Colorado Country Life October 2014 Yampa

October 2014

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[contents]

October 2014

[cover]

This mechanical Sleeping Giant from Distortions Unlimited goes from a sitting position to 11-feet of scary robotics. Photo by Dennis Smith.

4 4 Viewpoint

EPA visits NW Colorado, hears concerns about Clean Power Plant

5 Letters

16 20 Recipes

Crafty concoctions for a frightfully delicious Halloween

22 Gardening

6 Calendar

7

24 Outdoors

Co-op News

12 NewsClips 14 Cows Come Home to Savings

Electric co-ops partner with dairies to improve energy efficiencies

16 Making Monsters

Zombies, skeletons, ghouls created in a nondescript Greeley warehouse

22,000

the square footage of Distortions Unlimited’s Greeley manufacturing facility

®

Groom your autumn garden for a splash of splendor come spring Getting down to brass tacks: Hunting is more than a sport

25 Energy Tips

22

Explore online

coloradocountrylife.coop

This month’s online extras 4FIND: links to videos on how

monsters are created

for fall trimmings

4GET: great Halloween party ideas 4LEARN: how to build a compost bin 4DISCOVER: ways to power your gadgets

29 Funny Stories 30 Discoveries

616

CLAWS’ intake of homeless cats as of July 2014

$59.99

the price of a pivoting power strip you can control with your smartphone

The official publication of the Colorado Rural Electric Association || Volume 45, Number 10 COMMUNICATIONS STAFF: Mona Neeley, CCC, Publisher/Editor@303-455-4111; mneeley@coloradocountrylife.org Donna Wallin, Associate Editor; dwallin@coloradocountrylife.org Amy Higgins, Editorial Assistant/Writer; ahiggins@coloradocountrylife.org ADVERTISING: Kris Wendtland@303-902-7276, advertising@coloradocountrylife.org; NCM@800-626-1181

EDITORIAL: Denver Corporate Office, 5400 Washington Street, Denver, CO 80216; Phone: 303-455-4111 • Email: mneeley@coloradocountrylife.org • Website: coloradocountrylife.coop • Facebook: facebook.com/COCountryLifw • Twitter: @COCountryLife Colorado Country Life (USPS 469-400/ISSN 1090-2503) is published monthly for $9/$15 per year by Colorado Rural Electric Association, 5400 N. Washington Street, Denver, CO 80216. Periodical postage paid at Denver, Colorado.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Colorado Country Life, 5400 N. Washington Street, Denver, CO 80216 Publication of an advertisement in Colorado Country Life does not imply endorsement by any Colorado rural electric cooperative or the Colorado Rural Electric Association. Editorial opinions published in Colorado Country Life magazine shall pertain to issues affecting rural electric cooperatives, rural communities and citizens. The opinion of CREA is not necessarily that of any particular cooperative or individual.

[viewpoint]

EPA Visits Northwestern Colorado One community shares concerns about proposed Clean Power Plan

BY KENT SINGER || CREA EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR || KSINGER@COLORADOREA.ORG

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From the front door of Moffat County High School in Craig, Colorado, the view is dominated by one of the largest coalfired power plants in the state, the three-unit coal-fired Craig Station. Given the importance of Craig Station to the people who live in Craig and the surrounding Moffat County, it was appropriate that a recent community meeting to discuss the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Power Plan convened at this location.

The EPA’s recently proposed Clean Power Plan is a complex set of regulations that are intended to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide that is released by the U.S. power sector by 30 percent from 2005 levels by the year 2030. In the Clean Power Plan, the EPA suggests that carbon emissions can be reduced through the implementation of four specific “building blocks” or strategies to reduce carbon emissions. The building blocks are: 1) Improving power plant efficiency (known as a reduced “heat rate,” which reduces the amount of fuel required to generate the same amount of electricity); 2) Switching power plant fuel from coal to natural gas; 3) Increasing use of renewable energy or nuclear power that does not emit carbon; and 4) More demand-side (customer) energy efficiency measures.

As I indicated in July’s Viewpoint, the Clean Power Plan calls for the most significant shift in energy policy that has occurred in the United States in decades. If implemented as proposed, it will require electric utilities, including electric co-ops, to significantly change how we provide power to our memberowners for many years to come.

The community meeting in Craig on September 10 provided an opportunity to those concerned about the proposed regulations to express their points of view to EPA Region 8 Administrator Shaun McGrath and his staff. The meeting was unique because it is the only instance where the EPA agreed to attend a special community meeting in addition to the formal hearings that were already held around the country. McGrath and his staff deserve credit for agreeing to attend a meeting in a community that has a lot at stake in how the Clean Power Plan is implemented.

It was clear from the outset that there is a lot of concern in northwestern Colorado about whether the Clean Power Plan will impact the viability of the Craig Station. The high school auditorium was nearly full, and most of those in attendance were supporters of the power plant and the coal mines that provide fuel for the plant.

McGrath kicked off the meeting with an overview of the EPA proposal and the reasons the EPA believes it is necessary

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to curb carbon emissions from the U.S. power sector. He said that global warming is getting worse, and that it is responsible for the recent droughts and fires that occurred across the country.

In response, 14 speakers followed including coal miners, Craig station employees and local business owners.

Kent Singer Craig Station plant manager Rick Johnson explained that, back in the mid-1980s, utilities were required to build coal-fired generation when they needed new power-generating capacity. A federal law actually prohibited the use of natural gas for electricity generation. He also described the additional investments made by Tri-State Generation and Transmission and the other owners of the plant to improve air quality and reduce emissions from the plant.

Johnson also questioned the EPA’s building blocks, pointing out that the 70 percent capacity factor expected of natural gas combined cycle plants and the 6 percent heat rate improvements are unrealistic and unachievable.

A local economist gave a report showing that one in five jobs in Moffat and Routt counties depend on the power plant and the coal mines, and that a large percentage of the property tax base supporting local schools and governments comes from the assessed value of the Craig Station. Several business owners and community leaders also expressed concerns about the likely ripple effect that would occur in the local economy if one or more units at the Craig Station were idled or shut down.

After nearly three hours of discussion, it was clear that despite the assurances of the EPA that it had no intention of shutting down Craig Station or any other coal plant, many members of the community were still concerned.

And that is the challenge as we move forward. All of the stakeholders will need to work together because the fate of Craig Station and other coal-fired power plants in Colorado and their communities will depend on the state implementation plan. That plan needs to meet the objectives of the EPA while maintaining the economic engines of rural Colorado.

Kent Singer, Executive Director

coloradocountrylife.coop

[ letters] More Straight Stuff on V-6 In the August issue (The Golden GM), you mention the first Corvette having a V-6 engine. Actually, it was an in-line 6 called the Blue Flame. Other interesting tidbits about the 1953 and 1954 Vettes are that they were all white in color with red interiors (except for a few special orders), and they were all equipped with a two-speed automatic transmission called the Powerglide. This transmission would become a fantastic drag racing transmission.

Dan Gossett, Whitewater

The first Corvette in 1953 was built with an in-line 6-cylinder with three Carter side-draft carburetors making 150 horsepower.

Joe Chmielewski, Fruita A V-6 would not have been used due to the inherent imbalance present in a V-6, an issue that was not worked out with good counterbalance shafts until the 1980s. Up until that point, they were avoided like the plague due to their ability to rattle every last piece off the car.

WiseSavers

October is a great month to prep your home for the winter. Closefitting insulating drapes keep the heat in and the cold out.

August Behrens, Mt. Crested Butte

Youth Tour Memories Congratulations on 50 years of the Electric Cooperative Youth Tour. I was one of those students given the privilege by White River Electric Association to participate. The program provided perspectives and experiences that shaped who I am today. I am glad to know the program continues to invest in and inspire our future leaders.

Shelie (Tucker) Gustafson, Parker

Get the Grammar Right Please forgive me if I seem to be picky.

One article in August included: “Kerosene lights and woodstoves for heat and light …” when I think it should have read “Kerosene lights and woodstoves for light and heat.” I shudder when I hear people say “I am doing good” when they mean “I am doing well.”

Phil Esler, Limon

GOT A COMMENT? Send your letter to the editor by mail to Colorado Country Life, 5400 Washington St., Denver, CO 80216 or email mneeley@coloradocountrylife.org.

coloradocountrylife.coop

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[calendar]

October

Through October 31 Boulder Pumpkin Patch Fall Festival Cottonwood Farm 10 am-6 pm • cottonwood farms.com October 9 Durango “Masterpieces of the Durango Collection” Exhibit Opening Fort Lewis College swcenter.fortlewis/edu October 9-13 Fremont County Fremont Fall Heritage Festival Various Fremont County Locations 719-942-3679 • fremont historicalsociety.com October 10-12 Littleton Pumpkin Festival Denver Botanic Gardens at Chatfield 9 am-5 pm • botanicgardens. org October 11-13 Abiquiu, NM Abiquiu Studio Tour Galeria Arriba at the Abiquiu Inn 505-685-4454 • abiquiustudio tour.org October 11 Aguilar Shadow of the Breasts Fest Main Street Park 10 am • 719-941-4185 October 11 La Junta Bean Supper Otero Museum 5:30-7:30 pm • www.otero museum.org October 16-19 Golden “Women Writing the West” Conference Golden Hotel and Table Mountain Inn womenwritingthewest.org October 18 Denver Colorado Symphony Chorus 30th Anniversary Gala Boettcher Concert Hall 7:30 pm • 303-623-7876

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October 18 Durango Bulb Sale Durango Public Library 9 am-2 pm • 970-749-5642 October 24-26 Durango Historical Archaeology Class Fort Lewis College 970-259-4099 • sjbas.org October 25-26 Beulah Fall Into Christmas Craft Show Beulah Community Center 10 am-4 pm • pjsmith1120@ yahoo.com October 25 Colorado Springs “Wine and Roses” Wine Tasting Event ProRodeo Hall of Fame 6-9 pm • tlwc.net October 25 Durango Lions Chili and Craft Fair La Plata County Fairgrounds 10 am-5 pm • 970-375-7925 October 25 Fort Collins Halloween Enchanted Garden Gardens on Spring Creek 10 am-2 pm • 970-416-2486 October 25-26 Golden Trick or Treat Train Colorado Railroad Museum 10 am-4 pm • 303-279-4591 October 25-26 Loveland Fall Book Sale The Ranch Larimer County Fairgrounds friendsofthelovelandlibrary.org October 25 Manitou Springs Emma Crawford Coffin Races Downtown Manitou Springs 12-3 pm • 719-685-5089 October 25-26 Monument Fine Art and Craft Show Lewis Palmer High School 719-488-3046 • ccscraft showcustomers@yahoo.com

Featured Event Cattails & Cocktails Benefit for C.L.A.W.S.

