2015 Spring at the Cabin

Cabin Panorama

Three visits to the cabin in the last month for work projects and relaxation produces great sunsets, wildflowers and wild game pics!

Dramatic Sunset
Fire to the south
“Spiritual” sunset
Aftermath

Lots of game viewing opportunities, antelope, elk (at the salt block, at Chminey Rock Ranch and Sand Creek Pass), Moose, Mule Deer, and marmots.

Young Bull Moose at the Salt Block
Elk at the salt block
Young cow moose checks out the cabin

Beautiful birds – Western Tanager, American Goldfinch Golden Eagles, an Osprey and lots of Pine Siskins, Humming Birds and purple finches.

American Tanager
American Tanager
Broadtail Hummingbird
Pine Siskins and Purple Finch
American Goldfinch

Wildflowers in profusion due to the abundant rainfall, but only a few pictured here…

Barrel Cactus in bloom
Barrel Cactus in bloom
Pasque Flower 
Honeybee on a dandelion
Indian Paintbrush  
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Mountain Forget-Me-Nots

One enchanted evening….

  

  

  

  

Great Horned Owl in a dead limber pine 
Moonrise over the ridge  

Evening game drive to the Laramie Valley produced antelope, elk, deer and gorgeous views of the Rawah Mountains

Rawah Mountains  

52″ of wet snow in late April damaged both chimneys, so now we have new snow wedges to divert future wet, heavy dumps!

Chimney bent, one brace ripped off

 

Chimney repair with new snow wedge 

Some fine dinners including Shake Shack burgers with Baked Pomme Frites and Bacon-Tomato grilled cheese sandwiches  

  

   

March San Jose Photos

Sleeping Angel
Sleeping Angel
Bath Time…..
Gonna make this thing work!

San Jose Rose Garden

Free range baby…

I like being tall

Drake and I Taking a Nap

Dad and Daughter Date Day with Drake

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Playin’ with my buddy…
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Walking like an Egyptian at the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum
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Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum, San Jose

My Magical Mystery All-Day Tour

Rocky’s in Felton for brunch
Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park

Hiding in a “Goose Pen”
Paul Masson Mountain Winery: wine and cheese

Drake’s First Birthday

Japantown, San Jose

Drake and I walked to Japan Town. He was so excited to discover “The Ukelele Source” music shop and “Hukilau” Hawaiian Restaurant serving poke, Kaluha cabbage & pig, aloha chicken, teriyaki short ribs and spam musubi. Just as soon as he finishes his bottle he’s gonna get some ribs….

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Drake’s First Birthday Card from Uncle Tommy
Julie finds yummy cupcakes for the party
Spam Musubi from Hukilau
Blow out the candle!
My first cupcake!
Sooo many new toys….
Picking bags and bags of lemons with Charli the Lemonhead
Two pork shoulders, Apple-Chicken brats, Spam Musubi, cupcakes, well received by all…..
Playing with all my new toys

Rhode Island Willett’s Continued..

My nephew Ben Willett (#22) playing lacrosse for Marist College vs Air Force Academy. Marist wins 7 to 6.

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My nephew Ben Willett celebrates the Marist victory over Air Force with his Uncle Dave!

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Denver Botanic Gardens

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Tom’s Birthday dinner: Filet Mignon with shallots, Brussels sprouts, red potatoes, Caprese salad and Fiona’s chocolate cake.

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Rhode Island Willett’s in Colorado

My brother Tom and Sis Barbara Arrive.

Dinner of olives, Parmesan cheese, Ukrainian Borscht, sourdough bread with grapefruit sorbet for dessert.

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Rocky Mountain National Park – Hiking around Bear Lake with Tom and Barbara

 

Bear Lake Pic in Waterlogue

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Homemade borscht – SOOO good on a winter evening!

Weekend at Kopje Creek Cabin

Willett’s Cabin – snow drifts 5 feet deep, Sally stands above the buried water trailer!

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Lots of Snow!

The snow arrives……….

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🎯 – Sal knocked over a bunch of targets at the cabin “Family-Friendly Shooting Range” (soon to include kid-friendly target archery, and joining our ever-popular “Kid’s-Only Monster Trout Fishing Pond” and Frisbee Golf

Sal gets my vote for “Most Lovely to get Snowed-In With and Protect me from Mountain Lions and Tigers and Bears” 💃

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Good Shootin”

Art & Nature

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Denver Art Museum, & Museum of Nature and Science

After a nice breakfast this morning at our B&B in Denver, Ray, Shirley, Sally and I toured the following:

“Brilliant – Cartier in the 20th Century” at the Art Museum featuring stunning jewelry, timepieces, and precious objects created between 1900 and 1975. This exhibition highlights Cartier’s rise to preeminence—and the historical events pushing the Maison’s, or design house’s, evolution—as it transformed itself into one of the world’s most prestigious names in jewelry and luxurious accessories.

“Matisse and Friends”- Selected Masterworks from the National Gallery of Art showcases 14 paintings from the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., by artists Henri Matisse, André Derain, Albert Marquet, Maurice de Vlaminck, Raoul Dufy, Georges Braque, and Kees van Dongen.

These artists shocked the art world with their raw approach and triggered a succession of innovative movements in modern art. Working in and around Paris at the turn of the twentieth century, they were part of a creative community that sought to redefine painting, favoring an expressive style that emphasized loose brushwork and bold colors.

And, at the Nature Museum: “Silk Road”. Long before the internet and overnight deliveries, the Silk Road connected humanity. Under vast starry skies, across some of the most treacherous landscapes, this legendary trade route stretched 5,700 miles from China through Central Asia to the Middle East and the Roman Empire. Along the way were the world’s most progressive cities, teeming with the lively exchange of exotic goods and new ideas. In the exhibition Traveling the Silk Road, you will take a journey accented by the spectacular sight of camel caravans, the pungent scent of spices, the luster of exquisite silks, and the energy of creative thinking.

Very well done exhibits!