Durango Telegraph - May 9, 2019

The mother lode

elegraph the durango

FREE May 9, 2019

Vol. XVIII, No. 19 durangotelegraph.com

inside

T H E

O R I G I N A L

I N D I E

W E E K L Y

L I N E

O N

D U R A N G O

&

B E Y O N D

Changes afoot

Lions in the midst

Rummaging around

Tweaks to local trails may be coming under BLM plan p8

Why we shouldn’t live in fear of these kings of the wild p10

Tim Kapustka solo show explores the secret life of ‘stuff’ p14

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lineup

8

4 La Vida Local

Changes afoot New BLM travel plan proposes tweaks to area trails

4 Thumbin’ It

by Tracy Chamberlin

5 Word on the Street

10

6-7 Soapbox

After 14 years of tracking the elusive felines, David Neils knows a thing or two

11 Mountain Town News

Catting around

Ear to the ground: “Traffic is bad enough up there without people hallucinating.”

– Front Range ex-pat on Denver’s attempt to de-criminalize psilocybin mushrooms

On the road again

thepole

RegularOccurrences

School may be out, but Fort Lewis College road cyclists are still preparing for finals. This weekend, May 10-12, Skyhawks cyclists are rolling off to Augusta, Ga., for the USA Cycling Collegiate Road Nationals.

The Skyhawks finished third in the Rocky Mountain Collegiate standings behind CU Boulder and Colorado Mesa University (Grand Junction).

by Missy Votel

12 -13 Day in the Life

12-13

16 Flash in the Pan

Desert rose

17 Top Shelf

Exploring the desert’s softer side photos by Stephen Eginoire

18 On the Town

14

20 Ask Rachel

One man’s treasure Solo show explores the human side of bargain hunting

by Dan Groth

22 Classifieds

16

22 Haiku Movie Review

White done right

On the cover: A collared lizard submits to a photo opp recently at Canyons of the Ancients before scurrying off./ Photo by Stephen Eginoire

How to truly appreciate asparagus’ chloryphyll-deprived sibling

by Ari LeVaux

boilerplate

EDITORIALISTA: Missy Votel (missy@durangotelegraph.com) ADVERTISING AFICIONADO: Lainie Maxson (lainie@durangotelegraph.com) RESIDENT FORMULA ONE FAN: Tracy Chamberlin (tracy@durangotelegraph.com)

T

he Durango Telegraph publishes every Thursday, come hell, high water, beckoning singletrack or monster powder days. We are wholly owned and operated independently by the Durango Telegraph LLC and

21 Free Will Astrology

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We’re only human. If, by chance, we defame someone’s good name or that of their family, neighbor, best

friend or dog, we will accept full responsibility in a public flogging in the following week’s issue.

Although “free but not easy,” we can be plied with schwag, booze and flattery.

telegraph

“We worked well together as a team during this season and are quite confident that we’ll see some stellar performances in Augusta,” FLC Cycling Director Dave Hagen said.

Mush-missed from this year’s Nationals road trip will FLC’s Road Coach Ian Burnett, who is expecting his first baby with wife, Allie. “He’ll probably be a father by the time we get back, we’ll try to make him proud,” Hagen said.

FLC Cycling coaches spent last week whittling the extensive pool of candidates down to 15 – no easy task. “Picking a Nationals Team out of so many deserving riders is one of the toughest parts of the job but I think we did a great job picking riders best suited to the courses and conditions,” said Hagen.

The Skyhawks mens team includes: Kaden Hopkins; Jon Anderson; Noah Schlosser; James Hilyer; Kobi Gyetvan; Nick McKey; Nik Johnson; Henry Nadell; and Andre Bos. The women Skyhawks include: Ava Hachmann; Charlotte Backus; Katja Freeburn; Kira Payer; Tristen Musselman; and Sophie Russenberger.

For the latest on all the skinny tire action, keep an eye on FLC Cycling Team’s Facebook page. Or on Instagram or Twitter @flccycling.

Trump and circumstance Hold onto your covfefe. President Trump is coming to Colorado. The Commander in Cheese, er Chief, will be delivering the commencement speech at the Air Force Academy’s graduation ceremony in Colorado Springs on May 30.

It will be Trump’s first time speaking at the academy’s graduation, which will be held outdoors at the Air Force’s Falcon Stadium. Typically, graduation speakers at the Academy rotate among the president, vice president, secretary of defense and secretary of the Air Force. Former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis addressed the academy’s class of 2018, and then-President Obama delivered the commencement speech in 2016.

Where Trump will wander during his speech into the wild blue yonder is anyone’s guess, but attendees can expect an awesome comb-over, er, flyover from the Thunderbirds flight squadron.

For those wanting to witness the MAGAsty live, 600 tickets will be available, first-come, first-served, to the public at the Colorado Springs Chamber office, 102 S. Tejon St., today, from 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.

May 9, 2019 n

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opinion

LaVidaLocal Solar mirage While my neighbors were absent, I kept an eye on their house to make sure things stayed safe. Not so much a neighborhood watch as a casual glance in their direction whenever I happened to walk past. I didn’t know if they had any kind of alarm system installed, but I stayed far enough away to make sure I didn’t find out.

One morning, I heard an unusual ruckus coming from next door. For such a quiet neighborhood, it immediately caught my attention. At first I thought the noise seemed human but then I recognized it: the honky-hornblowing commotion Canada geese make when passing overhead. What troubled me was that the noise didn’t melt into thin air as one expects. The geese, it seemed, were circling overhead in a holding pattern instead of driving their wedge toward a distant horizon.

Stepping outside for a peek, I couldn’t believe what I saw. On the roof of my neighbor’s two-story house, pacing the shingles like sentries, four flat-footed geese stopped to stare at me while a dozen or more of their companions grazed the brown lawn below. The sight unnerved me, as if a squad of goose-stepping guards had taken over. I waved my arms and shouted, hoping to shoo them away. They stayed, stolid and alert, perhaps even reporting my behavior to their supervisors. I had been dismissed, so I returned to my house.

In our community, seeing geese is not unusual. They settle in our parks, poop on our sidewalks, and would, if they could handle a putter, play golf on the many acres of our irrigated fairways.

Once a migratory species, many Canada geese have found urban and suburban areas provide a comfortable living without the bother of flying thousands of miles. Cant’ say I blame them – these days when I’m in the air, I’m lucky to be handed a tiny bag of pretzels.

Eventually, the “goostapo” moved off, but I still wondered about the ones that chose to spend their feeding time on my neighbors’ roof. Had living in our developed world skewed their natural instincts so badly they yearned to find new perches? Or is it porches? Divided from their natural instincts, it’s hard to say what motivates a goose to behave in a non-goose way.

Once while walking past the city park, I stopped to watch a group of about six people and two police officers pursue a goose back and forth across the lawn. For over 15 minutes, the goose evaded the trap: a man

holding out an old blanket like a matador. His role required him to throw it like a net over the bird if the silly thing ever got near enough. I joined in the chase and later heard that the goose had repeatedly tried to bite children, which prompted a call to the police, which led to the all-out pursuit, which eventually resulted in its capture. It was as wild a goose chase as I’d ever seen.

A few domesticated geese have endeared themselves to their owners, but the birds aren’t typically known for being cuddly or affectionate.

Goslings like all babies are adorable, but try to get near one even when the parents seem to be temporarily distracted, and you’ll experience a goose’s dark side. Males especially are noted for being aggressive. One documented example cites a goose killing another by persistently pecking its head into the mud, resulting in the victim’s death by suffocation. It’s no wonder I can’t help thinking of my neighbor’s roof geese as a viable product line for an organic home security system.

I still don’t have an answer for their unorthodox roof behavior, but I have settled on a pet theory. Because I walk past the house regularly, I’ve reflected on that singular event so obsessively that a reasonable explanation has finally emerged. The goose photos I took may have distracted me from noticing the one detail that inspired my “ah ha” moment.

The neighbors recently installed an array of solar panels along the southern exposure of their roof. While it proved to be a wise investment electrically and ecologically, it may have added a layer of complexity and confusion from a bird’s perspective.

Gliding along with the wind under his wings, glancing down, attentive to every sparkle of water where a lush marsh or pond might provide a nice post-flight snack. The goose flying point feels responsible for the squadron trailing along. There! He sees a ripple of light. All the flap behind him convinces him it is time for a break. He trims his wing angle and prepares for the descent.

Science may not back me up on this. Ornithologists could be snickering up their sleeves, dismissing my observations as just another amateur birdbrained theory. We’ll never know for sure, because the evolution of geese has not yet bridged our interspecies communication gap. I felt stupid ordering those geese to get down. It was the down, after all, that helped get them up there.

Sign of the Downfall:

Thumbin’It The Greater Chaco region winning a reprieve from fracking, with a federal appeals court determining that the BLM illegally issued oil and gas leases based on an outdated resource management plan and in violation of NEPA A big 180 from last year’s historically dry conditions, with the latest U.S. Drought Monitor showing most of the state is out of drought and only a tiny sliver of southwest Colorado remains in a “moderate drought” A woman’s right to choose being protected in at least one state, with Vermont advancing a bill that would make a constitutional change to protect abortion rights

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– David Feela

The American Lung Association giving La Plata County an “F” for ozone levels for the second year in a row, with an average of 4.3 days a year exceeding EPA standards between 2015-17 The insidious effort by Catamount Energy to silence Ignacio landowners abutting a proposed fracking site by offering them $5,000 to sign waivers recusing the company from county oil and gas regulations The sixth extinction inching ever closer to reality, with a U.N. report on biodiversity finding that nature is in more trouble now than at any other time in human history, with extinction looming over 1 million species of plants and animals

telegraph

Rick-Rolling Sasquatch As I’m sure you know, members of a military expedition force in India posted on Twitter that they found Big Foot’s footprints in Nepal. The odd twist is that the resurgence of Yeti interest has led people to dig up an old Texas help-wanted ad looking for “human bait,” but the ad is so old that someone commandeered the website (human-bait.com), and then redirected it to a YouTube video that shows a robot playing “Never Gonna Give You Up” by Rick Astley, which is real, whereas Yetis are not.