October 11, 5-10 pm at Moose Lodge, Grand Junction.

Enjoy music, food, drink, silent auction, face painting and more.

Tickets cost $30 for adults; $15 for children. Proceeds benefit C.L.A.W.S., the only no-kill cat shelter between Denver and Salt Lake City. All ages welcome.

970-314-4015 or visit helpclaws.com

October 26 Durango Book Launch for “Tought Men in Hard Places” Powerhouse Science Center 4 pm • powsci.org/events/calendar

November

November 1 Boulder DeVotchKa Halloween Celebration Boulder Theater 8 pm • bouldertheater.com/ event/devotchka-2

November 7 Littleton “Les Ballets Russes” Performance Mission Hills Church 7:30 pm • 303-781-1892 November 7 Pueblo “Backstage Pass” Fundraiser El Pueblo History Museum 855-543-2430 November 8 Bayfield Arts & Crafts Bazaar Pine River Senior Center 9 am-2 pm • 970-884-4886

November 1 Burlington Gift Gala Burlington Community Center 9 am-3 pm • 719-346-8918

November 8 Buena Vista Gingerbread House Bazaar Faith Lutheran Church 8 am-2 pm • 719-395-2039

November 1 Greeley Cosmic Costume Skate Greeley Ice Haus 7:15-8:45 pm • 970-350-9402

November 8 Colorado Springs Veterans Day Parade Downtown on Tejon Street 10-11:30 am • csvetsparade.org

November 2 Calhan St. Michael’s Bazaar and Turkey Dinner Calhan School 11 am-2 pm • 719-510-1508 November 6-9 Black Forest Arts and Crafts Fall Show & Sale Black Forest Community Center bfacg.org

Capture the extra layer of content on this page. See pg. 2 for instructions on how to connect to websites and videos or visit our website calendar.

SEND CALENDAR ITEMS TWO MONTHS IN ADVANCE TO:

CALENDAR Colorado Country Life 5400 N. Washington St. Denver, CO 80216 Fax to 303.455.2807 or email calendar@coloradocountrylife.org.

Items will be printed on a space available basis. For more information on these and other events, visit coloradocountrylife.coop.

coloradocountrylife.coop

YAMPA VALLEY ELECTRIC ASSOCIATION, INC.

[YVEA News] Attention YVEA Members You May Have Unclaimed Capital Credits

POWER OF CO-OP MEMBERSHIP

A

BY DIANE JOHNSON || PRESIDENT AND GENERAL MANAGER || DJOHNSON@YVEA.COM

Ask yourself this: What does it mean to be a member of Yampa Valley Electric Association?

As a member of Yampa Valley Electric Association (YVEA), you have a voice in how your electric co-op is run; in what’s best for the community; in the decisions that allow us to provide affordable electricity for your home. This October, we’re celebrating National Co-op Month, and we’re recognizing the most important part of our co-op: you, our members.

Diane Johnson Membership represents a vested interest; everyone is more engaged and attentive to something they feel a responsibility toward. Electric co-ops work to engage their members in all the issues surrounding the co-op. When members are engaged and informed they can be partners in their co-ops, not just consumers.

Decades ago, electric co-ops were often formed because other electricy providers wouldn’t serve our areas. Independent utilities didn’t want to invest a great deal of money in an area with very few customers. Founding members came together to build the system we have today, buy power and distribute that power to everyone. By doing it together, it became affordable.

In today’s world, electric co-ops are doing more than just saving money for their members. Being a member of an electric cooperative is truly a unique experience.

For example, YVEA Caring Consumers program enables you to donate to community causes by automatically rounding your bill to the next highest dollar. It is a small amount individually, but the total funds fill many needs in our communities. We support community projects, share in the education of our young people and advocate for issues that matter to our members.

Members are the reason cooperatives exist. The power of co-op membership is created when members embrace the idea that they have more than a passing interest in their co-op and that they actually have the ability to help guide it, that is the power of co-op membership.

Yampa Valley Electric Association is your electric cooperative.

coloradocountrylife.coop

E

Each year YVEA publishes a list of those members who have patronage capital refund checks that were either returned by the postal service as undeliverable or have remained uncashed for more than three years.

These monies must be claimed within 30 days after the published notice. The deadline for claiming these funds is October 13, 2014. You may claim your funds by calling Yampa Valley Electric Association at 970-871-2251 or call toll free at 888873-9832 extension 2251. You will be asked to identify yourself, provide a current mailing address and telephone number and verify the years and/or location of your service with YVEA. We strongly encourage you to contact us and update your information so that future funds may be distributed. You may also visit www. yvea.com for a complete listing of unclaimed capital credits.

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[YVEA News]

Caring Consumers Deadline

C

YVEA NEW HEADQUARTERS We are very excited

Caring Consumers grant deadline is October 15, 2014. If

about our move to

you are interested in applying for funds please visit our

our new headquarters

website at www.yvea.com/new-memberinformation or call 970-879-1160. If you

at 2211 Elk River Road, Steamboat Springs. We

wish to participate in the

Update

are in the process of

Caring Consumers program by rounding up your elec-

getting everything in

tric bill, contact your local

place in order to move

YVEA office. The average

and hope to be at the

cost per member is $6 per

2211 Elk River Road Steamboat Springs

new location by the

year.

end of the year.

YVEA IS PRE-QUALIFYING CONTRACTORS AND VENDORS FOR OUR 2014-15 CONSTRUCTION PHASES AT OUR NEW HEADQUARTERS

W

We are currently accepting applications to prequalify companies for the following contracts and services:

P Asphalt

P Landscaping

P Communications and

information technology

P Office cleaning services

P Concrete

P Painting

P Construction — new

P Plumbing

P Construction — remodel

P Roofing

P Electrical

P Security

P Fencing and gates

P Snow removal

P Garage doors

P Welding and fabrication P Handyman services P Trash services PH eating, ventilating and air-

P Tree trimming and

conditioning

weed control If you would like to pre-qualify please visit our website at www.yvea.com or pick up an application at either our Steamboat or Craig locations. Please fill out the form, attach any necessary documentation and return by one of the following methods: Email to contractors@yvea.com; mail to YVEA Attn: Contractor Qualifications, P.O. Box 771218, Steamboat Springs, CO 80477; fax to 970-879-7270; or drop off at our Steamboat office at

32 10th St., or our Craig office at 3715 E. Highway 40. If you are a sole proprietor, you must also fill out and sign the Hold Harmless Agreement. Completing the questionnaire does not guarantee prequalification. You will be contacted with our decision. If selected, please note that bid packages will be sent out as projects develop.

SURGE PROTECTION PROGRAM

Yampa Valley Electric is putting a hold on the Surge Protection program until January 2015 to revamp the program so that we may better serve members.

If you have any questions, please give us a call at 970-879-1160 or 970-824-

6593.

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[YVEA News]

Innovating to Serve You Better Electric cooperatives have come a long way. In the mid-1930s, nine out of 10 rural homes were without electric service — a service that now, the majority of us greatly depend on in order to live our day-to-day lives. Electricity is no longer a luxury; it is a necessity. Today, in order to meet members’ electrical needs, electric co-ops are providing reliable power using the most advanced technologies available.

In honor of National Co-op Month, Yampa Valley Electric is taking a moment to reflect on a few of the technological advances we took to meet the needs of the most important part of our business: you, our member-owners.

Equipped for reliability When electric co-ops were first forming, state-of-the-art equipment like we use today simply wasn’t an option. Groups of men pooled their strength to raise utility poles, and spools of thick, electrical wire were unrolled and strung individually. Once the poles were set in place, these ambitious men climbed the poles to hang the wire. Today, digger and derrick trucks are used to dig holes and place utility poles and electric lines, along with bucket trucks that have replaced the majority of climbing poles. These advancements not only improve the safety of our lineworkers, but they also make the process less strenuous. Much like setting poles and stringing electrical wire, clearing rights-of-way is no longer done by hand; thanks to technological advances, power saws and tools make clearing much easier. And clearer rights-of-way mean reliable electric service.

Accountable metering Even though they may come in different styles, all homes across the United States have one thing in common: an electric meter.

These small devices are constantly keeping a tally of electric use. While older styles of meters that track kilowatt-hours with small, spinning discs are extremely efficient, many electric cooperatives integrated a much more advanced design into their systems — solid-state metering.

