Updated: 6 years ago
Valley Gardening: Peas could be planted
If you weren’t at the SLVCRF concert at Society Hall last week, you missed a really beautiful evening!
Updated: 6 years ago
Being Beautiful: From Air Supply to ZZ Top and Ricky Schroeder to John Stamos
Some of the things I did as a youngster make me laugh now.
Updated: 6 years ago
Amarah's Corner: April is Child Abuse Awareness Month
In Matthew 18:10 (KJV), Jesus said, “Take heed that ye despise not (hurt or be mean to) one of these little ones; for I say unto you, that in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.”
Updated: 6 years ago
Native Writes: Atmosphere impeding progress
These are highly charged times and I am convinced one must choose a side and adhere stubbornly to it or risk being boiled in oil.
Updated: 6 years ago
Land, Water and People: The challenge of managing a travel system
I think most people reading this column know people can’t ride their motorized vehicles anywhere they want on the national forest.
Updated: 6 years ago
Geiger's Culture Counter: Rounding up a gaggle of fools
I don’t use the internet on the first day of April as a safety precaution. If you followed suit, here are the highlights of what you missed.
Updated: 6 years ago
Rabbitbrush Rambler: Cat food
A widely circulated report says that from 1.4 billion to 3.7 billion wild birds are killed annually by cats in the U.S., although an esteemed ornithologist, David Sibley, estimated a few years ago that the figure is around 500 million. At any rate statist
Updated: 6 years ago
Valley Gardening: Grow naturally
I, and many other supporters, am VERY thankful this week! After a long, brutal YEAR of various treatments, setbacks, and more treatments Casey Kanen Martinez is cancer FREE!! It’s been almost exactly a year since Casey was diagnosed. So many of you readin
Updated: 6 years ago
Movin' On with Nellie: Ears, we all have them
I’ve been thinking about ears lately. It started when I watched Charlie Rose’s Monday interview with Sally Fields. Her ears looked like a nautilus shell flattened like an appendage to the head. Ears offer us a lot in terms of communication and elegance.
Updated: 6 years ago
After the Fact: No two snowflakes
My nephew David taught my grandson how to swim. They were “fooling around,” as it was later explained, by the swimming hole at the ranch. Zan, 3 years old at the time, told David he wanted to swim. So David threw him in. And Zan swam for shore like his li
Updated: 6 years ago
Still Waters: Fool among the angels
I am so grateful that God suffers fools on April Fools Day and every other day.
Updated: 6 years ago
Being Beautiful: Food for the body and food for the soul
Why are we so nostalgic?
Updated: 6 years ago
Amarah's Corner: Mom in community corrections shares advice
In Matthew 18:10 (KJV), Jesus said, “Take heed that ye despise not (hurt or be mean to) one of these little ones; for I say unto you, that in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.”
Updated: 6 years ago
Native Writes: Googling myself
A good friend asked me if I knew everything about myself.
Updated: 6 years ago
Alamosa Trees: Trees for our parks
Twenty-two new trees will be planted in Alamosa parks and the cemetery this spring. We’ll plant many of the trees – and we hope with your help – during Alamosa Arbor Week, April 22 -28.
Updated: 6 years ago
Geiger's Culture Counter: Jordan Peele changed the horror genre
I don’t watch horror movies often, whether on my home screen or the big screen. I rarely see them in theaters because they’re almost never worth the price of admission. The last one I saw in a cinema was “Paranormal Activity 4” in 2012. Yet I knew I had t
Updated: 6 years ago
Rabbitbrush Rambler: Fish facts
Even during the icy months fishermen were trying their luck at Mountain Home and Big Meadow Reservoir. And this summer, who wouldn’t love to get out and catch a nice trout from one of our streams?
Updated: 6 years ago
After the Fact: Proper planning prevents work
“People who enjoy meetings should not be in charge of anything.” Dr.Thomas Sowell is a retired professor of economics at Stanford University and undoubtedly knows whereof he speaks.