WordontheStreet

Q

With Mother’s Day on Sunday, the Telegraph asked, “What’s the best advice mom ever gave you?”

Max Perlstein

"You only YOLO once."

Tara Carmody

"Treat others the way you want to be treated."

Jacob Wells

"Be an individual and listen to punk rock."

Erin

"Work hard and play hard."

Zach Counter

“If it feels good, do it.”

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May 9, 2019 n 5

SoapBox

ReTooned/by Shan Wells

Environmental, economic win-win To the editor, De-carbonizing our country will be an enormous challenge. The opportunity of that challenge will be in incredible job growth, an economic stimulant. The Brookings Institute just issued a report summarizing, “The transition to the clean energy economy will primarily involve 320 unique occupations spread across three major industrial sectors: clean energy production, energy efficiency and environmental management.” As impressive, the Department of Energy’s 2017 report revealed that solar energy was employing more workers than the traditional coal, gas and oil industries combined. The argument that “transitioning away from fossil fuels will tank the economy” simply does not hold true.

A properly designed carbon policy can also be good for the economy. The bipartisan “Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act” is an effective approach to significantly reduce carbon emissions without shifting the burden to the American people. Reduce the cost of climate-related disasters and advance economic growth. We can do this.

– Jan D. Dixon, Cortez

Know your 4th amendment rights To the editor, We’re of varying backgrounds and families, with no particular religious, social or political persuasion. We’d like to respond to the confusion about federal agents’ pursuit and deportation of undocumented people, (including many who have never known any country other than the United States). These agents’ methods of intimidation and misrepresentation, like their policies of kidnapping and denial of asylum, are inconsistent with U.S. law and ordinary decency.4

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What should someone do when he or she observes persons harassing or attempting to detain Spanish-speaking people without showing warrants or their credentials or badges? Is this legal? Of course not. But what rights do undocumented people have and what should you do to protect them? First, in Colorado if police or a sheriff detains and accuses someone of acting illegally, that person, documented or undocumented, is obligated to identify him or herself with name and address. He or she is NOT required to provide identification. He or she has the right to remain silent and the right to request to speak with an attorney, as provided in the Sixth Amendment to the Constitution.

If you observe someone attempting to detain a person without providing a charge of illegal action and without showing a badge number or I.D., you should tell the person being detained to walk away and remain silent. If you have your cell phone you should record what is happening and report it to the police.

The Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution could not be clearer: “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated.” This is the law of the land. Following it is the right thing to do and our duty as citizens.

– Kathy Barrett, Margaret Cozine, Barry Devine, Celia VillaGuillen, Connie Jacobs, Liza Tregillus and Jim Watt

A visit from the attorney general

To the editor, Phil Weiser, Colorado’s attorney general, is coming to Durango on Sat., May 11, as the keynote speaker at the annual Roosevelts’ Dinner. Phil was elected to office in November 2018. He boasts an impressive resume, including clerking for Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and working in the Obama administration. Since being elected as Colorado’s attorney general, he has joined other states in suing the Trump administration to block its efforts to declare a na-

tional emergency at the southern border and to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.

Whether your concern is consumer protections, reproductive options, DREAMers, LGBTQ rights, gun safety, or clean air and water, I know you will find Phil to be an engaging and informative speaker. All are invited to join us for the annual Roosevelts’ Dinner on Saturday from 5-8 p.m. in the FLC Student Union Ballroom for a great program with Phil as the keynote speaker. Tickets are $75 each and can be purchased online at laplatadems.org. All proceeds will go to the local Democratic Party to assist local candidates and outreach efforts. (If you are a student interested in attending, please contact us at events@laplatadems .org for discounted tickets.)

– David Albrechta, Durango

No Mother’s Day for dairy cows To the editor, Mother’s Day, on May 12, celebrates the cherished bond between mother and child. But mother cows, very icons of motherhood, never get to see their own babies.

Newborn calves are torn from their mothers at birth and turned into veal cutlets, so we can drink the milk that was meant for them. The grief-stricken mother cows bellow for days, calling in vain for their return.

Dairy cows spend their lives chained on concrete floors, with no access to the outdoors. Each year, they are impregnated artificially, to maintain production, and milked by machines twice a day. When production drops, around four years of age, they are ground into hamburgers.

Dairy products are laden with cholesterol, saturated fats, hormones, pathogens and antibiotics, leading to obesity, diabetes, heart disease and stroke. Most African and Asian Americans lack the enzyme for digesting dairy products.

But help is on the way. Food manufacturers throughout the world are developing excellent nut and grainbased dairy products. U.S. sales alone are expected to

exceed $2 billion.

This Mother’s Day, let’s honor motherhood and compassion. Let’s replace the products of cow misery with delicious, healthful, cruelty-free plant-based milk, cheese and ice cream products offered by our supermarket.

– Dante Gomez, Durango

Tune one up (for Greg Ryder)

I remember that summer night years ago at the Strater.

The regress of half-remembered songs, the shards of memory that evoke a smile.

This is what the heart knows.

So much slides away in the melody of this evening, the ghost riders and timberlines, the laughs, and loves.

Yet, your memory is the stored sunshine of happier days.

Your music belonged in this town and this town belonged to you and your music!

– Burt Baldwin, Ignacio

“We’ll print damned-near anything” The Telegraph prides itself on a liberal letters policy. We offer this forum to the public to settle differences, air opinions & undertake healthy discourse. We have only three requests: limit letters to 750 words, letters must be signed by the writer; and thank-you lists and libelous, personal attacks are unwelcome. Send your insights by Tuesday at noon to: PO Box 332, Durango, 81302 or e-mail your profundities to: telegraph@durangotelegraph.com. Let the games begin ...

OPEN HOUSE Thursday / Friday, May 16-17 • 3 - 7 PM Saturday, May 18 • 11 AM – 3 PM • Permanent office / retail space for $150-$600 per month.

• Help for startups, nonprofits and companies on a budget to achieve lift off & orbit.

• Various sizes of offices, workspaces, warehouse and storage available.

telegraph

May 9, 2019 n 7

TopStory

Ups & downs BLM proposes changes to trails on Animas Mountain, Grandview, Mancos and more

by Tracy Chamberlin

C

hanges are coming to trail systems across La Plata and Montezuma counties. This April, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management’s Tres Rios Field Office released a proposed Transportation and Access Plan, officially recognizing many popular pathways and proposing big changes to others.

“The first part is to incorporate the legal trails as system trails,” Mary Monroe Brown, executive director for Trails 2000, explained.

Many of the trails in the Tres Rios district have not been officially recognized because the office was focused on updating its Resource Management Plan, which guides the agency’s decision-making process. Once that was completed in 2015, the agency moved on to updating the trails plan.

According to Monroe Brown, the plan is important because trails and recreation are really what draw people to the area and improve the local quality of life. “We have a lot of companies who relocate people to work in our area because of the lifestyle it provides,” she said.

But issues like connectivity and access, which can be determined by the BLM’s decisions, impact trail users directly.

The public has until May 22 to comment on the proposed plan, and Monroe Brown said it’s important for the BLM to hear directly from the community.

Animas Mountain is one of several area trail systems that could see some changes under a newly released plan proposed by the BLM Tres Rios Field Office. The proposal also looks at making changes in Grandview, Perins Peak and Turtle Lake./Photo by Stephen Eginoire

On the docket One of the biggest changes in the BLM’s plan is to create a brand new system of trails and an accompanying parking area outside Mancos dubbed the Aqueduct.

This system, which is supported by the Mancos Trails Group, includes almost 12 miles of nonmotorized trails northwest of Mancos off County Road 39.

“This terrain is truly unique and the views are spectacular,” the group touted on its website. “This would be incredibly accessible to folks that live in Mancos.”

The second big change is to add new trails and modify others on Animas Mountain at the north end of Durango.

In the proposal, the BLM is looking to combine two trails currently running along the eastern side of Animas

Mountain into one. This new trail will be open to nonmotorized users, including bikes, horses and hikers.

The agency is also suggesting a new nonmotorized trail on the western edge, a new “stacked loop” trail system on the southern edge, and new bike-only trails cutting across the top of the mountain.

None of the BLM’s proposals would allow for electric mountain bikes on nonmotorized trails. E-bikes are still considered motorized travel by the BLM, which stated this was in line with the agency’s national policy.

Another decision catching the attention of Monroe Brown and Trails 2000 is to not officially recognize the Old Car Loop trail in Grandview.

The Old Car Loop comes off the bottom, or north end, of the Yellow Brick Road Trail. Although the trail is not heavily traveled, the BLM’s decision not to recognize it was specifically “due to no public access across private land,” according to the agency’s proposal. The trail cuts just between the lines of private and BLM properties.

However, Monroe Brown said that the eastern side of Durango, which includes Three Springs and Grandview, is likely going to see the most buildout in the years ahead, and residents should be planning for it. Although the Old Car Loop trail hasn’t seen much traffic in recent years, it’s part of the larger conversation of trail connectivity the community needs to have as it continues to grow. 4

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BLMTrails

Digging into the details

from p. 8 “We need to look at growth and development,” she explained. “Those trails connecting to Grandview are a very important part of that growth.”

Another missing piece in the BLM’s proposal for Monroe Brown is any type of connector between Overend Mountain Park and Twin Buttes.