Solid-state meters have the capability of reporting energy use, meter demand, as well as offering outage management, “blink” monitoring, disconnect and reconnect features and various other system functions that help YVEA provide the most reliable power. With solid-state metering in place, Yampa Valley Electric has the ability to create an advanced meter infrastructure (AMI) in the future. Smart metering plays a major role in keeping reliable power flowing to your home and the smart grid running efficiently.

coloradocountrylife.coop

Securing the network The Internet is one of the greatest technological advances known to man. But the online world can be a dangerous place if proper security measures are not taken. With help from the Cooperative Research Network (CRN), electric cooperatives are armed with technological innovations in security, maintaining safe, secure systems for their member-owners.

A new effort by CRN and several partners is under way to ensure that co-ops are delivering power in the safest and most secure way possible. The project is called “Essence,” and through this ambitious effort, researchers are developing the next generation of automated security for the industry.

These are just a few of the technological advances we’ve made, and we remain focused on finding ways to improve our service to you. Technology is ever-changing, and here at Yampa Valley Electric, Yampa Valley Electric, we’ll continue to stay ahead of the game, ensuring safe, reliable and affordable electric power for you, our member-consumers.

Be Wise Around Power Lines Just because power lines are damaged does not mean they are dead; they do not have to be arcing or sparking to be live and dangerous. Stay away and instruct others to do the same.

OCTOBER 2014

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[YVEA News]

Energy-Saving Paints

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BY BRIAN SLOBODA A new series of insulating paints promises energy savings by simply painting the exterior of a building. And in today’s fastpaced world, the easiest option oftentimes seems to be the best option. But do these paints really work?

Some insulating paints promise up to 40 percent energy savings when applied to exterior walls. Typically, insulating paints (also called “nanocoatings” by some vendors) are designed to be applied to a building’s exterior with the goal of reflecting radiant heat energy. These types of radiant barriers provide benefits when properly applied to roofs — particularly in sunny areas with large cooling loads — and there are a number of Energy Star-qualified products that can be used for this purpose.

However, radiant coatings for roofs are different than paints for exterior walls. To date, there is no definitive research showing that adding such coatings to exterior walls is a cost-effective way to reduce building energy use. Instead, there is a good deal of material from coating vendors that confuses radiative heat transfer with conductive heat transfer.

For example, numerous coating manufacturers advertise an “equivalent R-value” of their coatings. R-value represents the amount of insulation needed to reduce conductive heat transfer across a surface. One manufacturer claims that test results show that adding its 100-micron-thick coating to a 4-inch concrete and plaster wall decreased the thermal

conductivity across that wall by nearly 30 percent. In other words, the manufacturer claims that the coating reduced conductive heat transfer by a significant percentage. Simply considering the scale difference between 4 inches of concrete and 100 microns of paint should illustrate why claims like this should be met with extreme suspicion.

In actuality, the R-value of coatings is typically quite low. If a coating were applied to a depth of 1 inch, it might achieve the insulating properties of, say, 1 inch of fiberglass batt insulation or rigid foam. But even that’s unlikely given that a coating doesn’t contain the gas voids that give insulators their insulating properties. Because coatings are applied in a thickness measured in microns, not inches, they simply cannot affect conductive heat loss from a building in any appreciable way and are not directly comparable to traditional insulators on an R-value basis.

The best energy-efficiency improvements are often the simplest and most common.

Turning lights off when leaving a room, sealing windows and doors and cleaning refrigerator coils aren’t as much fun as buying a shiny new appliance or product. But these simple, low-cost actions are proven ways to save energy and increase comfort.

Brian Sloboda is a program manager specializing in energy efficiency for the Cooperative Research Network.

HOME EFFICIENCY ANALYSIS Check out the new “Power of Using Energy Wisely” section of TogetherWeSave.com for energy-saving tools including videos, blog articles, apps, the Saving Energy at Home Tour and the new Home Efficiency Analysis Tool.

The new Home Efficiency Analysis Tool is the next step for electric co-op members to take in saving money and making their homes even more energy efficient. Simply enter information about your home, and the tool will provide a prioritized list of projects and show in-depth project instruction sheets for a DIY weekend project or to use with a contractor. The tool identifies the difficulty level, costs, materials, how-to details and priority level for each project.

Visit TogetherWeSave.com to get started.

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11

[newsclips]

Renewable Hydropower Adds Up for Co-ops

M

More renewable hydropower was added to the co-op portfolio of resources this summer by Colorado’s electric co-ops. These new resources include small hydropower projects at existing dams, as well as “run-of-the-river” projects that rely on the natural flow of a stream or irrigation canal.

Today, hydropower provides about 80,000 megawatts of capacity in the United States — enough to power more than 25 million average homes — and accounts for about 75 percent of all renewable electricity used by electric co-ops nationwide. In Colorado, hydropower comprises more than 10 percent of the power the co-ops buy from their supplier, Tri-State Generation and Transmission. Much of that comes from large federal dams and has for years.

However, newer hydropower resources are coming from smaller projects such as the Tri-County Water Conservancy District’s new 8-megawatt hydropower project, which began operation this summer. Tri-State worked with the district to develop this project at an It looks like any other water pipe, but this water is turning a turbine existing dam. It is expected to generate enough electricity to provide to generate electricity at a micro hydropower site in co-op territory. power to about 2,500 homes in a year with average amounts of water.

There are four other small hydropower projects under contract with Tri-State. The largest of those is the Vallecito Hydroelectric Project near Bayfield. It has a capacity of 5.2 megawatts. The next largest hydropower plant is the 5-megawatt Boulder Canyon Hydroelectric Plant a few miles up Boulder Canyon west of Boulder. Tri-State also buys power from the Williams Fork Hydroelectric Project near Kremmling and the Jackson Gulch Hydro Project near Mancos.

And, as noted in a recent Tri-State newsletter, several of Tri-State’s members are also building projects on their own. The association’s members developed or are individually planning 11 small hydroelectric projects. These range in size from 42 kilowatts of capacity to 7.5 megawatts of output. Co-ops buying power from the local investor-owned utility are also involved with at least four small hydroelectric projects ranging in size from to 20 kilowatts to 15 megawatts.

This all adds to the renewable energy electric co-ops provide to their member-owners. In 2013, 20 percent of the energy Tri-State co-ops delivered to their members was from renewable energy.

Using Less Energy Colorado is ranked as the 19th lowest state in total energy consumed per capita. Consumption dropped 9 million Btus per capita from 2011 to 2013.

— www.eia.gov/state/rankings

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[newsclips]

What’s Ahead in the Electric Industry?

Micro hydropower generation: What are its challenges?

Energy storage: Is it still the next big thing?

Energy efficiency: What is the latest technology?

Rooftop solar: Who should pay?

The latest information on these topics and more will be presented Monday, October 27 during CREA’s Energy Innovations Summit in downtown Denver.

First presented by the Colorado Rural Electric Association in 2010, this annual daylong event gives attendees an opportunity to hear the latest advances within the electric industry. New possibilities, research and best practices are presented by experts in their fields.

This year’s program, designed for directors, managers and employees in electric energy-related fields, will open with a look ahead to electricity generation in the year 2030. From there the program will split into break-out sessions, including one on whether or not carbon capture and storage will ever make sense for coal-fired power plants and one looking at how to engage customers in demand response.

The summit will close with a panel discussing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s new Clean Power Plan and if its benefits will outweigh its costs. The panel will Register for the include EPA Region 8 Administrator Shaun McGrath and day at crea.coop representatives of Colorado electric utilities.

Beware of Scams

Protect Personal Info

Your local electric cooperative is concerned that scammers may be calling and contacting members, using the electric co-op’s name, to gain private, financial information. Both individuals and businesses should beware of anyone asking for personal information over the phone.

There are recent reports of callers threatening the immediate shutoff of electricity until they are paid the past-due amount. The scammer then asks the co-op member to buy a prepaid Green Dot MoneyPak card, which is available at most convenience or grocery stores, and load the past-due amount on the card.

Then the member is asked to call the scammer back and provide the number on the back of the card. This is not something your electric co-op would do.

If you ever have questions about a bill, a past-due amount or someone asking for personal information, contact you local co-op directly. If you wonder whether someone is actually from the co-op, ask for their name and call them back through your co-op’s main number.

coloradocountrylife.coop

Co-op Group Joins Solar Initiative

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Finding ways to better develop and finance utility-scale solar projects is the goal of a new initiative spearheaded by the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association and the Cooperative Finance Corporation.

The Solar Utility Network Deployment Acceleration, or SUNDA, project is supported by a $3.6 million grant to NRECA from the U.S. Department of Energy’s SunShot Initiative, a federal funding vehicle. NRECA and the electric co-ops will provide 25 percent matching funds.

“The SUNDA project shows how cooperation among cooperatives can drive innovation,” said Jim Spiers, NRECA vice president of technology, engineering and economic analysis.

“The administrative and financial challenges have proved a higher hurdle than the engineering challenges of solar photovoltaic. By collaborating with CFC, we can develop financing solutions that can be shared across the co-op network.”

Over SUNDA’s four-year timeline, project collaborators plan to develop and implement processes for solar deployment at electric co-ops.

OCTOBER 2014

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[industry]

Dairy cows marvel over the energy efficient upgrades at their home, Mountain View Farm in Loveland.

The Cows Come Home to Savings Electric co-ops partner with dairies to improve energy efficiencies

BY AMY HIGGINS

Energy efficiency. We hear it, read it and discuss it often. All of us at the Colorado Rural Electric Association, Colorado electric cooperatives and Colorado Country Life magazine are no exception. We continually promote energy-saving ideas and solutions to help reduce electric co-op members’ electric bills and their carbon footprint. The Colorado Dairy and Irrigation Efficiency Pilot Program is our most recent platform to further this effort.