Updated: 6 years ago
Movin' On with Nellie: Trump-y needs Dr. Phil for Whitehouse call
This week I learned that Trump-y has some serious behavioral health (aka mental health) issues. These behaviors are manifested with his 3 a.m. tweets that are riddled with lies, fake news, and threats to build a wall.
Updated: 6 years ago
Valley Gardening: With our compliments
I am so thankful for a day like today—Friday! The moisture is so appreciated—unless you live in San Luis or Ft. Garland because they got between 8 and 18 inches of snow—YIKES. If the weather forecasters are on their game we should get more moisture next w
Updated: 6 years ago
Still Waters: More weird emails
Julianne Kaufman was so kind to reach out to me today. “We’ve been out of touch for a while,” she emailed. Out of touch? We’re so “out of touch,” Julianne, I don’t even know who you are.
Updated: 6 years ago
Being Beautiful: What ever happened to Baby Jane?
Imagine with me if you can saving up your spare coins for a long time, heading off to an anniversary or birthday dinner at The Brown Derby, one of old Hollywood’s most celebrated restaurants.
Updated: 6 years ago
Amarah's Corner: Pediatrictian addressess marijuana effects
In Matthew 18:10 KJV, Jesus said, “Take heed that ye despise not (hurt or be mean to) one of these little ones; for I say unto you, that in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.”
Updated: 6 years ago
Just the Facts: Colorado's mass extinctions
Colorado’s full of rocks. Some bear gold, diamonds or silver. Others burble oil, gas, and water. A rare few record death itself.
Updated: 6 years ago
Native Writes: Why then and why now?
It was a sunny afternoon when I sat watching little dust particles drifting through the air. They do that when sunbeams yield the spotlight.
Updated: 6 years ago
Land, Water and People: Protecting our investment-Knowing when to turn around
stepped out of the car into the unseasonably warm sun. The shhhh of the breeze moving through the branches of piñon pine and juniper trees dominated the soundscape. Nearby a male bluebird blended into the sky as it flitted from one tree to another. Spring
Updated: 6 years ago
Geiger's Culture Counter: The case for utopian entertainment
If I had to choose of favorite genre of fiction, I’d probably pick dystopian. It’s not the most uplifting media to consume, but the thought of how bad life could be refreshes my perspective of my current circumstances.
Updated: 6 years ago
Rabbitbrush Rambler: Food for thought
Some of us have never been desperately hungry. Not even during the Great Depression was I ever hungry. Bored perhaps because, during my childhood in New England, we had too many Wheaties for breakfast and too much salt cod on toast for supper.
Updated: 6 years ago
After the Fact: School supplies
Expectations for graduating from high school today seem significantly different than when I was a student, or maybe they just go about it in a different way.
Updated: 6 years ago
Valley Gardening: Where there's a Willie Wade, there's a way
Life is good in the neighborhood! Is not this weather so wonderful? And so warm? Maybe too warm?
Updated: 6 years ago
Still Waters: Emerald Isle heritage
Thanks to some expert research on the part of my maternal uncle, I now can claim Irish ancestry on both sides. We were never sure about my maternal grandmother’s heritage since she was basically left on a doorstep as a baby.
Updated: 6 years ago
Being Beautiful: Spreading sparkles from china cabinets to petting zoos
I was just a little boy with his mama, and we had driven up Dykes Chapel Road to Miss Jessy Jean’s house, Perry County’s own petting zoo because she had at least one of every living thing created by God and known to man.
Updated: 6 years ago
Amarah's Corner: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Part 2
In Matthew 18:10 KJV, Jesus said, “Take heed that ye despise not (hurt or be mean to) one of these little ones; for I say unto you, that in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.”
Updated: 6 years ago
Native Writes: Thissa and thatta
My old editor, F.G. "Doc" Kirby called columns like this "thissa and thatta." They are observations from passing along the road we call life.
Updated: 6 years ago
Alamosa Flowers: First blooms of the season
Hurray for purple Crocus (Crocus). It’s the first plant to bloom in our garden this year and is displaying four lovely blossoms. I spied the blossoms poking their heads out above the mulch in our protected, south facing garden.