The only change suggested by the agency is designating a looped section off the Hogsback in Overend as pedestrianonly. According to the BLM’s proposal, the reasoning is “to comply with the BLM Tres Rios Field Office Resource Management Plan.”

But, Monroe Brown said Trails 2000 would like the BLM to make a consideration. “What we’re asking is for a very specific and small connecting trail between Overend and Twin Buttes,” she added.

“We’re not asking to go through the Perins area.”

Currently, riders can take the Spirit Trail to the Tech Center, but then they have to descend to Highway 160 and ride for about a mile to access Twin Buttes.

Monroe Brown added that Trails 2000 is not asking for any federal funding to create connector trails in places like Overend Park, Twin Buttes, Grandview or Horse Gulch – the group only needs permission.

“Our ask is for the approval,” she said.

“We’ll do the work because our community is interested in a great trail network.” n

The Bureau of Land Management’s Tres Rios Field Office has proposed changes to several trail systems in La Plata, Montezuma and Archuleta counties. This covers trails in Grandview, Animas Mountain, Perins Peak, Turtle Lake, and others near Durango; and, an entirely new system called Aqueduct as well as changes to Chutes and Ladders, both near Mancos.

In addition to biking, hiking and horseback riding trails in the BLM’s proposal, the federal agency included some off highway vehicle, or OHV, trails in the Mud Springs area of Montezuma County to the southwest of Cortez. A new parking area, some additional trails, rerouting of other trails and decisions not to recognize others are all a part of the proposal.

To check out all the plan and comment, go to eplanning. blm.gov, click on the “Transportation and Access Planning” and then the “Documents” tab on the left side. To see the interactive map, pictured right, go the “Maps” tab and click on “Interactive Scoping Map.”

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May 9, 2019 n

9

LocalNews

Lions in the midst Expert to speak, lead outing on better understanding these quiet kings of the wild

by Missy Votel

Photo courtesy David Neils

A

s one of the most feared wild predators, mountain lions are also among the least understood. However, mountain lion expert and lifetime outdoorsman David Neils wants to change that.

Neils will be in Durango this Thurs. and Fri., May 9-10, for presentations on the secretive and elusive cats, their habits and where best to spot – or not spot – them. His talks, which will feature some of the more than 800 videos he’s shot via trail cam near his home outside Rocky Mountain National Park, take place from 6:30 – 8 p.m. both nights at the Durango Public Library. Originally just slated for Thursday night, the Friday night show was added due to popular demand.

There will also be a tracking field trip Friday morning in Horse Gulch. The event was organized by BearSmart Durango after executive director Bryan Peterson saw one of Neils’ videos online.

“We’re not getting in the mountain lion business, but we thought this was really important, what with happened in Fort Collins,” Peterson said, referring to the trail runner who fended off a juvenile cat last year with his bare hands. “(Neils) is just one of those guys whose spent a lot of time out there, and he’s figured out how to find them. I think people are going to have a real treat seeing these videos.”

Wait – “treat?” Shouldn’t we cower in fear and shake in our running shoes at the sight of these kings of the food chain?

According to Neils – and many other experts – the answer is a resounding no. Or at least, not really.

“The risk of being attacked by a mountain lion is about one in 35 million. But your chances of dying from cancer or heart disease is one in seven,” Neils said Tuesday from his home in Loveland. “If you spend time living in mountain lion country, you’ll live longer!” (He’s actually had the slogan printed on T-shirts.)

As for the (very) rare human-lion encounter, Neils said avoiding them is something as simple as changing one’s habits. “You don’t want to be out riding or running alone at dawn or dusk,” he said. “Basically, when you’re out there, you want to look like a human.”

That’s because mountain lions eat deer – not humans – unless, of course, you happen to be doing your best deer impersonation.

And while this is something we’ve all been told repeatedly by wildlife experts over and over, it’s something Neils has experienced – and lived to talk about – firsthand.

About 14 years ago, he was bow-hunting in the Never Summers, in northern Colorado, along the Wyoming border. He laid down to take a nap in a sunny meadow and had the strangest dream about a curious mountain lion coming up and bumping his face, kind of like a kiss with a big, wet hand.

Except, it wasn’t a dream. “I sat up and it ran off behind me, and I realized right away what it was,” he said. “I had lion slobber on my check … and there were 4-inch paw prints in the dirt.”

But instead of running off like a crazed banshee, this vet-

10 n May 9, 2019

eran of the woods, who grew up in western Montana and worked for several years as a forester, was kitten smitten.

“I became fascinated. I had a mountain lion encounter and survived,” he said.

Neils went home and began fashioning crude homemade trail video cameras and setting them up in order to catch the reclusive cats doing whatever it is they do. At first, his luck was hit or miss – catching a big cat maybe once every six to eight weeks. But like the wily hunters themselves, he soon began to hone in on their hangouts.

“Now, I catch them on video every three or four days,” he said.

For Neils, who goes out three times a week, 52 weeks a year to set up cameras, it’s important not to disturb the cats or be an intrusion on their lives. Typically, he sets the cameras up in an inconspicuous spot and then leaves, checking them remotely via his phone. Sometimes, though, he goes home only to discover he had company.

“I once set up a camera and 60 seconds later, the video shows a cat coming out of the bushes to investigate,” he said.

It is this side of the misunderstood animals that Neils hopes to convey to audiences, especially those who live in lion country (which probably applies to every one of you reading this.) Live in awe and reverence, yes – not fear.

“I love teaching people about these amazing apex predators,” he said. “For me, it’s helping people move from being exposed in nature to being engaged with nature. It’s a wonderful journey.”

For Neils, that journey included coming to understand

telegraph

that big cats, once thought to be unpredictable, actually are the opposite. In fact, if you’ll pardon the pun, they are quite the creatures of habit.

In his time studying the cats, Neils has learned to pinpoint, with uncanny precision, where the cats congregate.

According to him, there are four factors that play into prime lion habitat: prevailing wind direction (cats rely on their scent to hunt, and scent is carried by the wind); topographic pinch points; edges (i.e. meadows bordered by forest, allowing for stealthy hiding); and water access, or lack thereof.

This may come as no surprise, but Durango and surrounding environs, particularly the area west of Falls Creek, is prime lion habitat, Neils said.

But, again, the purpose of this is not to incite cat hysteria or ruin property values. The purpose is to teach people about these magnificent felines in our midst, who – no offense – really want nothing to do with you. To co-exist, sim“cat”ico, if you will.

“Hysteria comes from a lack of knowledge. We fear what we don’t know,” he said. “But anytime there’s a bear, mountain lion or wolf problem, it’s almost always a human problem. There are so many little things we can do to live successfully with wildlife.” n Neils’ talk and field trip are free, but space is limited for both.

For more information or to sign up for the Horse Gulch field trip, visit www.BearSmartDurango.org. To check out some of Neil’s amazing footage, go to www.wildnaturemedia.com. The event is co-hosted by Trails 2000, Seniors Outdoors! and the Living With Wildlife Advisory Board of La Plata County.

MountainTownNews Yellowstone wolf sightings less assured COOKE CITY, Mont. – In October 2010, two Coloradans were driving in the Lamar Valley of Yellowstone National Park, wondering if they would be so lucky as to see a wolf. They were. A full pack, in fact. But it wasn’t entirely a matter of luck.

Stopping at a pullout, they talked with a photographer who was scoping distant buffalo. “Just keep driving up the road,” the photographer said. “You can’t miss them.”

He was right. Several miles away, at Pebble Creek, the road was knotted with about 80 people, ages 8 to perhaps 80, with enough optics on tripods among them to stock a good-sized camera store.

In the midst of them, wearing an orange jacket, was a figure of authority. “Rick” was his name, and yes, there was a pack of wolves about 150 yards distant, loitering in the afternoon heat.

Rick McIntyre was an almost daily wolf-watcher for 24 straight years after wolves were reintroduced into Yellowstone. He officially retired from his position with the Yellowstone Wolf Project in February 2018. And when he did, Yellowstone made another change, too.

The wolves were affixed with high-frequency tracking collars that cast out signals. McIntyre and his colleagues carried directional antenna that zeroed in on the wolves. Find Rick and you found wolves, as the two Coloradans had learned.

When McIntyre retired last year, the Yellowstone Wolf Project chose to no longer routinely share the whereabouts of wolves, reports the Jackson Hole News&Guide.

“The Park Service does not want to get into the business of tracking wolves so that people can watch them,” Doug Smith, a senior biologist who leads the Yellowstone Wolf Project, said. “It’s not even on our list of reasons why we collar wolves, but the perception was that’s what we’re doing.”

Wolf-watchers must now fan out more strategically. There’s more guesswork, too, about the identity of the individual wolves such as the single wolf that the News&Guide’s Mike Koshmrl saw brazenly feeding on a bison carcass with two grizzlies thereabouts.

Koshmrl says that when wolves are spotted, especially during the busy summer season, the experience can still take a turn toward that of a carnival, with hustling crowds, people jockeying for glimpses through spotting scopes and kids yelling about what they’re supposed to be looking for.

Those occasions have become unusual. The park today has about 80 to 100 wolves, half the number found in the late 1990s when McIntyre spotted at least one wolf for 892 consecutive days.

Jack Rabe, one of McIntyre’s replacements, says the public was seeing wolves around 85 percent of days before McIntyre retired and the change was made. But the odds are still pretty good. Word of wolf sightings is still spreading on at least three in four days.

Banff expecting fewer Chinese visitors BANFF, Alberta – Banff’s leading tourism organization has been rethinking its marketing strategy in light of geopolitical tensions between the Chinese and Canadian governments.