The program started in the fall of 2013 through a partnership between CREA’s EnergyWise Project, the Colorado Department of Agriculture, the Colorado Energy Office, Colorado State University Extension, the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy, the Natural Resource Conservation Service, Tri-State Generation and Transmission, Western Dairy Association and several Colorado electric cooperatives. The team applied for a grant to help farmers perform electric, heating and lighting upgrades and, in February 2014, got the go-ahead. With a June 30 deadline, it was a race to the finish.

Eight Colorado dairy farms in electric co-op territories — one from Highline Electric Association based in Holyoke, two from Morgan County Rural Electric Association based in Fort Morgan, one from Poudre Valley Rural Electric Association based in Fort Collins and four from United Power based in Brighton — participated in the pilot program.

EnSave, a Vermont-based company that provides energy efficiency services to agricultural businesses, jump-started projects 14

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OCTOBER 2014

by performing energy audits at the dairy farms and helping the farm owners assess the best way to utilize the grant funds. It also helped them apply for additional funding through CEO and other sources of capital. CEO, CDA and the U.S. Department of Agriculture offered grant funding of 75 percent of the total cost of each project with a cap of $25,000. The dairies were responsible for the remaining 25 percent.

Electric cooperative representatives approached dairy owners in their territories who are also members of their co-op. “This approach ensured the CEO that producers would be contacted and asked to participate by a familiar person, the co-op member representative, who was genuinely interested in helping them save energy and improve their bottom line,” said United Power Community Affairs Representative Bill Meier, who oversaw each step at every project in United’s territory.

“The audit was key to raising awareness and building confidence to move forward,” said Cary Weiner, energy specialist at CSU Extension and co-director at CSU Center for Agricultural Energy.

Once the projects were approved, it was a mad dash to order the supplies and perform installations before the June 30 deadline. The majority of funding went toward lighting upgrades and compressor heat recovery systems.

Contractors outfitted Double W Dairy in Holyoke with several lighting upgrades as well as two “free-heat” tanks. Before the upgrades, Double W used two propane-fired boilers with indirect water heaters to heat water from 60 degrees to 180 degrees. The new free-heat tanks capture the heat extracted from compressors during the milking process and preheat stored water to around 110 degrees, a 50-degree temperature difference in the stored coloradocountrylife.coop

water, which saves energy required to heat the water.

“The whole process was great, from the beginning, when they gave the audit, up to the installations,” said Glenn Huwa, partner of Double W Dairy along with his two brother in-laws, Marc and Gregg Wailes. “The preliminary work by (Highline Electric Association’s general manager) Mark Farnsworth was also really appreciated,” Huwa added.

“It was a good group of people to work with,” said Foy Chapin, co-owner of Chapin Dairy in Weldona, which received several lighting upgrades and three free-heat tanks.

“I think everything went well. The hardest part was the short time frame.” It was a time frame he anticipated with a pilot program, he said Despite the rush, installations were professionally completed and positive customer feedback continues. Farm owners saw energy savings from their free-heat tanks soon after projects concluded, but savings from lighting upgrades will take some time. “I’m sure we’re saving energy with the lighting,” Huwa said. “As fall and winter get here, the lights are on more often. So we’ll see more of the benefit this winter.”

The program compelled some farm owners to further their energy efficiency goals. According to Jay Pratz, PVREA key account representative, Mountain View Farm in Loveland boosted its efficiency with free-heat installation from the pilot program and is now taking advantage of PVREA’s lighting rebates, which the co-op offers to its members year-round.

EnSave verified the installations and calculated how much each farm owner will save on energy with the new equipment and how it will impact the environment. In all, EnSave projected annual electricity savings of 856,218 kilowatt-hours, natural gas savings of 12,478 Ccf (the volume of 100 cubic feet of natural gas), propane saving of 16,527 gallons and an average payback of five years. In addition, EnSave estimates the upgrades will save an average of nearly 2 million pounds in carbon dioxide emissions.

When discussions of this program initiated, irrigators were also on the agenda. Unfortunately, it was the wrong time of year for irrigators, as the audits and upgrades would interfere with business production. Partners in the dairy efficiency program applied for a second grant for 2015. If their application is granted, they plan to begin audits and upgrades as soon as it is practical for both dairies and irrigators.

“Colorado’s electric co-ops are always looking for ways to help their member-owners save money on their power bills,” said CREA Executive Director Kent Singer. “We appreciate the opportunity to partner with the Colorado Energy Office on the dairy efficiency pilot project and hope to continue these kinds of cost-saving projects as part of our EnergyWise program.”

coloradocountrylife.coop

Double W Dairy in Holyoke is one of eight farms where energy efficiency upgrades are saving energy and money.

View of the milking parlor at Chapin Dairy in Weldona where several energy efficiency upgrades were preformed.

Mountain View Farm Owner Michelle Dickinson shows off her new free-heat tanks, which are saving energy and money for the dairy.

OCTOBER 2014

15

Business co-owner Marsha Edmunds hangs around with a “quartet of ghouls.”

T

Terrorizing people into shrieking parox-

ysms of fear for fun and profit seems an

A monster head with an exposed brain is a full-size working podium for speakers and announcers at haunted house events.

unlikely endeavor for a mature married couple with grandchildren. Yet that’s exactly what Ed and Marsha Edmunds have done for nearly 40 years. Not only do they love it, they are also among the best in the world at it. And no, they’re not a pair of sick, twisted weirdos.

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OCTOBER 2014

coloradocountrylife.coop

The Sleeping Giant is a huge mechanical creature activated by a pressure or motion switch. He awakens from a sleeping, sitting position and rises to become a 11-foot monster that threatens to gobble you up.

I

Making Monsters

BY DE NNIS SMITH

In fact, the Edmunds are genuinely warm and caring people. They are soft-spoken entrepreneurs with a strong Christian faith, ridiculously creative minds and an overabundance of imaginative artistic talents who turned their mutual interests in science fiction, fantasy, drama and art into a family-run business that grew to supply clients all over the world with — um, monsters.

Monsters?

Yep, monsters.

Their company, Distortions Unlimited, headquartered in Greeley, designs, creates and builds monsters: life-sized ghouls, zombies and rotted corpses; flesh-eating giants; brain-eating hunchbacks; and snarling gargoyles. They construct severed limbs, bloody body parts and a mind-numbing assortment of horribly gruesome creatures, movie props and immense, electronically-programmed and mechanically-animated displays, the likes of which almost defy human description. They are not for the squeamish.

I know; I recently toured the Distortions Unlimited manufacturing facility with the owners, then watched videos of them crafting a new creation for a client from start to finish.

The experience was enlightening in a most bizarre yet intriguing sort of way.

The Edmunds and their team of artists, sculptors and engineers were designing and constructing a fully animated, programmable

monster’s head hand-feeding itself a kicking and squirming full-size “human being” with much the same enthusiasm a medieval party reveler might have dropping a bunch of grapes into his mouth. The creature’s head was as big as a Volkswagen, with teeth as long as a man’s forearm. Its cavernous, salivadrenched jaws could accommodate an entire human body in one gulp — which it did in grand style, accompanied by the victim’s screams and a cacophony of fire, brimstone and hair-raising sounds.

I wasn’t sure if I should be disturbed, bewildered, amazed or impressed. All four would be appropriate. What kind of person buys this stuff anyway? And why?

As it turns out, hundreds of thousands of people love this stuff. Halloween, apparently, is second only to Christmas in generating holiday revenue, and the “dark entertainment” business is a multibillion-dollar-a-year industry with fervent customers ranging all the way from your neighborhood trickor-treaters to wholesale mask and costume distributors, Hollywood set designers, corporate amusement parks and private collectors — not to mention a frightfully huge and increasingly popular year-round, international haunted house trade.

The man-eating creature they built in the video, for example, was the brainchild of Allan Bennett of Baltimore, Maryland. Allan

Ed Edmunds, co-owner

Edmunds has scared people since he was young. There was the time Ed walked into gym class with his hand gushing blood from the mangled stump of a supposedly severed finger he concocted of foam and latex, just for giggles.

[continued on page 18] coloradocountrylife.coop

OCTOBER 2014

17

These two ghouls are just an example of hundreds of different kinds of creatures in the Distortions Unlimited inventory.

and his wife are owners and operators of one of the top haunted houses in America. Renowned for their creatively outsized, original sets, the Bennetts rely heavily on Distortions Unlimited to help them design the unique displays that earned them the distinction of being named the number one haunted house attraction in Maryland.

Allan envisioned the man-eating ogre from the earth’s core and emailed his idea to Ed and Marsha. That was the beginning, and before long an imaginary creature in one man’s mind transformed into a hideous, bigger-than-life animatronic monster in a world-famous house of horrors.

The process of bringing a new monster to the marketplace is not wholly unlike that of developing any other consumable except, of course, that the finished product is created solely to scare the living tar out of anyone who sees it. For that reason alone, this process seems much more fascinating.

“There’s a whole lot more going on behind the mask than meets the eye,” Ed told me. “It all begins with an idea — the fruit of someone’s wildly vivid imagination.”

Then Marsha chimed in, “An idea can come from anywhere or anybody — either Ed or I, an employee, one of our artists or sculptor, or a customer — as in the case of the man-eating demon,” she said. “Some of our wildest creations came as requests from our customers.

“First,” Marsha explained, “We sit down with the customer to discuss the basic appearance and application of the new monster. Once the basic idea is agreed upon, artists are called in to draw preliminary sketches.”

If approved by the customer, the finished drawing becomes the equivalent of a working blueprint for the sculptors, mechanics, and other craftsmen who will begin the exacting process of turning that print into a finished masterpiece.

