Llama Limbo

It’s that time of year again: the Estes Park Wool Festival, when wool lovers flock to the mountains to gaze upon Jacob sheep, Karakul lambs, and Rambouillet rams. And to see the llama limbo. Here’s an adorable vicuña-colored alpaca, freshly groomed. You’re welcome. I love the placid expression on this blue-ribbon llama, standing apart with […]

Road to Vegas

We took our first short vacation without the puppy, and of course we missed her terribly. Dulcinea stayed at home, in the kind of fancy kennel that assigns glamorous names to all its suites. Meanwhile, we stayed in a casino, in the kind of generic hotel room that looks just like all the photos on […]

Peak to Peak

It was sunny this weekend, so we took Dulcinea for her first drive on the Peak to Peak Highway. She wagged her tail and sniffed about in front of the Saint Malo Chapel, then scrambled up the hill to reach the road. Longs Peak is in the background. My brothers and I hiked up to […]

Gabriel

Eighteen years is a long time for a pet to live in this world, even a cat with a purr as loud as a chainsaw. Gabriel kept purring until the very end.

The Finish Line

So I finished the last chapter of my novel. I wanted to celebrate the moment, but my husband was on the California Zephyr and the kitties were utterly indifferent and Dulcinea is still just a puppy and didn’t really get that it was a big deal. Fortunately, cell phones are marvelous devices for capturing a […]

Old Year Out

Happy New Year! I didn’t realize this until a few years ago, but the first week of January is probably my favorite week of the year. I never make New Year’s resolutions right away on New Year’s Day: instead, I give myself about a week to reflect on the previous year. Then, (usually around Epiphany) […]

Winter Solstice

We’ve been so busy with our growing puppy, we’ve barely had time to get ready for the holidays. There were no saffron buns on St. Lucia’s Day, and I never did find any red candles for the Advent wreath. But we did enjoy a little sunshine with Dulcinea on the shortest day of the year. […]