Leslie Bruce, president of Banff Lake Louise Tourism, said her organization intends to diversify its marketing, putting more focus on Australia, South Korea and Mexico. It also plans to target France.

“We’re not giving up on that market, but we’re certainly not as bullish about the growth opportunities there,” Bruce said during a recent meeting covered by the Rocky Mountain Outlook.

In December, the chief financial officer of Huawei, China’s leading telecom company & the world’s third largest manufacturer of smart phones, was arrested in Vancouver on a warrant out of the US. She is charged with engaging in bank and wire fraud in violation of American sanctions against Iran. She has denied any wrongdoing.

Bruce said the geopolitical fallout has not been felt directly in Banff, but her counterparts in Toronto and Vancouver have told her they’ve noticed an impact.

The Banff organization has been pushing winter and shoulderseason tourism. The average room occupancy in Banff was 71.7 percent in 2018, a gain of 100,000 room nights from just three years prior. Hotel occupancy in November exceeded 50 percent for the first time, reports the Outlook.

Holocaust survivor speaks in Whitefish WHITEFISH, Mont. – Judah Samet, who survived both the Holocaust and then the 2018 shooting at a synagogue in Pittsburgh, told his story in an appearance in Whitefish this week. Whitefish is also

the part-time home of Richard Spencer, the anti-Semitic proponent of white nationalism.

The Whitefish Pilot explains that Samet was born in Hungry in 1938. When Germany invaded Hungary, his family was taken to a work camp in Austria and then put on a train headed for a death camp. En route, the Allies bombed the train lines, saving the lives of Samet, members of his family, and other prisoners.

After the war, he was in immigrant camps in France, Israel & Canada. He finally landed in Pittsburgh in 1966.

Spencer, the anti-Semite, gained notoriety during the ascendancy of Donald Trump and, according to the Guardian in a 2017 story, he was captured on camera shouting “Hail Trump! Hail victory!” while others gave the Nazi salute. Wikipedia notes that he was a featured speaker at Charlottesville, Va., in August 2017, where another selfidentified member of the “alt-right’ drove a car into a crowd of counter-demonstrators, killing one and injuring 19.

Whitefish wants nothing to do with Spencer. The town issued a proclamation denouncing his beliefs.

A year ago, according to a website called Eater, Spencer tried to order a shot of bourbon in Whitefish, but the proprietor of the bar refused to run the $4.25 credit card charge. “The racist spiels, his ethnic cleansing ideas I find repugnant, as do most people that live in this town,” Doug Rommereim, the owner of the Great Northern Bar, told local news station KGVO. Spencer and Whitefish were also in the national news last November when a federal judge in Montana ruled that the lawsuit against a publisher of the neo-Nazi site Daily Stormer could not be dismissed on First Amendment grounds. The judge said that the website had targeted a private person, a real estate agent who is Jewish, and that the agent is not a public figure.

The real estate agent had encouraged Spencer’s mother to put a building up for sale. By spring of 2017, she & her family received more than 700 vulgar and hateful messages, and threats, many referencing the Holocaust, said the New York Times in a November article.

Sizing up fire risk in mountain towns ASPEN – Across the West, mountain towns fret about summer wildfire season even as snow lingers.

Aspen had a scare last year, nearly losing its electricity on the July 4 weekend, the result of a 12,500-acre wildfire about 20 miles down valley near Basalt. Two transmission lines had gone down, and flames were licking up the wooden pole of a third transmission line when firefighters arrived. Had they not, Aspen would have participated in candle-light dinners.

Pitkin County Sheriff Joe DiSalvo told the Aspen Daily News he wants to discuss a June-to-October fireworks ban this week. The big fireworks show in Aspen has already been altered, although for reasons not to do with fire danger. Instead, it is being replaced by a laser show that relies on drone technology.

Across the Elk Range from Aspen, the Crested Butte-Gunnison communities have kicked off a year-long wildfire planning exercise, reports the Crested Butte News.

Molly Mowery, with Wildfire Planning International, has been retained to help create plans with wildfire in mind. Landscaping regulations, watershed management plans and building codes will be examined along with design standards.

Mowery, according to the Crested Butte News, said the pilot program was launched in Colorado’s Summit County. There, she said, the program “found a real opportunity to look at not just where wildfires could be better inserted into land use documents, but where land use could be better inserted into wildfire documents.”

Mountain Village, Telluride’s municipal sibling, is offering rebates of up to 50 percent for mitigation work up to $5,000 when property owners create defensible space.

“If a homeowner creates defensible space by utilizing our incentive program in combination with a non-flammable roof, the structure’s chance of survival in a wildfire is 99 percent. A structure has only a 4 percent survival rate if the roof is flammable and no defensible action occurs on a property,” Michelle Haynes, the town’s planning and development services director, said.

In British Columbia, Whistler has had smoke, but not fire.

Smoke is bad enough, says Pique Newsmagazine. “We know from recent research that inhaling smoke from a wildfire can be equal to smoking a couple of packs a cigarettes a day, depending upon its thickness,” points out editor Clare Ogilvie.

– Allen Best

May 9, 2019 n 11

dayinthelife

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he lower Animas Valley all the way to New Me ico is home to a diverse array of flora and faun Above the lush riparian river corridor, sand well-draining soils provide ample opportunity for su

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loving plants like cactus and yucca to flourish year round. Come spring, blossoming flowers of the desert variety are a sight to behold, and this season is producing some exceptional examples. Here’s a look:

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May 9, 2019 n 13

thesecondsection

ArtsScene

Each piece in “Tim Kapustka’s Garage Sale” highlights the story of everyday stuff, like the retro mixer he bought from an elderly woman during an annual event in his hometown of Imlay City, Mich., called “Garage Sale Mania.” That $2 mixer, pictured above, is displayed on a background native to the 1970s era it which was made./Photo by Stephen Eginoire

Rummaging around ‘Garage Sale’ explores human connection through stories of our stuff

by Dan Groth

JusttheFacts

G

arage sale season has begun in Durango, and just in time for this informal time of buying and selling, local artist/graphic-designer Tim Kapustka has created a series of garage sale-themed illustrations for a solo show at Studio &, 1027 Main Ave. (where he is founder/co-owner). “Tim Kapustka’s Garage Sale” opens 5 p.m., Fri., May 10 (no early birds, please) and runs through Sat., May 18.

Each piece in Kapustka’s show depicts an item one might find available for purchase in a driveway, yard, or garage this summer. No actual used treasures will be available for sale, (Kapustka concluded this would distract from the art), but the show opening will include free grilled frankfurters and fresh-squeezed lemonade, and a fun atmosphere where anyone is welcome to saunter in, and peruse and purchase original artwork.

What: “Tim Kapustka’s Garage Sale,” a oneman show When: Fri., May 10 - Sat., May 18 Where: Studio &, 1027 Main Ave.

While many Durangoans are aficionados of the yard sale, Kapustka’s appreciation may go a bit deeper due to something called “Garage Sale Mania.” No, this is not a mental affliction, but rather a spectacular, annual four-day event in his rural hometown of Imlay City,

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Mich. (which serendipitously coincides with Kapustka’s art opening). In what amounts to a garage sale smorgasbord, the Mania attracts bargain-hunters from across the region with around 100 separate sales in a town of about 4,000.

While the Mania provided many a shopping experience in his formative years, one particularly epic day sticks in Kapustka’s mind: “I happened to be home from Chicago, where I lived at the time. I kept running errands for my mom and would invariably stop at a garage sale or two en route. I wound up making five or six trips, finding treasures each time.”

In fact, Kapustka still has a lot of things from that day, including a mixer he bought from an elderly lady who was impressed he even knew what it was. “She wanted to give it to me, but I insisted on paying the full price, $2,” he recalled. In addition, he also scored an old Faygo crate (that lives at Studio &) and a ’70s4

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Schwinn 10-speed during that particular Mania.

As it turns out, that $2 mixer made it into Kapustka’s show, illustrated exquisitely in bold colors on a solid background with a green hue native to the 1970s. With one of Durango’s most identifiable styles, Kapustka’s work is created through vector illustration, a type of computer art. His particular oeuvre emphasizes brevity and simplicity, with a sort of pop art sensibility, while striving for detail and depth. “Basically, I try to make sense of the image in an over-simplified way ... which, often times, isn’t simple at all.”

Working from photos, Kapustka forces himself to look at subjects in a way that accentuates shadows and highlights. “When I do what I’m trying to do the right way, the viewer will immediately recognize the subject as something familiar, but upon closer inspection, that familiar object is comprised of a bunch of interesting shapes,” he said. “I really enjoy that the details take on a life of their own, while simultaneously defining the subject.”

Just as the simplicity of the finished product belies underlying complexity, Kapustka’s ethos behind the show gets at the essence of the rummage sale and the very nature of “stuff.” At the heart is the notion of a “Marketplace of Memories.” As he observes, things bought and sold lose their previous context (and associated memories) as they pass onto someone else, who will create new contexts and memories. The garage sale itself is a sort of “stuff limbo,” which is the primary reason Kapustka’s illustrations are purposely set against a blank background, void of contextual clues. He even sees a parallel to this in his own creations. “When I’m making art, it’s mine. I can do whatever I want with it,” he said. “When I am done and put it on the wall for the public to view, it isn’t mine anymore ... it’s everyone’s, and it’s up to the viewer to determine what it means.”

The inception of the garage sale theme came from the sudden and unexpected death of Kapustka’s father in early 2018. “My original idea was to do a show celebrating a collection of stuff that was my dad’s, kind of a super-passive tribute to him,” he said.

However, as Kapustka sifted through his father’s earthly possessions, the idea evolved. “It is an interesting exercise to go through the remnants of a person’s life without them around to help explain things or narrate for you,” he said.