A sculptor creates the full-sized finished clay figure, which is then used as the master for a plaster mold from which the body and lifelike latex skin of the creature from. Simultaneously, Distortions’ mechanical engineer, Mike Glover, begins fabricating the armature or electromechanical infrastructure that activates the monster with sound and motion. It is a complex, exacting and, considering the monstrous (sorry) size of some of the monsters, extremely demanding process.

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OCTOBER 2014

Brothers Mando and Mon Olivares, who run the molding shop, told me that while a finished foam and latex monster might easily weigh several hundred pounds, the original clay sculpture and plaster castings used to create such a beast can weigh up to several thousand pounds. Casting the monsters is labor intensive, the plaster molds are fragile and extreme skill is required throughout the entire casting and assembly process.

Once the creature’s physical outward configuration is complete, the high-tech electronic and mechanical devices that regulate the motions of the creature are installed and any prerecorded sounds the monster might make are likewise timed to its movements. (It wouldn’t do, for example, to have a monster shrieking a barrage of atrocious noises while its mouth was obviously slammed shut.)

In the finishing stages, artists begin the intricate work of airbrushing the final color schemes and applying head and facial hair and other unique details that transform the creature’s features from monochromatic latex to a gloriously colored work of astonishing and horrifying believability. After final testing, the monster is boxed and shipped to the customer.

It is interesting to note that because many of the creations are unique, each shipping container must also be custom built to accommodate it. A Distortions crew

coloradocountrylife.coop

Scan this page with the Layar app or visit travelchannel.com/tv-shows/makingmonsters to see how these monsters are created.

The White Rat is part of the Sleeping Giant display. He narrates a ghastly tale while the giant talks about how he’s going to eat your bones.

will usually install or oversee the on-site installation, making certain the unit functions properly in its new environment and the customer is happy before heading back home to start the next ghoulish project. Depending on the size and complexity of the project, the process from initial design to final installation can vary from a few weeks to several months.

OK, fine. That’s how you build a monster. But how do you build a company from a 16-year-old kid’s bedroom hobby into one of the most sought-after monster-making manufacturing operations in the world? It is all too easy to state the obvious: unrelenting dedication, persistence and hard work, and, of course, that’s the essential core of it. And then there are the seemingly innocuous little twists of fate that triggered one revolutionary spurt of innovation and success after another, after another.

There was the time Ed walked into gym class with his hand gushing blood from the mangled stump of a supposedly severed finger he concocted of foam and latex, just for giggles. His teachers rushed him to the nurse’s office before they realized it was just a prank. The teachers were relieved, but it was an epiphany for young Ed. He suddenly realized he could terrify people momentarily with his creations, and make them laugh at the joke when it was over. He loved the drama. Scaring people was fun — and harmless. Hmmm. An idea took shape.

He continued to hone his artistic skills sculpting monster heads of clay and applying stage makeup for touring theatrical groups, all the while nurturing the little home-based, maskmaking operation he dubbed Distortions Unlimited. After high school, he studied art at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley, during which time the owner of a local costume shop marveled at an alien mask Ed was crafting and asked him to re-

coloradocountrylife.coop

create it for resale in his shop.

Another lightbulb went on: A guy could make money doing this, and Distortions Unlimited evolved from a hobby to a business, though an infant business at first. Within a year, though, Ed was advertising his original masks in a trade magazine. Morris Costumes, a national distributor and a giant in the industry, picked up the Distortions Unlimited product line and projected Ed’s little company into the national marketplace.

Growth followed almost immediately and Distortions moved from a bedroom to a garage and basement. With growth came diversification, and Ed began crafting props — severed fingers, latex blood-crusted hands and the first sculpted, severed arm in the industry. During this period, he hired Marsha Taub, a young biology student he met at church, to help at Distortions where she quickly became an integral part of the entire operation.

They painted masks, made molds, poured latex and cooked up crazy monster ideas together. Before long, they married and the company blossomed.

Focus shifted from just masks to props, aliens, zombies, fullscale monsters and dark attraction displays. But as each new project idea became more complicated, so did the skills and specialized knowledge to make them. Ed had to learn how to weld and work with pneumatic and electronic equipment. With each new core knowledge he learned came more ideas and opportunities. Distortions moved into a 22,000-square-foot manufacturing facility with automated production equipment.

In the years that followed, Distortions began mass production of the alien queen from the movie “Alien.” It also started its first haunted house and created the first, now-famous, realistic electric chair with sound, smoke and lights that many experts in the dark entertainment business credit with revolutionizing the haunted house industry.

All this success was picked up on by a television producer in 2011, who developed a reality series, “Monster Makers.” It ran for three wildly successful seasons on the Travel Channel.

Today, housed in a 24,000-square-foot facility in Greeley, Distortions Unlimited remains one of the preeminent designers of animatronic monsters and displays for the haunted house and dark entertainment industry. Ed, Marsha and their crew have a wonderfully spooky future as they continue calmly cranking out all manners of corpses, zombies and brain-eating monsters.

Dennis Smith is a freelance outdoor writer/columnist whose work has appeared in numerous state and national publications.

He’s been CCL’s outdoor columnist for more than 20 years, and though he wrote other features stories, Dennis says “Making Monsters” was by far the most bizarre assignment he ever had.

After touring the monster factory at Distortions Unlimited and seeing how funny zombies really are, the only thing he’s still afraid of are spiders and snakes.

OCTOBER 2014

19

[recipes]

Crafty Concoctions for All Kinds of Creatures Recipes that will give guests goose bumps

BY AMY HIGGINS || AHIGGINS@COLORADOCOUNTRYLIFE.ORG

Parchment Hocus-Pocus Cutout cookie dough often loses its form when transferred from floured surface to baking sheet. Try rolling dough on parchment paper.

After using the cookie cutters, cut the paper around the shapes and easily lift the cookie, paper and all, and place on the baking sheet.

Sinfully Simple Peel and split bananas and then decorate with chocolate chip faces to create edible ghosts. Or, peel Cuties oranges and stick a sliver of celery on top for a juicy pumpkin treat.

Scan this page for decorating tips or visit colorado countrylife.coop for more ghoulish recipes.

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OCTOBER 2014

H

Halloween is creeping in. Soon, carved pumpkins, cackling witches and creepy crawlies will infest neighborhoods everywhere ‌ in the most thrilling way. Get into the Halloween spirit and host a party to die for. But when the vampires and werewolves rap at your door, be sure to indulge them with terribly terrific treats, or it just may haunt you. There are gobs of ghoulish recipes and creative ideas at your fingertips. These jumped out at us.

Masquerade Cookies You will need eyeglass cookie cutters for this recipe.

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon salt 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar 1 egg 1 1/2 teaspoons imitation clear vanilla extract 1/2 teaspoon imitation almond extract Royal icing, in various colors Colored sugars, in various colors Halloween jimmies, nonpareils and icing decorations, as desired Candy melts candy Cookie sticks Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, mix flour, baking powder and salt. In second large bowl, beat butter and sugar with electric mixer until light and fluffy.

Beat in egg and extracts. Add flour mixture to butter mixture 1 cup at a time, mixing after each addition. Do not chill dough. Divide dough into 2 balls.

On floured surface, roll each ball into a circle approximately 12 inches in diameter by 1/8-inch thick. Dip eyeglass cookie cutters in flour before each use. Arrange cookies on ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake 8 to 11 minutes or until cookies are lightly browned. Cool completely on cooling rack. Decorate as desired using tinted royal icing, colored sugars and Halloween icing decorations. Use melted candy to attach sticks to backs of cookies; chill until set.

Courtesy of Wilton

Pumpkin Pound Cake

You will need a large pumpkin pan for this recipe ($39.99 on Amazon.com) 3 cups all-purpose flour 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened 2 cups granulated sugar 4 eggs 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 1 1/4 cups canned 100 percent pumpkin (not pie filling) Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Prepare pumpkin pan lightly with vegetable pan spray with flour.

Place on baking sheet. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg.

In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar with electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition; beat in vanilla. Add flour mixture alternately with pumpkin; mix well.

Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 70-80 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 15 minutes in pan. Turn onto cooling rack. Cool completely before serving.

Courtesy of Wilton

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OCTOBER 2014

21

[gardening]

Autumn’s Garden Charms and Chores Groom your garden in the fall for spring splendor

BY KRISTEN HANNUM || GARDENING@COLORADOCOUNTRYLIFE.ORG

P

Poet James Whitcomb Riley’s October poem reminds me how much I love October: “They’s something kindo’ harty-like about the atmusfere “When the heat of summer’s over and the coolin’ fall is here —” Garden chores are a perfect excuse to get out into a crisp Colorado October day, and although those chores’ effects are mostly invisible now, they’ll make all the difference next spring.

The cleanup is straightforward: Dump your frost-killed annuals and containers’ contents into the compost bin. Clean the debris out of your beds and cook it in the compost as well. Clean up those containers and hoses and store them away until next spring.

No compost bin? With all the falling leaves, October is the perfect time to build one. I collected a bunch of pallets and then watched several YouTube instructional videos to design the bin I wanted: one with two bays.

How to make a compost bin from a plastic container — youtube.com/ watch?v=hY5MHRK6IY8 How to make a three-bay wooden pallet bin: youtube.com/watch?v= 66tLQVUcHdI I cut back perennials troubled by pests and throw diseased foliage into the trash.

Otherwise, I usually leave the stalks and leaves, partly to remind me where they are and partly to hold the snow, which insulates them.