Updated: 6 years ago
Geiger's Culture Counter: 'Samurai Jack' is back, bleak, and beautiful
This weekend I went back in time to the early 2000s. I was in my basement surrounded by my LEGOs, “Star Wars” action figures and had no care in the world. How and why did this happen? Because “Samurai Jack” was back on the air.
Updated: 6 years ago
Rabbitbrush Rambler: Bear Dance
While cranes are making it clear that the seasons are changing, another kind of rebirth is happening, but not so readily seen by most of us. Bears are emerging from their dens after their hibernation, usually in March.
Updated: 6 years ago
After the Fact: Tragedies of Shakespearean dimension
My sister Micki had an assortment of friends about on a par with the Whitman’s Sampler box of candy, except hers was heavier on the nuts. Knot-head Mixon lived a couple of doors down and she was a typical over-indulged, spoiled only child of older parents
Updated: 6 years ago
Valley Gardening: DE—not just for plants
Okay…before I start writing this week, I am feeling like I need to write a disclaimer. Like…what I have to say may hurt you, may cause diarrhea, may save you money, may cause suicidal thoughts, may make you want to throw up, etc.
Updated: 6 years ago
Being Beautiful: Of Willie Vee, Victoria Ivy, and their unbroken circle of love
Let me be guilty of many things, but never of ingratitude.
Updated: 6 years ago
Still Waters: American and proud
Saturday night provided an inspiring lesson in democracy. I attended the Lincoln Day Dinner, which was held at Adams State University’s student union building. A number of protestors gathered at the entrances with messages for the Republican leaders who a
Updated: 6 years ago
Amarah's Corner: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Part 1
In Matthew 18:10 KJV, Jesus said, “Take heed that ye despise not (hurt or be mean to) one of these little ones; for I say unto you, that in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.”
Updated: 6 years ago
Native Writes: The pot lifestyle
The current debate over marijuana brought back some interesting memories of The Courier newsroom in the 1970s.
Updated: 6 years ago
Land, Water and People: Insect populations on the decline
The 2016 forest health survey results were released a month ago and showed a decline in activity of the three forest insects that have been most noticeably impacting the Rio Grande National Forest: The spruce beetle, spruce budworm and western tent caterp
Updated: 6 years ago
Geiger’s Culture Counter: Can you separate art from artist?
Before the best picture envelope snafu, the most controversial moment at the 89th Academy Awards was Casey Affleck beating Denzel Washington for best actor. Washington delivered what some call his best performance ever in “Fences” while Affleck moved audi
Updated: 6 years ago
Rabbitbrush Rambler: Return of the cranes
Migrating Sandhill Cranes started to arrive a month ago and now are here en masse. They have been arriving earlier each year lately to herald the news that the parade is ready to begin in the Valley, and some will be staying for a month or so.
Updated: 6 years ago
After the Fact: Olly-olly-ox-in-free
Do you remember ever, on a summer’s day, saying, “I’m bored.” Neither do I. Growing up as the “leading edge” of the Boomer generation, we didn’t have television and our telephones were firmly attached to the wall, or to a cord that ran in through the wall
Updated: 6 years ago
Valley Gardening: Ruthie get your gun
Let’s see…. I have not been able to find my little criminals—that’s what happens when you work for a living—you can’t just park in the neighborhood and look for them. I did find out that the same ones that stole from me more than likely also stole from a
Updated: 6 years ago
Being Beautiful: And the greatest of these is love
“Three things will last forever: faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.”
Updated: 6 years ago
Still Waters: Blessings from Bill's basket
Every Sabbath morning right after the offering is collected during the worship service at my church, Bill passes another basket, this one to provide rather than collect.
Updated: 6 years ago
Amarah's Corner: Music is important to self esteem
In Matthew 18:10 KJV, Jesus said, “Take heed that ye despise not (hurt or be mean to) one of these little ones; for I say unto you, that in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.”
Updated: 6 years ago
Geiger's Culture Counter: Gaming on the go
I'm sitting at a ski shop as my dad is getting fitted for new boots. The entire process takes roughly an hour and I've killed as much time as possible by browsing the store's other wares. I pull out my phone and load up a game.
Updated: 6 years ago