Kapustka was struck by the beauty and repetition of many of his father’s things, in particular, gas cans and minnow buckets, of which he had several. “ I quickly realized that I didn’t need to do the tribute. I’d done it for myself and it really helped me heal and deal with his death ... and maybe those things didn’t need to be public,” he said.

“Maybe I wasn’t ready to give those things away.” The gas can and others were illustrated for the show, but only because they were great subject matter, he said.

This process of going through his dad’s stuff also led Kapustka to a deeper investigation of things and the meaning we attach to them. It begged the question: what happens when an item invested with personal meaning changes hands, especially at a yard sale?

With one of Durango’s most identifiable styles, Tim Kapustka’s work is created through vector illustration, a type of computer art./Above photo by Jake Polster-Sadlon

One anecdote sticks out for Kapustka from a particular encounter in Imlay City, sometime in the early aughts.

“There was a little, strong old woman, a fixture around town, who had what seemed to be a perpetual garage sale at her house, to the point where she just left it set up in the garage and opened it up for sale periodically,” he said. Over the years, Kapustka would frequent her sales, mostly buying plant starts from her garden.

On this particular visit, Kapustka was poking around the back of the garage and spotted a cool, old shirt which turned out to fit him perfectly – upon which the woman said, “You are his size.” She left and came back with four more shirts, still in the packaging, and said, “These will fit you too!” The “he” in question was her deceased husband, who Kapustka had never known – a tool and die man, like so many in the place where he grew up – who has been gone since 1966.

“This woman had been holding onto these shirts for four decades,” Kapustka said, “waiting, I truly believe, for me to poke around the back of her garage.”

Kapustka didn’t try on those shirts – he knew he didn’t have to. When he got home, he took the pins out of the folded, never-worn shirts and hung them in his closet. “I paid $16 for them and took this transaction very seriously.

I was, and still am, honored to be the new custodian of these items,” he said. “They were great shirts, and I wore two of them so much that they just flat out fell apart. One of them I kept for a long time after it was unwearable, while another I still have in my closet.”

Lesson learned: the yard sale is a wonderful conduit for transferring possessions on the most intimate level, creating a meaningful human interaction. While used goods can be found in a variety of venues (thrift stores, flea markets, curbsides, etc.), nothing quite matches a garage sale for the chance to intermingle with one’s fellow beings in a “Marketplace of Memories.”

For this reason, Kapustka believes garage sales could also help bring folks together in our increasingly polarized times. “There is a lot of bullshit going on, with a very real attempt by the powers-that-be to keep us as a people divided and bickering amongst ourselves,” he said. Perhaps, something as simple and wholesome as a garage sale can help bridge that divide. “Anyone can go to or have a garage sale. It’s simple. And I’m happy to go to anyone’s garage sale – well almost anyone’s,” he said. “It doesn’t matter to me what their religion, political alliance, opinion on the moon landing, etc., is ... I want to dig through their old stuff.”

So come on down to Studio & this Friday and commingle with one’s cohorts – perhaps some actual garage-salers will confusedly show up and be “forced” to take in an art show – all are welcome. But one final point: everyone should take heed of a key difference between Kapustka’s art and the used items they are based on. There is no haggling on art! It’s really tacky. Save it for an actual garage sale. Indeed, if you see Kapustka rummaging around town, say hello and pay attention to his haggling skills. He’s a real pro at the game. n

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May 9, 2019 n 15

FlashinthePan

A pale comparison unearthed and dusted with brown dirt, the white shoots are shockingly bright. Eating them gives the impression of hungry humans not waiting for spring, clawing s you read this, most of Germany will be eating through the dark earth in search of anything to eat. its way into a feeding frenzy known That’s my image, at least. But from what I’ve read, if as spargelzeit, a two-month long, white asparayou mention spargelzeit to gus-fueled celebration of asthe average German, their paragus and spring. About mental screen likely flashes 125,000 tons of white shoots a serving of light yellow will be consumed, plus anspears lined shoulder-toother 15 tons of green, by shoulder on a plate, flooded summer solstice. After that, with Hollandaise and the asparagus fields are given flanked with peeled potaa rest, to ensure a bountiful toes. That, with or without harvest the following ham, is the most popular spring. serving method and makes Until the harvest stops, one wonder if spargelzeit is the festivities are on, from truly an embrace of spring, roadside stands to grand festior a drawn-out goodbye to vals, with peeling contests the pale, decadent pleasures and asparagus queens wearof the winter diet. ing asparagus crowns, hikes I paid $2 more for a along trails on asparagus bunch of white asparagus farms, and every other kind than I would have for a of asparagus enjoyment they bunch of green and brought can think of. All the while, those icy spears to my lab, more of the party’s raison hoping to figure out the apd’être sits underground, or at peal. least with the shades drawn, Since one of the most waiting to feed the next striking qualities of white round of revelers. asparagus is its bright, White asparagus is the translucent luminosity, I exact same variety as green looked for ways to make it but is grown in complete that allow us to enjoy the darkness, traditionally under spectacle. The Lacto White a layer of earth. The shoots Asparagus recipe from The don’t produce chlorophyll, or Noma Guide to Fermentaother molecules related to tion was a logical place to photosynthesis, unless they Excerpted from Foundations of Flavor: The Noma Guide start. The radiant shoots sit sense light, so the shoot reto Fermentation by Rene Redzepi and David Zilber./ there in jars, visible from all mains unpigmented. ApparPhoto by Evan Sung sides, allowing sunbeams to ently those photosynthetic pass through their pigmentmaterials have flavor. Green free bodies. asparagus is grassy and earthy, while the flavor of white Lacto refers to a type of micro-organism, not to milk. asparagus is more subtle.

Making these pickles is an extremely simple process that White asparagus is labor-intensive to grow, expensive requires only salt and water. The subtle flavor that develto buy and a pain-in-the-neck to prepare, because it must ops becomes more intriguing by the day, with creeping be peeled. White asparagus also has less protein, calories and fiber than green. This is a lot of work and expense for umami and pleasant, lingering bitterness. It’s hard to imagine these luminescent sticks of lemon perfume being a relatively tough, nutrient-poor and arguably bland veras good if they had been made with green asparagus, sion of its above-ground, counterpart. which I guess means I’m warming up to white.

Perhaps the satisfaction is rooted in aesthetics. Freshly

by Ari LeVaux

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I have an asparagus recipe of my own that’s tailormade for white asparagus, and the celebration of pale foods in general. The asparagus is cooked, half-submerged in savory milk, in a jar inside a double boiler. The thick lower parts, which are most in need of cooking, simmer in the milk sauce, while the tips receive a touch of steam from the double-boiler. The cut ends absorb the milk into their vasculature, giving the asparagus a chowder-like flavor, while the tips remain worlds apart, lightly seasoned and barely cooked.

I tried this recipe with both colors of asparagus, and now I’m eating any crumbs of my early skepticism of white asparagus that remain, as I feast on white asparagus itself. It has a pleasant, clear and simple flavor that’s less busy and even less earthy, despite living in the ground.

An average-sized bunch of asparagus will require two pint-sized Mason jars, or similar vessels. You also need a pot large enough to stand asparagus up inside while allowing room to cover the pot.

Milky White Asparagus 1 bunch white asparagus, the thickest spears you can find ½ pint of milk 1 clove garlic, sliced 1 pinch nutmeg ½ teaspoon of salt 1 slice of lemon ½ tsp course black pepper Peel the white asparagus, starting from just below the tip where the fiber starts. Trim the bottoms if you wish.

Put the lemon slice in each jar, flat against the bottom.

Add the spices and garlic, and fill the jars halfway with milk. Add the asparagus spears, with the cut ends against the lemon, and more milk if necessary to bring milk level to an inch below the rim.

Put the jars in a pot with enough water so that the waterline is an inch below the milk level inside the jars.

Sprinkle a pinch each salt and pepper onto each jar from above. Turn heat to high and boil.

While that’s going, simmer the peels and cut bottoms in two quarts of water, along with any pieces of carrot, onion or celery you may have, old or new, scrap or fresh.

Cook scraps for about an hour, and strain. Use as a stock or serve as is, salted. Or add leftover asparagus milk, to taste.

After boiling the asparagus for 15 minutes, put the lid on, and turn off the heat. After five minutes, remove the jars and let cool to room temperature.

Pluck the spears from the jar, holding the dry, saucefree tip in your hand. Munch the saucy base, toward the tip, dipping as necessary. n

TopShelf

Junkies move on & musical Mt. Rushmore

by Chris Aaland

of bluegrass. While Durango Craft Spirits served as a righteous incubator, they’ve outgrown it. The Junkies have just two more spend quite a bit of time on Twitter. I must admit, most of it is shows left in their residency at DCS, starting with one at 7 p.m. to see what the Deplorables have to say about Mango MusFriday. Just make sure you drink enough Old Fashioneds to resolini’s latest misadventures. This week’s highlight: a rant quest their loving, jam-grass cover of Asia’s “Heat of the Moabout how Maximum Security’s disqualification at the Kentucky ment,” sung all high-and-lonesome by Alissa Wolf.

Derby could only happen in these politically correct times. Talk Durango’s other favorite band, Lawn Chair Kings, are now about Maximum Insecua rockabilly trio, featuring rity! El Pendejo Naranjo founding fathers Norddropped the C in the strom on his Gretsch Elecstate’s name, spelling it tromatic guitar and Dan “Kentuky.” One thoughtLeek on upright bass and ful troll noted that Kenthe versatile Dressen betucky lost its C at the hind the drum kit. They’ll Bowling Green Massacre. play the Mancos Bloom My other guilty Twitter Fundraiser Saturday afterpleasure is reveling in the noon at Mount Lookout success of my chosen Grange. The event runs sports teams – namely, the from 3-7 p.m., with LCK Avalanche and Nuggets, taking the stage at 4. It’s two young squads with the Grange’s fifth annual limited playoff experience.