Linda Langelo, Colorado State University Extension’s Golden Plains area horticultural program associate, says this 22

4

OCTOBER 2014

“When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder’s in the shock ...” is also the time to dig finished compost into your garden and vegetable beds.

That gives it all winter to work its magic, changing the soil structure into a richer bed that will feed your plants next spring and summer.

October is perfect for cleaning up, but resist the urge to cover up just yet. Mulching around perennials should wait until the ground freezes, at which time you can pile it especially high around tender plants like hydrangeas. The only way to grow them in Colorado is to coddle them; guard them with lots of mulch and hope for the best.

Now is also the time to feed the lawn.

“This is an absolute must,” Langelo says.

“We tend to want to feed our lawns in the spring. But fall is the most important time.”

Use organic fertilizer. It’s annoyingly more expensive, but in the long term it’s easier and better for your soil; and in the short term your worms will thank you.

Feed your lawn in early October and then again in late October or early November, if weather permits. Langelo advises skipping the first spring feeding and, instead, feeding your lawn again the first week of June. “The reason being that you’re feeding the root system in the winter,”

she says. “Don’t feed it early in the spring when it’s just creating vegetative growth.”

Another item on your October checklist should be a final deep-root watering for trees and shrubs. Use your best judgment on this, taking into consideration the placement, species and age of the tree.

The most satisfying October chore is deciding on what to do differently next year. This is the time to look around and judge what worked and what didn’t. That three-year-old butterfly bush that’s still just a spindly stalk? Pull it out. If you have a soft heart, go ahead and find it a new home. But take it out and think about what would be happier in its old place.

Make notes in your garden journal. If you don’t have one, begin one immediately, because, whether you’re 38 or 83, you will forget.

Then, as the evening shadows lengthen, embrace the golden day behind you before it turns gloomy. Turn now to October’s other primary charm: the first fires in your fireplace, to be enjoyed with a good book and hot cup of tea.

Read

previous gardening columns at coloradocountrylife.coop. Search for gardening.

Kristen Hannum is a native Colorado gardener.

Email or write her with wisdom or comments at gardening@coloradocountrylife.org.

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Enter CCL’s Photo Contest • Enter CCL’s Photo Contest

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Colorado Country Life’s

Photo Contest

1. Colorado Landscape

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Rules: Please follow all guidelines carefully. All photos/files become the property of Colorado Country Life. Original print photos will not be returned. Winners will be published in the March 2015 magazine.

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Signature Date

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STATEMENT OF OWNERSHIP, MANAGEMENT & CIRCULATION 1. Publication Title: COLORADO COUNTRY LIFE 2. Publication No.: 469-400; 3. Filing Date: 09/19/2014; 4. Issue Frequency: Monthly 5.

No. of Issues Published Annually: 12; 6. Annual Subscription Price: $9; 7. Complete Mailing Address of Known Office of Publication: 5400 Washington St., Denver, CO 80216; Contact Person: Mona Neeley; Telephone: 303-455-4111; 8. Complete Mailing Address of Headquarters or General Business Office of Publisher: 5400 Washington St., Denver, CO 80216; 9. Full Names and Complete Mailing Addresses of Publisher, Editor, and Managing Editor Publisher: Mona Neeley, 5400 Washington St., Denver, CO 80216; Editor: Mona Neeley, 5400 Washington St., Denver, CO 80216; Managing Editor: Not applicable; 10. Owner Full Name: Colorado Rural Electric Association; Complete Mailing Address: 5400 Washington St., Denver, CO 80216; 11. Known Bondholders, Mortgagees, and Other Security Holders Owning or Holding 1 Percent or More of Total Amount of Bonds, Mortgages or Other Securities: None; 12. Tax Status (For completion by nonprofit organization authorized to mail at special rates). The purpose, function, and nonprofit status of this organization and the exempt status for federal income tax purposes: Has Not Changed During Preceding 12 Months; 13. Publication Title: Colorado Country Life; 14. Issue Date for Circulation Data Below: September 2014; 15. Extent and Nature of Circulation - Average No. Copies Each Issue During Preceding 12 Months; a. Total Number of Copies (Net press run): 209,780; b. Paid Circulation (By Mail and Outside the Mail): (1) Mailed Outside-County Paid Subscriptions Stated on PS Form 3541 (Include paid distribution above nominal rate, advertiser’s proof copies and exchange copies): 208,341; (2) Mailed In-County Paid Subscriptions Stated on PS Form 3541 (Include paid distribution above nominal rate, advertiser’s proof copies, and exchange copies): None; (3) Paid Distribution Outside the Mails Including Sales Through Dealers and Carriers, Street Vendors, Counter Sales, and Other Paid Distribution Outside USPS: 667; (4) Paid Distribution by Other Classes of Mail Through the USPS (e.g. First-Class Mail®): None; c. Total Paid Distribution (Sum of 15b (1), (2), (3), and (4)): 209,008; d. Free or Nominal Rate Distribution (By Mail and Outside the Mail): (1) Free or Nominal Rate OutsideCounty Copies included on PS Form 3541: 101; (2) Free or Nominal Rate In-County Copies Included on PS Form 3541: None; (3) Free or Nominal Rate Copies Mailed at Other Classes Through the USPS (e.g.

First-Class Mail): None; (4) Free or Nominal Rate Distribution Outside the Mail (Carriers or other means): 670; e. Total Free or Nominal Rate Distribution (Sum of 15d (1), (2), (3) and (4)): 771; f. Total Distribution (Sum of 15c and 15e): 209,779; g. Copies not Distributed: None; h.

Total (Sum of l5f and g.): 209,779; (i) Percent Paid (15c divided by 15f times 100): 99.6%. • No. Copies of Single Issue Published Nearest to Filing Date; a. Total Number of Copies (Net press run): 214,659. b. Paid Circulation (By Mail and Outside the Mail): (1) Mailed Outside-County Paid Subscriptions Stated on PS Form 3541 (Include paid distribution above nominal rate, advertiser’s proof copies and exchange copies): 213,370. (2) Mailed In-County Paid Subscriptions Stated on PS Form 3541 (Include paid distribution above nominal rate, advertiser’s proof copies, and exchange copies): None; (3) Paid Distribution Outside the Mails Including Sales Through Dealers and Carriers, Street Vendors, Counter Sales, and Other Paid Distribution Outside USPS®: 667; (4) Paid Distribution by Other Classes of Mail Through the USPS (e.g. First-Class Mail®): None; c. Total Paid Distribution (Sum of 15b (1), (2), (3), and (4)): 214,037; d. Free or Nominal Rate Distribution (By Mail and Outside the Mail): (1) Free or Nominal Rate Outside-County Copies included on PS Form 3541: 97; (2) Free or Nominal Rate In-County Copies Included on PS Form 3541: None; (3) Free or Nominal Rate Copies Mailed at Other Classes Through the USPS (e.g. First-Class Mail): None; (4) Free or Nominal Rate Distribution Outside the Mail (Carriers or other means): 525 e. Total Free or Nominal Rate Distribution (Sum of 15d (1), (2), (3) and (4)): 622; f. Total Distribution (Sum of 15c and 15e): 214,659; g. Copies not Distributed: None; h. Total (Sum of l5f and g.): 214,659; (i) Percent Paid (15c divided by 15f times 100): 99.7%. 16. We are not claiming any electronic copies on this form.

17. Publication of Statement of Ownership: If the publication is a general publication, publication of this statement is required. Will be printed in the October 2014 issue of this publication. 18. Signature and Title of Editor, Publisher, Business Manager or Owner: /s/ Mona Neeley Date: 09/16/14 I certify that all information furnished on this form is true and complete. I understand that anyone who furnishes false or misleading information on this form or who omits material or information requested on the form may be subject to criminal sanctions (including fines and imprisonment) and/or civil sanctions (including civil penalties).

PS Form 3526, July 2014

24

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OCTOBER 2014

[outdoors]

Getting Down to Brass Tacks Hunting is a valid sport and much more

BY DENNIS SMITH

O

Once again, there’s a of the number of football great deal of comstars who were conmentary regarding victed of either using or hunting and whether distributing “controlled or not it should be substances.” And, I’ve considered a “legitiyet to see a hockey game mate” sport. This is that didn’t erupt into alla debate that will out head-bashing brawl. continue to appear Orders of magnitude as long as there are separate hunters and people out there hunting from the kind of who refuse to come brutal violence football to grips with the players, hockey stars hollowness of their and boxers subject us to arguments. The oldevery year in the name A hunter seeks solitude, and maybe est and most pointless of sport, and yet they the chance to bag an elk for the famone is this: “Anyone are worshiped as heroes. ily freezer. with any degree of Meanwhile, hunters — intelligence would recognize that hunting who actually perform a civic duty by helpis nothing more than legalized violence ing manage wildlife populations — are toward animals.” portrayed as murderers and villains.

Really? Well then, so is eating a rib eye For the record, hunting is much, much steak. more than a sport. Success requires Attaching the word the “sport” to a proficiency in orienteering, woodcraft, pursuit, pastime or other form of recrebackpacking, marksmanship, survival ation doesn’t automatically confer some skills, wildlife identification, weather higher moral quality to that endeavor. prediction and other outdoor-related Nor does it preclude aggressive or violent abilities. Hunters don’t shoot up on behavior. After all, prizefighting is a performance-enhancing drugs, indulge in legitimate sport, and fight fans around drunken pregame rallies or hire scantily the world idolize professional boxers clad cheerleaders to psyche them up while as world-class athletes, champions and they’re on the field. In fact, they go with heroes. They shriek with joy at the sight of family members and old friends quietly to two half-naked men beating each other to the woods and marshes in search of peace bloody senselessness for a shot at the title, and solitude, to immerse themselves in a belt buckle the size of a dinner plate and the wonders of nature and, on occasion, a truckload of $1,000 bills. How nice. Do to bring back a duck or deer for the dinthat with chickens and you’ll end up in ner table. When they do kill, they do so jail. with deep reverence and remorse for the One of the most celebrated heavyweight animal’s life they took and give thanks for titleholders in the world is a convicted the blessing of food. They don’t set streets rapist, thug and wife-beater was known afire, burn cars and vandalize retail shops to bite the ears off an opponents in the to celebrate their team’s good fortune the ring. Some of baseball’s best long-ball way some sports fans do. After all, that hitters and home run kings were drunks wouldn’t be sporting. or steroid-shooting cheaters. I lost count Miss an issue? Catch up at coloradocountrylife.coop. Search for Outdoors.

coloradocountrylife.coop

[energy tips]

OUT WITH THE OLD When does it make sense to upgrade an appliance?

BY JAMES DULLEY

T The

Powering theBicycle Plains Team Thanks all of its sponsors for the September Pedal the Plains tour

The team rode to raise money for Energy Outreach Colorado.

You can still GIVE. Visit www. powering theplains. coop.

coloradocountrylife.coop

To do a proper payback analysis of the decision to replace an existing appliance, first determine the cost to operate your existing appliance. You may have kept the old EnergyGuide label with your paperwork from the old appliance, or you may be able to do an Internet search to find it.

Keep in mind that even if you have the EnergyGuide label showing annual operating costs, these figures are only averages. If you are already energy conscious, your current operating costs are likely on the low side and savings from installing a new appliance will be lower than the average annual cost figures indicated.

The rate of efficiency improvements and Front-loading clothes washers meaningful new are the most energy efficient. features for major Washer and dryer sets can be stacked on top of one another appliances is to save floor space. slowing, so there is no need to wait if you really need a new one. Televisions are the exception because their prices are constantly dropping and features and quality improving.

In general, it makes economic sense to keep older, major appliances about 10 years or until they need expensive repairs.

If you make a concerted effort to use your older appliances as seldom and efficiently as possible, they will not cost a lot more to use than a newer one.

From a payback standpoint, the most efficient appliance is not always the best buy. Some people are concerned about the environmental impact of using appliances, so they are willing to spend extra for the most efficient models.

Learn more about energy efficient appliances at coloradocountrylife.coop. Look under the Energy tab for Energy Tips.

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Energy 2014 Innovations Summit

5th Annual Energy Innovations Summit

PLAN TO ATTEND The electric cooperatives' premier energy conference provides opportunities to interact with leaders in the energy industry and stay abreast with the latest trends and technologies. The day includes: A Look at Electricity Generation in 2030 Carbon Capture and Storage: Around the Corner or Around the Bend?

Rooftop Solar Who Pays?

Small Hydropower: Opportunities and Challenges Energy Storage: Still the Next Big Thing Energy Efficiency & Technology: Colorado Innovators Making Their Mark Demand Response: Are Customers Ready to Change their Ways?

Amazing Trade Show

October 27, 2014 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m.

Sheraton Downtown Denver Hotel

[Could Thorium Be the Super Fuel of the Future?]

Visit crea.coop for more information.

[marketplace]

WiseSavers

Even when not actively charging a product, conventional battery chargers can draw as much as 20 times more energy than is actually stored in the battery. EnergyStar certified battery chargers, on average, use about 30 percent less energy than conventional models.

Happy Halloween coloradocountrylife.coop

OCTOBER 2014

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[classifieds] TO PLACE A CLASSIFIED AD Please type or print your ad on a separate paper. Indicate how many months you would like your ad to run and which month to start. There is a minimum of 12 words at $1.63 per word/ month. Be sure to include your full name and address for our records. Check MUST accompany this order or call to pay by credit card. Send your ad before the 10th of the month to: mail: Colorado Country Life

5400 Washington St., Denver, CO 80216 phone: 303.902.7276 fax: 303.455.2807 email: classifieds@coloradocountrylife.org

ANTIQUE RESTORATION

BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES

ANTIQUE RESTORATION STUDIO ­— Antique conservation. Quality craftsmanship since 1974. Bayfield, CO, www.antiqueresdurango.com 970-884-1937. (988-12-14)

PIANO TUNING PAYS. Learn with American School home-study course. Tools included. Call for info.

800-497-9793. (158-01-15)

CHAIR CANING, hand caning, machine caning, fiber rush caning. Pueblo West, 719-547-0723. chaanita@q.com (858-10-14)

ANTLERS ANTLER CHANDELIERS made only from REAL antlers. We are the manufacturer and we sell all of our products at wholesale prices; save as much as 60% from store prices.

Many other antler products and mounts, including 56” elk mount, giant moose paddles, and elk antlers.

Showroom now open year ’round in Granby, CO. 17 years at this location, over 900 satisfied customers!

Designers: We can provide you a single item or a whole houseful.

Call ! (970) 627-3053. (085-09-15)

BOOKS

THE MINER’S CAP, by Ann N. Black — the Ludlow story. Colorado Book Award Finalist in Juvenile Fiction. Available: bookstores, museum shops, libraries, Amazon, and Kindle. (199-12-14)

BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES (These opportunities have not been investigated by Colorado Country Life.)

LEGITIMATE WORK AT HOME opportunity. No sales, investment, risk. Training/website provided.

Monthly income plus bonuses, benefits. Call Carrie 303-579-4207, www.workathomeunited.com/ ourabundance (932-02-15)

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OCTOBER 2014

WORK LESS & LIVE MORE! MiaBellaNation.com Department #745 (831-10-14)

CARS/TRUCKS/BOATS CLASSIC CAR COLLECTION — ­ ’58 Chevy pick-up, big back window, 327, excellent, $24,000. ’60 Chevy Impala 4-dr. sport coupe, fuel injected 348, new paint, interior, $24,000. ’62 Corvette, original 327 close-ratio 4-speed, $46,000. ’65 Chevy Corvair, original Monza, 2-dr. hardtop, powerglide, 110 horsepower, new 15” tires, $7,500. ’72 Chevy pick-up Cheyenne C-20, one of the last original pickups around, perfect, $16,000. 307-6642353 (202-10-14)

CLOCK REPAIR & RESTORATION DURANGO AREA. CLOCKS of all kinds repaired. Antique and modern. Clocks bought and sold. Call Robert 970-247-7729, bob.scott@ usa.net clockrepairandrestoration. com (109-11-14)

FARM & RANCH SUPPLIES PET FOOD, GRAINS, GRASS/alfalfa hay, straw, shavings, bedding/stove pellets, & firewood. 719-495-4842.

Ayer Ranch TLC, Inc., 12558 Meridian Road, Elbert/Black Forest, CO 80106 (146-10-14)

FINE ART NAVAJO RUGS, QUILTS, other weavings, wrought iron or Aspen textile display racks. Custom wallmounted or freestanding. www.

TwinRavenz.com “Made in a good way.” (184-11-14)

FOR SALE

REAL ESTATE

TECHNOLOGY

FIREWOOD – Limbed to 51” length - $50.00 per 8’ pickup. Blocked to 17” by request - $65.00. You pick up. West Loveland. 720-352-3580 (939-02-15)

5 ACRES, 3BD, 2BA, large covered deck, 2-car garage, large metal building, 4 small storage buildings, well, septic, $360,000. Meeker. 970878-4715 (195-10-14)

FIREWOOD – Hunters & all. Ponderosa pine. Cord, ½ cord, campfire bundles. Pick up. Black Forest area.

719-495-8485 (193-10-14)

BEAUTIFUL 30 ACRES in SW Colorado, canyon, pond, live stream, irrigated pasture. Large 3bd 2ba home, garage, outbuildings. Deck overlooks canyon. C21 WSR, Joyce Bowles, 970-560-1650 (200-10-14)

UNLIMITED RURAL INTERNET – Get unlimited 3G/4G high speed internet today. Faster than satellite.

No data cap! 10 day free trial, $119 monthly for unlimited bandwidth.

Visit us: www.evdodepotusa. com 888-508-3389 – Ask for Patti (177-10-14)

GRASSFED YAK AND BISON MEAT for sale. Delicious and nutritious.

Delivery available. Quarter, half, or whole. 720-256-3364 (029-11-14) OXYGEN CONCENTRATORS - $380 with warranty. Also sell portable concentrators and oxygen supplies.

Repair and service of equipment.

Aspen Concentrator Repair Service 719-471-9895 (040-12-14)

FREE FREE BOOKS/DVDS. Soon the “Mark of the Beast” will be enforced as Church and State unite!

Let the Bible reveal. The Bible Says, POB 99, Lenoir City, TN 37771. thebiblesaystruth@yahoo.com 888-211-1715. (814-12-14)

HEATING CENTRAL BOILER outdoor wood, corn, pellet furnaces. Clean, efficient heat. Kingdom Timber & Frame Inc. 575-756-2705 (194-12-14)

OUTSIDE WOOD FURNACE $1695.00, forced air, easy install, quick payback, Cheap shipping.

Houses, mobiles, shops. 100K BTU. www.heatbywood.com 417-5817755 Missouri (196-12-14)

INSURANCE InsuranceRollodex.com Free Blue Pills. Peace of mind is a phone call away. 970-385-4763. (128-10-14)

MACHINERY & PARTS SAWMILL EXCHANGE: North America’s largest source of used portable sawmills and commercial equipment for woodlot owners and sawmill operations. Over 800 listings. THE place to sell equipment.