May Pole fundraiser, with Regardless of the eventual local food, local drink and outcome (I wrote my colfun for the entire family. umn Tuesday morning, so Local funk is on tap at much will have happened Local funk is on tap at the Animas City Theatre as PJ Moon & the Swap- the Animas City Theatre by the time you read this), pers share a bill with J-Calvin on Friday night.

Friday night, as PJ Moon this spring’s success points & the Swappers and Jto a bright future next season and beyond. The Avs are 3-0 in Calvin share a bill. Bandleader PJ Moon searched for a troupe of overtime, the most recent being Monday’s thriller that ended musicians who could help him realize his dream of making new, with 20-year-old Cale Makar keeping the puck alive in the San modern rock and soul with relevant lyrics on top of innovative Jose zone and finding a wide-open Gabriel Landeskog (an oldrhythm and melodies back in 2017. He hooked up with a diverse timer at age 26) in front of the net for the game-winning goal. team of jazz, blues, indie and funk players who originally Three nights earlier, 24-year-old Nikola Jokic of the Nuggets “swapped” out every few shows and later settled on his core quarlogged a record 65 minutes in a four-overtime classic while tet. Around that same time, the five members of J-Calvin brought notching a triple double in a heartbreaking loss. their unique and varied musical backgrounds together. The result But today’s Twitter revelation was one that declared New Jeris a soul-abducting fusion of authentic lyrics, jazz-influenced harsey the music capital of the world due to its Mount Rushmore of monies and Dilla-inspired beats. Both groups have since taken icons that included Bruce Springsteen, Frank Sinatra, Whitney their live act far and wide.

Houston and … drumroll, please … Jon Bon Jovi? I mean, I wore I guess springtime is officially here, as the outdoor Ska-B-Q out my “Slippery When Wet” cassette back in 1987 like the rest season kicks off at 5 p.m. tonight with a performance by the of you. I was on the bandwagon long before, when “Runaway” Wild Roses. Indoor Ska-B-Qs are like showering in your underwas Rocking the Rockies on KBPI. wear and a wool sweater. Free the music … Let it bounce off Twitter exploded. One guy compared this to the real RushSmelter Mountain! In all seriousness, a cold Mexican Logger more housing the granite faces of Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln never tastes better than in Ska’s outdoor beer garden. and Gerald Ford. I immediately laughed out loud, wondering if The Met: Live in HD wraps up for the season with something Kip Winger’s mug would adorn Colorado’s Mount Rushmore of contemporary when it screens Francis Poulenc’s “Dialogues des Music.

Carmélites” at 10 a.m. Saturday in the Vallecito Room of FLC’s I asked myself, “Who would be on Durango’s Musical Mount Student Union. Run time is 3 hours, 9 minutes with a single inRushmore?” Two names instantly came to mind. Cy Scarbortermission. Considered by critics and fans alike, Carmélites is one ough, the 90-something-year-old founder of Bar D Wranglers was of the most successful operas of the later 20th century, having premiered in 1957 in Milan. The opera focuses on a young member a no-brainer. Erik Nordstrom of Lawn Chair Kings and Farmingof an order of Carmelite nuns – the aristocratic Blanche de la ton Hill fame was also an easy pick of mine. But who else? Bluesman Kirk James? Guitar wizards Robin Davis and Gary Cook? The Force – who must overcome a pathological timidity in order to answer her life’s calling. sultry sax of Jeff Solon? The musical triple threat known as Of note: The Black Velvet trio plays the Balcony Bar & Grill Patrick Dressen? The dearly departed Greg Ryder? Discuss at 5 p.m. tonight before returning to the Diamond Belle Saloon at amongst yourself. I need more time to meditate on this.

5:30 p.m. Monday; The Starlight’s Plursday local music showcase Maybe @NYTnickc faced a similar dilemma when choosing features DJ Zirk from 8 ’til close tonight; Robbie Overfield Jon Bon Jovi. performs at the Starlight from 6-9 p.m. Friday; Bad Goat Disco Sadly, all good things must come to an end. The StillHouse spins funk and soul-infused dance music from around the world Junkies were born at Durango Craft Spirits, rising from a stinkfrom 7-10 p.m. Friday at the 11th Street Station; DJ Hakan reing pile of Chuckles’ spent mash not too long ago. They were weaned on the teat of a copper kettle, honed their craft under the turns to the Starlight from 9 ‘til close Friday; DJ Side Affex closes down the Starlight at 9 p.m. Saturday. influence of Mayday Moonshine and grew into a funky bluegrass power trio. This summer, they’ll undertake real touring across the You catch a pearl and ride the dragon’s wings? Email me at country, culminating with an appearance at the Grey Fox Music Festival in the Catskill Mountains alongside the big boys and girls chrisa@gobrainstorm.net. n

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Thursday09 ​Baby Meetup with Durango Café au Play, 9:30-11:30 a.m., 2307 Columbine. 749-9607.

“The River and The Wall” screening, 3:30 and 6 p.m., documentary also plays May 10-16, Animas City Theatre, 128 E. College Dr. www.animascitytheatre.com.

Drop-in Tennis, 4 p.m., Needham Elementary School, 2425 W. 3rd Ave. “Doc Swords,” PTSD Social Club for Veterans, 4-6 p.m., VFW, 1550 Main Ave. Trails 2000 Trailwork on the Spurline Trails, 4:30-7 p.m., event also runs May 16, Three Springs. www.trails2000.org.

The Wild Roses performs, 5-7 p.m., Ska Brewing, 225 Girard St. Tim Sullivan performs, 5:30 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave. Sitting Meditation, 5:30-6:15 p.m., Durango Dharma Center, 1800 E. 3rd Ave.

Submit “On the Town” items by Monday at noon to: calendar@durangotelegraph.com

Open Mic Night, 6 p.m., Eno Wine Bar, 723 E. 2nd Ave. Robby Overfield performs, 6:30 p.m., The Office, 699 Main Ave. Book-signing and reading with Philip Duke, author or The Village: A Novel of Wartime Crete, 6:30 p.m., Maria’s Bookshop, 960 Main Ave. www.mariasbook shop.com.

“Mountain Lions Among Us” with wildlife conservationist David Neils, presented by Bear Smart Durango, 6:30-8 p.m., Durango Public Library. Register at moun tainlionsamongus.eventbrite.com.

Gary B. Walker performs, 6:30-8:30 p.m., Jean-Pierre Restaurant & Wine Bar, 601 Main Ave. “Mamma Mia!” presented by Merely Players, 7 p.m., musical also runs May 10-11, 16-18 and 1 p.m., May 12, 18-19, Durango Arts Center, 802 E. 2nd Ave. All shows sold out but waitlist available. www.durangoarts.org or www.merelyplayers.us.

Plursday featuring DJ Zirk, 9 p.m.-close, Starlight Lounge, 937 Main Ave.

Ashley Edwards performs, 6:30 p.m., The Office, 699 Main Ave.

Friday10

Disco Night, 6:30-9 p.m., Chapman Hill Skating Rink.

375-7395.

Durango Early Bird Toastmasters, 7-8:30 a.m., LPEA, 45 Stewart St. 769-7615.

BID Coffee & Conversation, 8:30-9:30 a.m., TBK Bank, 259 W. 9th St. Free yoga, 8:30-9:30 a.m., Lively Boutique, 809 Main Ave. Zumba Gold, 9:30-10:15 a.m., La Plata Senior Center, 2424 Main Ave. Women’s Idea Exchange, noon-1 p.m., Thrive Chiropractic Studio, 202 W. 22nd St. www.womensideaex change.com.

The Jelly Bellies perform, 7 p.m., Billy Goat Saloon in Gem Village.

Stephen Sellers (Bad Goat) spins, 7-10 p.m., 11th Street Station, 1101 Main Ave. Karaoke, 7 p.m.-close, VFW, 1550 Main Ave.

STEAM Lab: Index Card and Cup Structures, for ages 5-12, 3:30-4:30 p.m., Durango Public Library.

PJ Moon & the Swappers perform with J-Calvin, 9:30 p.m., Animas City Theatre, 128 E. College Dr. www.animascitytheatre.com.

Free Legal Clinic, 4-5 p.m., Ignacio Community Library.

Saturday11

Spanish Speaking Parents & Littles Fridays, 4-6 p.m., Durango Café au Play, 1309 E. 3rd Ave., Room 201. durangocafeauplay.org.

Durango Farmers Market Opening Day, featuring live music from Darryl Kuntz, performance from Durango Aerial Arts & Acrobatics, Durango Shimmy Mob and more, 8 a.m.-noon, TBK Bank parking lot, W. 8th Street. www.durangofarmersmarket.com.

Durango BMX Info Night, meet Coach Jordan Rupe and learn more about the program, 4:30-5:30 p.m., BMX of Durango, 480 S. Camino del Rio. www.durangobmx.com.

Drop-in Tennis, 9 a.m., Durango High School, 2390 Main Ave.

Big Picture High School Art Show, 5-7 p.m., R Space at the Rochester, 734 E. 2nd Ave. 422-1285.

Spring Gallery Walk, hosted by the Durango Art Galleries Collective, 5-9 p.m., downtown Durango. www.durangoartgalleries.com.

New Large Format Paintings by Karyn Gabaldon, part of the Spring Gallery Walk, 5-8:30 p.m., Karyn Gabaldon Fine Arts, 680 Main Ave., Suite C. Tim Kapustka’s Garage Sale, opening reception, 5-9 p.m., exhibit runs thru May 19, Studio & Gallery, 1027 Main Ave. anddurango.com or timkapustka.com.