800-459-2148 www.sawmill exchange.com . (267-09-15)

REAL ESTATE 2 ACRES, BEAUTIFUL VIEW, lots in southeast Arizona. Water, gas, electricity available. 928-359-2251 (203-01-15)

COLORADO MOUNTAIN GETAWAY near Pagosa Springs. 3bd/2ba/3car/ barn on 40+ wooded acres w/ views. National Forest/BLM two sides. Hunting/fishing/$30,000 below appraisal. ForSaleByOwner. com Listing ID 23994657 (189-11-14) OWN PROPERTY? NEED INCOME? We’ll rent exclusive hunting rights from you. Looking for antelope, goose, duck, coyote, & prairie dog habitat. Encourage young sportsmen by providing safe, private access. You make the rules.

303-460-0273 (069-12-14) QUALIFIED BUYER LOOKING TO TRADE 80-acre ranch in east Texas (timber/ag production, wildlife, well-kept improvements, privacy) for similar property in Colorado.

Suzan Pelloni, Western Exposures Realty, 970-623-2900 (197-12-14) SAVE — BUY OR SELL. 30% back to you at closing. Larimer, Weld, & Boulder counties. 970-663-7355 www.LovelandValleyRealty.com (198-10-14) SOUTHERN COLORADO near Spanish Peaks. Home on 36 wooded acres, 3br, 3ba with high-end finishes. Views, wildlife, seasonal stream. 303-908-3434, www.for salebyowner.com #23971720 (158-10-14)

RELIGION BECOME AN ORDAINED Minister by correspondence study. Founded in 1988. Free info. Ministers for Christ Outreach, 7558 West Thunderbird Rd, Ste 1 - #114, Peoria, AZ 85381. http://www.ordination.org (441-12-14)

KEEP READING

TICKETS NFR & PBR RODEO TICKETS – Las Vegas. All seating levels available.

Call 1-888-NFR-rodeo (1-888-6377633) or www.NFR-Rodeo.com. *BBB Member; Since 1990. (912-11-14)

TOYS HAND LAUNCH GLIDERS – Tough and suitable for children. Easy to assemble. Models come prebalanced. Excellent wing profile ensures long flights. Can be converted to radio control. www.flyingfunco. com (201-01-15)

VACATION RENTAL CHARMING BUENA VISTA downtown cottage, 6 guests, 2bd, 1ba.

Weekends $318+, weeks $895+, dog friendly, mycoloradocottage.com 719-332-0796 (192-00-14) KAUAI VACATION RENTAL, 2bdr, full kitchen. Minutes from beaches. $600/wk. 808-245-6500; makana crest.com; kauaiweddings.com.

(756-05-15) KONA, HAWAII, Paradise Villa condo located on the 18th fairway of Kona Country Club with sweeping ocean views; 3bdr, 2ba specials.

(503) 369-2638; www.konacondo. info (116-11-14)

WANTED TO BUY NAVAJO RUGS, old and recent, native baskets, pottery. Tribal Rugs, Salida. 719-539-5363, b_inaz@ hotmail.com (817-12-14) OLD COLORADO LIVESTOCK brand books prior to 1975. Call Wes 303757-8553. (889-02-15) OLD COWBOY STUFF–hats, boots, spurs, chaps, Indian rugs, baskets, etc. ANYTHING OLD! Mining & railroad memorabilia, ore carts! We buy whole estates. We’ll come to you! Call 970-759-3455 or 970-5651256. (871-11-14)

Send an email with the number of classified ads on pages 28-29 to classifieds @coloradocountrylife.org. Subject line MUST say “Classified Contest.”

Include name, mailing address and phone number in email. We’ll draw one name on October 17 from those who enter. Winner get a $25 gift card.

coloradocountrylife.coop

[funny stories] WANTED TO BUY

WANTED TO BUY

OLD GAS AND OIL items: Gas pumps, advertising signs, globes, etc. Pieces, parts, etc. considered. Also 1932-34 Ford cars and trucks, parts and pieces, too. Any condition. Brandon, 719-250-5721.

(519-11-14)

WANT TO PURCHASE minerals and other oil/gas interests. Send details to: PO Box 13557, Denver, CO 80201.

(402-03-15)

OLD POCKET WATCHES – working or non-working and old repair material. Bob 719-859-4209 watchdoctor@hotmail.com.

(870-06-15) VINTAGE FISHING TACKLE. I buy rods, reels, lures, creels, etc. Gary, 970-222-2181 (170-10-14)

WANTED: JEEP CJ OR WRANGLER. Reasonably priced. No rust buckets.

888-735-5337 (099-04-15) WE PAY CASH for minerals and oil/ gas interests, producing and nonproducing. 800-733-8122 (099-02-15)

FIND HIDDEN TREASURE IN THE CLASSIFIEDS? Read through the ads and FIND the CCL classified explaining how to win a $25 gift card.

It’s easy. You could win.

CALL KRIS AT 303-902-7276 TO PLACE AN AD IN THE CLASSIFIED SECTION. COLORADO COUNTRY LIFE IS READ BY MORE THAN 200,000 READERS.

Send us photos of you with Colorado Country Life

We’re Looking for photos of readers and their copy of Colorado Country

Life. Got a great pic of you or your family member with the magazine at some fun place? Send it and your name and address to info@coloradocountrylife.org. We’ll post it on our Facebook page and on October 17 we’ll draw a winner from the submissions and send that winner a $25 gift card.

We vacationed in Arizona this summer with my two daughters and their children. The resort where we stayed has a long, spiral slide in the pool, which our grandchildren were more than delighted with. The six of them, ranging from 5 to 13 years old, decided to form a train down the slide with the biggest up front and smallest in the back. There were a lot of big smiles and squeals of joy for quite a while. But on one slide down, the youngest, Anna Belle, who was at the back of the line, bumped her head. She climbed out of the pool, ran to her mom in tears and cried out, “Mommy, I bumped my head real hard!” After seeing she wasn’t seriously hurt, her mom said, “Oh, you did? Don’t worry, you’ll be ok.” Anna Belle responded, “But I got knocked up!”

Debbie Goodman, Durango

My buddy and I were building a shed. I took a nail, held it to a board and gave him the hammer. I said, “When I nod my head, hit it hard.” I was knocked out for two days.

Chris Wiggins, Durango

My granddaughter was faithfully teaching good manners to my 3-year-old great-grandson, Hayden. One day during lunch, he bowed his head, folded his hands and thanked God at great length. Suddenly, he let out a very noisy belch. He looked up, saw his mother’s displeasure and quickly put his head back down and prayed, “Excuse me, Jesus.”

Dorothy B. Forrest, Pagosa Springs

My husband explained to our 9-year-old grandson, Luke, that you could put a message in a bottle, place it in the Rio Grande and it would float down to Texas. He looked up and said, “You know, there is such a thing as texting.”

Barbara Hoaglin, Lake City

Dennis Perelman is this month’s winner. While sightseeing in Moscow, Dennis thought he would show his copy of Colorado Country Life at Saint Basil’s Catheral. coloradocountrylife.coop

We pay $15 to each person who submits a funny story that’s printed in the magazine. At the end of the year, we draw one name from those submitting jokes and that person will receive $150. Send your 2014 stories to Colorado Country Life, 5400 Washington St., Denver, CO 80216 or email funnystories@ coloradocountrylife.org. Don’t forget to include your mailing address, so we can send you a check.

$15 OCTOBER 2014

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[discoveries]

Simply Irresistible

BAG SOME BRILLIANCE It seems keys and cellphones fall into the black hole in your bag on the darkest nights. Light it up with the Bag Light.

This lightweight gadget attaches to bag handles with a soft, magnetic loop and a mini LED that illuminates with a simple squeeze. The Bag Light costs $12 and is available at restorationhardware. com.

From travel gadgets to pet products and recipes in a jar, Colorado Country Life features all sorts of products in its Discoveries section. For the most part, there is a specific theme or purpose, but other times, like this month, there’s no rhyme or reason — they’re just cool.

JUST IN TIME It seems everyday products get smarter, including watches. Unveiled at this year’s International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the Pebble Steel is a smartwatch that loads apps, provides notifications and, of course, tells time on a durable ePaper display. Use Pebble Steel to alert youself of incoming emails, to play your favorite music or to track your pace and distance while running.

Available in black matte or brushed stainless for $249, the Pebble Steel design is sleek and modern and comes with a matching metal band and black leather strap. Pebble Steel is waterproof, has a weeklong battery life and is compatible with iOS and Android.

Visit getpebble. com to find out more and to order.

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OCTOBER 2014

TAKE POWER OVER YOUR STUFF The Pivot Power Genius is a flexible power strip with surge protection and smart technology.

This power strip is bendable to fit in the trickiest of places and great for areas where you need extra power outlets, such as the family room or office. Download the Wink app (winkapp.com) on your smartphone and control two outlets anywhere, anytime. The Pivot Power Genius costs $59.99 at quirky.com.

TOASTY TOES Sometimes even the thickest woolen socks can’t ward off winter’s frigid temperatures. What are toes to do? ThermaCELL Heated Insoles are wireless, remote-controlled foot warmers that keep feet at around normal body temperature continuously for up to five hours, longer if used intermittently. Lightweight yet durable, ThermaCELL Heated Insoles are a must-have for hunting excursions, skiing, ice fishing or any other outdoor winter activity where digits are in danger from Old Man Winter.

ThermaCELL Heated Insoles sell for $134.99 and are available at several sporting goods stores and online at heat.thermacell.com. coloradocountrylife.coop

[discoveries]

coloradocountrylife.coop

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[discoveries]

coloradocountrylife.coop

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