Terry Rickard performs, 5:30 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave.

Open Mic & Stand-Up, 8 p.m., El Rancho Tavern, 975 Main Ave.

Mister Rogers’ 21st Century Legacy: movie and discussion, 6 p.m., Pine River Library in Bayfield.

Karaoke, 8 p.m.-close, Wild Horse Saloon, 601 E. 2nd Ave.

Robby Overfield performs, 6-9 p.m., DJ Hakan, 9 p.m.-close, Starlight Lounge, 937 Main Ave.

18 n May 9, 2019

Cirque de Lycee, a three-ring circus performance with aerial arts, juggling, acrobatics, unicycle, hand-balancing, live music, and more, 7 p.m., event also runs May 11, Powerhouse Science Center, 1333 Camino del Rio. www.powsci.org.

telegraph

Henry Stoy performs, 10 a.m.-1 p.m., Jean-Pierre Restaurant & Wine Bar, 601 Main Ave. VFW Indoor Flea Market, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., 1550 Main Ave. 247-0384.

World Belly Dance Day Celebration with the Durango Shimmy Mob, featuring all day performances around Durango; 10:15 a.m., Farmers Market; 11:30 a.m., 11th Street Station; 1 p.m., Sunshine Gardens; 2:15 p.m., Main Mall; 3:30 p.m., Durango Rug Co. durango shimmymob@gmail.com.

“Dialogues des Carmélites,” presented by the Met: Live in HD, 10:55 a.m., Student Union at FLC. www.du rangoconcerts.com.

Spectacular Spring Red Balloon Event, featuring activities, games, entertainment and more, 11 a.m.-3 p.m., along Main Avenue. downtowndurango.org.

Pete Giuliani performs, part of BID’s Spectacular Spring Red Balloon Event, 1-3 p.m., Downtown Main Mall.4

Lawn Chair Kings perform for the Mancos Bloom Fundraiser, 3-7 p.m., Mount Lookout Grange in Mancos.

Spring recital featuring Dancing Spirit Community Arts Center’s dance program, 5 p.m., Ignacio High School Performing Arts Center. dancingspiritgallery.org.

Annual Roosevelts’ Dinner featuring keynote speaker Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, hosted by the La Plata County Dems, 5-8 p.m., Student Union Ballroom at Fort Lewis College. www.laplatadems.org.

Adam Swanson performs, 5:30 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave. Leah Orlikowski performs, 6:30 p.m., The Office, 699 Main Ave. Light Show Public Skate, 6:30-9 p.m., Chapman Hill Skating Rink. 375-7395.

The Lindells perform, 7-9 p.m., Fenceline Cidery in Mancos.

Night Sky Viewing Party, 8 p.m., Ignacio Community Library.

Comedy Cocktail open mic stand up, 8 p.m., Eno Wine Bar, 723 E. 2nd Ave. DJ Affex performs, 9 p.m.-close, Starlight Lounge, 937 Main Ave.

Sunday12 Henry Stoy performs, 10 a.m.-1 p.m., Jean-Pierre Restaurant & Wine Bar, 601 Main Ave. Traditional Irish Music Jam, 12:30-4 p.m., Irish Embassy, 900 Main Ave. Live Music on the Lawn, featuring HoneyHawk, 2-5 p.m., event runs each Sunday thru Aug. 4, Trimble Hot Springs, 6475 CR 203. 247-0111.

Blue Moon Ramblers, 5:30 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave.

Art on parade: Durango’s Spring Gallery Walk What: Durango Spring Gallery Walk When: 5 – 9 p.m., Fri., May 10 Where: Downtown Durango It’s time for Durango’s annual cure for cabin fever and opportunity to support local arts: the spring gallery walk. This year’s walk takes place the evening of Fri., May 10, and includes 12 downtown galleries featuring local artists and their works, live music and libations.

Put on by the Durango Art Galleries Collective, the gallery walk offers a worldclass array of diverse and eclectic art, from contemporary to western to Native American. Participating galleries are: Azul Gallery; Create Art & Tea; Diane West Jewelry & Art; Durango Arts Center; Earthen Vessel Gallery; Karyn Gabaldon Fine Arts; Rochester Hotel; Scenic Aperture; Sorrel Sky Gallery; Studio &; Toh-Atin and Wildshots Gallery.

Spring Gallery Walk highlights include: • Diane West Jewelry & Art will showcase local jewelry artists Tracey Belt and Pat Hartman; • Earthen Vessel Gallery features the work of Robert Watch Your Step class, 10:15 a.m., Durango Senior Center, 2424 Main Ave. Mystery Book Club, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., Ignacio Library.

Black Velvet performs, 5:30 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave. Trivia Night, 7 p.m., Blondies in Cortez.

Rob Webster performs, 6:30 p.m., The Office, 699 Main.

Medina Cook and his unique multimedia art incorporating organic earth pigments, fire-scorched wood, rusted metal and other natural elements; • Rochester Hotel hosts the Big Picture High School Student Art exhibition and auction featuring watercolor paintings, block prints, screen prints, mixed media, photography and drawings. Proceeds go to assist graduates in buying college textbooks; • Toh-Atin Gallery will feature a collection of works by Stanton Englehart, along with a collection of 100 vintage Native American belt buckles, recently acquired from a major collector; • Sorrel Sky welcomes wildlife artist Edward Aldrich with his “The Wild Within” show highlighting his affinity for wildlife. A portion of proceeds from sales will benefit Wolfwood Refuge; • Studio & will host “Tim Kapuska’s Garage Sale.” (see p. 14 for full story.)

For a gallery map and more information, go to www.durangoartgalleries.com or contact Denise Leslie at durangoartgalleries@gmail.com.

Professional Women’s Network Inspiring Speaker Series featuring local business woman and multitasking mom Jessika Buell, 5-6:30 p.m., The Underground at the Irish Embassy, 900 Main Ave. pwndurango.com.

Terry Rickard performs, 5:30 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave. Rotary Club of Durango, presentation by Butch Knowlton, director of emergency preparedness for La Plata County, 6 p.m., Strater Hotel. 385-7899.

Dustin Burley performs, 6:30 p.m., The Office, 699 Main Ave.

Contiki Party with the Aussies, 9 p.m.-close, Starlight Lounge, 937 Main Ave.

Super Ted’s Super Trivia, 6:12 p.m., Henry Strater Theatre, 699 Main Ave.

Monday13

Tuesday14

Trivia Factory, hosted by Ben Bernstein, 6:30-8:30 p.m., The Roost, 128 E. College Dr.

Yoga Storytime, 9:30-10:45 a.m., Smiley Building Studio 10, 1309 E. 3rd Ave.

Zumba Gold, 9:30-10:15 a.m., La Plata Senior Center, 2424 Main Ave.

2nd annual Farm Field Day, 10 a.m.-3 p.m., Old Fort in Hesperus. 560-0781 or 385-4574.

Drop-in Tennis, 4 p.m., Durango High School, 2390 Main Ave.

telegraph

DJ Crazy Charlie, 6:30-10:30 p.m., Billy Goat Saloon, Gem Village.

More “On the Town” on page 204

May 9, 2019 n 19

AskRachel Interesting fact: A “Jerry” is apparently “one who demonstrates complete and utter ignorance in their sport, mostly in skiing.” Looks like we’ll be renaming this column “Ask Jerry.”

Dear Rachel, I think it’s really disturbing when parents try to be besties with their teen-age (or younger) kids. Overstepping those bounds will confuse children the rest of their lives. However, adult children get to decide to be friends with their parents. Like, I recently started getting high with my dad. He just retired from the Army and gets to smoke dope for the first time since high school. First of all: he’s hysterical. Second of all: this is cool, right?

- High-larity Ensues Dear Junior, Sure, it’s cool. Why not? I mean, I’m undeniably cool, so I get to be the arbiter of coolness, I guess. I see no good reason not to get lit with your pops, though.

The dynamics of the father/child relationship receive the flexibility to shift and mutate as the children establish themselves in adulthood. And nothing screams “I’m a mature individual! Respect me, Dad!” like smokin’ a doobie.

– Roll a number, Rachel

could go for the iambic rhythm: Renaldo, Duckfart, Jones and Prick. But I have a feeling the decision is usually much more hierarchical, possibly involving arm wrestling or drag racing.

Whatever the answer, why use names at all? It just makes the Garfunkels of the world feel bad about themselves.

– Second Fiddle Dear Oates, Oh, this is a fascinating question. Perhaps they arrange themselves according to the Dewey Decimal System. Maybe it’s like airline flights, and the ones with elite membership status get to choose the window seats first. They could assign point values to letters, then score their names. Soap box derby? The best solution of all, of course, is to find partners with the same name, so everyone believes that they are the ultimate Johnson in Johnson & Johnson.

– I’m with stupid, Rachel & Rachel Dear Rachel, I’m seriously addicted to certain Instagram pages that offer endless intertainment. (That was a typo but I like it; I should probably # it now!) These include drunkpeopledoingthings, golfersdoingthings and jerryoftheday. No more scouring the internet for reasons not to work.

These feeds compile all the schadenfreude I need to survive the week. The only way this could get better is if it were my job to curate these feeds!

How can I find that job?

- Insta-Grammy Awards

Dear Jobhunter, What the heck is jerryoftheday? Like, here’s a picture of Seinfeld, here’s one of Lee Lewis, here’s one of the secondbest ice cream maker in Vermont? I had to look it up, and I was disappointed to learn that it has something to do with skiers, some of them wearing only skis and underwear. It’s May, for chrissake. I’m so over skiing. But if you start an Insta about highparentsdoingthings, I’m done for.

– Like, whoa, man, Rachel

from p. 19

Gary B. Walker performs, 6:30-8:30 p.m., Jean-Pierre Restaurant & Wine Bar, 601 Main Ave.

Concert Hall at Fort Lewis College. www.durangoconcerts.com.

Tim Sullivan performs, 6:30 p.m., The Office, 699 Main Ave.

Dr.

Dear Rachel, How do business partners decide which of their names goes first on the company shingle? I can see a few ways about this. There’s alphabetical: Duckfart, Jones, Prick and Renaldo. Or you

OntheTown

Latin Social Nights, 8-11 p.m., Wild Horse Saloon, 601 E. 2nd Ave. 375-2568.

Open Mic Night, 8 p.m.-close, Starlight Lounge, 937 Main Ave.

Wednesday15

Open Mic Night, 7:30 p.m., The Roost, 128 E. College

Karaoke, 8 p.m., Blondies in Cortez.

Karaoke with Crazy Charlie, 8 p.m.-close, Wild Horse Saloon, 601 E. 2nd Ave.

Ongoing

Free Trauma Conscious Yoga for Veterans and Families, noon-1 p.m., Elks Lodge, 901 E. 2nd Ave.

Tim Kapustka’s Garage Sale, exhibit runs May 10-19, Studio & Gallery, 1027 Main Ave. anddurango.com or timka pustka.com.

Tai Chi at Trimble, 1:30 p.m., event runs each Wednesday thru the summer, Trimble Hot Springs, 6475 County Road 203. 247-0111.

“Inside Out: Visions from the Artist’s Mind,” exhibit runs thru April 2020, Southern Ute Museum, 503 Ouray Dr. www.southernutemuseum.org.

“Spring can really hang you up the most – Writing Blues Workshop,” presented by Jessica Robbins, 5-6 p.m., R Space, 734 E. 2nd Ave. 422-1285.

After-school program, 4:15-5:15 p.m. Wednesdays, Mancos Library.

Donny Johnson performs, 5:30 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave. Thank the Veterans potluck, 5:30 p.m., Peter Neds performs, 7-8:30 p.m., VFW, 1550 Main Ave. 828-7777.

Loki Moon – Raw Experiments, 6-8 p.m., Eno Wine Bar, 723 E. 2nd Ave. Terry Rickard performs, 6:30 p.m., The Office, 699 Main Ave. “Taking Control of Your Health Care” with Christy Deem, 6:30 p.m., Durango Public Library.

20 n May 9, 2019

Email Rachel at telegraph@durangotelegraph.com

Spring Benefit for the Four Corners Rainbow Youth Center, featuring live music from Leah Orlikowski and Denae Stucka-Benally, 6-10 p.m., May 17, Powerhouse Science Center, 1333 Camino del Rio. www.rainbowyouth center.org.

Party in the Park, hosted by Stillwater Music, noon-6 p.m., May 18, Rotary Park. www.stillwatermusic.org or 2475095.

Medicare For All, free, nonpartisan presentation and dialogue presented by Guinn Unger of Healthcare Durango, 35 p.m., May 18, Durango Public Library. 759-2497 or healthcaredurango@gmail.com.

Kirtan, 6-8 p.m., May 18, Studio 10, Smiley Building, 1309 E. 3rd Ave. The Pete Giuliani Band performs, fundraiser for the Mancos Trails Group, 6-9 p.m., May 18, Mancos Brewing Co.

Karaoke, 8 p.m., Thur-Sun, 8th Ave. Tavern, 509 E 8th Ave.

Upcoming Mountain Middle School Fundraiser, featuring silent auction, music from Robby Overfield, lawn games and more, 5-8 p.m., May 16, Ska Brewing, 225 Girard St. Spring Book Tour for Luke Mehall, author of The Desert, co-hosted by Maria’s Bookshop, 6:30 p.m., May 16, Pine Needle Mountaineering, 858 Main Ave. luke@climingzine.com.

Iris DeMent performs, 7:30 p.m., May 16, Community

telegraph

Deadline for “On the Town” submissions is Monday at noon.

To submit an item, email: calendar@durango telegraph.com

FreeWillAstrology

by Rob Brezsny ARIES (March 21-April 19): Time to shake things up!

In the next three weeks, I invite you to try at least three of the following experiments. 1.

See unusual sights in familiar situations. 2.

Seek out new music that both calms you and excites you. 3. Get an inspiring statue or image of a favorite deity or hero. 4. Ask for a message from the person you will be three years from now. 5. Use your hands and tongue in ways you don’t usually use them. 6. Go in quest of a cathartic release that purges frustration and rouses holy passion. 7. Locate the sweet spot where deep feeling and deep thinking overlap.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): According to science writer Sarah Zielinski in Smithsonian magazine, fireflies produce the most efficient light on Earth.

Nearly 100 percent of the energy produced by the chemical reaction inside the insect’s body is emitted as a brilliant glow.

With that in mind, I propose that you regard the firefly as your spirit creature in the coming weeks. According to my reading of the astrological omens, you, too, will be a dynamic and proficient generator of luminosity. For best results, don’t tone down your brilliance, even if it illuminates shadows people are trying to hide.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Here’s a message from author Susan J. Elliott: “This is not your week to run the Universe. Next week is not looking so good either.” Now here’s a message from me: Elliott’s revelation is very good news! Since you won’t have to worry about trying to manage and finetune the Universe, you can focus all your efforts on your own self-care. And the coming weeks will be a favorable time to do just that. You’re due to dramatically upgrade your understanding of what you need to feel healthy and happy, and then take the appropriate measures to put your new insights into action.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): The next three weeks will be an excellent time to serve as your own visionary prophet and dynamic fortune-teller.

The predictions and conjectures you make about your future destiny will have an 85percent likelihood of being accurate. They will also be relatively free of fear and worries. So I urge you to give your imagination permission to engage in fun fantasies about what’s ahead for you. Be daringly optimistic and exuberantly hopeful and brazenly self-celebratory.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Leo poet Stanley Kunitz told his students, “You must be very careful not to deprive the poem of its wild origin.”

That’s useful advice for anyone who

spawns anything, not just poets. There’s something unruly and unpredictable about every creative idea or fresh perspective that rises up in us. Do you remember when you first felt the urge to look for a new job or move to a new city or search for a new kind of relationship? Wildness was there at the inception. And you needed to stay in touch with the wildness so as to follow through with practical action. That’s what I encourage you to do now. Reconnect with the wild origins of the important changes you’re nurturing.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): I have no complaints about the measures you’ve taken recently to push past unnecessary limits and to break outworn taboos. In fact, I celebrate them.

Keep going! You’ll be better off without those decaying constraints. Soon you’ll begin using all the energy you have liberated and the spaciousness you have made available. But I do have one concern: I wonder if part of you is worried that you have been too bold and have gone too far.

To that part of you I say: No! You haven’t been too bold. You haven’t gone too far.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): “Dreamt of a past that frees its prisoners.” So wrote Meena Alexander in her poem “Question Time.” I’d love for you to have that experience in the coming weeks.

I’d love for you to be released from the karma of your history so that you no longer have to repeat old patterns or feel weighed down by what happened to you once upon a time. I’d love for you to no longer have to answer to decayed traditions and outmoded commitments and lost causes. I’d love for you to escape the pull of memories that tend to drag you back toward things that can’t be changed and don’t matter any more.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): “Desire is a profoundly upsetting force,” author Elspeth Probyn writes. “It may totally rearrange what we think we want. Desire skews plans and sets forth unthought-of possibilities.” In my opinion, Probyn’s statements are half-true. The other half of the truth is that desire can also be a profoundly healing and rejuvenating force, and for the same reasons: it rearranges what we think we want, alters plans and unleashes unthought-of possibilities. How does all this relate to you?

From what I can tell, you are now on the cusp of desire’s two overlapping powers.

What happens next could be upsetting or healing, disorienting or rejuvenating. If you’d like to emphasize the healing and rejuvenating, I suggest you treat desire as a sacred gift and a blessing.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22Dec. 21): “So much of what we learn about love is taught by people who never really loved us.” My Sagittarian

friend Ellen made that sad observation. Is it true for you? Ellen added the following thoughts: so much of what we learn about love is taught by people who were too narcissistic or wounded to be able to love very well; and by people who didn’t have many listening skills and therefore didn’t know enough about us to love us for who we really are; and by people who love themselves poorly and so of course find it hard to love anyone else. Is any of this applicable to what you have experienced, Sagittarius? If so, here’s an antidote that I think you’ll find effective during the next seven weeks: identify the people who have loved you well and the people who might love you well in the future – and then vow to learn all you can from them.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Capricorn fantasy novelist Laini Taylor creates imaginary worlds where heroines use magic and wiles to follow their bliss while wrangling with gods and rascals. In describing her writing process, she says, “Like a magpie, I am a scavenger of shiny things: fairy tales, dead languages, weird folk beliefs and fascinating religions.” She adds, “I have plundered tidbits of history and lore to build something new, using only the parts that light my mind on fire.” I encourage you to adopt her strategies for your own use in the coming weeks. Be alert for gleaming goodies and tricky delicacies and alluring treats. Use them to create new experiences that thrill your imagination. I believe the coming weeks will be an excellent time to use your magic and wiles to follow your bliss while wrangling with gods and rascals.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): “I was always asking for the specific thing that wasn’t mine,” poet Joanne Kyger writes. “I wanted a haven that wasn’t my own.” If there is any part of you that resonates with that defeatist perspective, Aquarius, now is an excellent time to begin outgrowing or transforming it. I guarantee you that you’ll have the potency you need to retrain yourself: so that you will more and more ask for specific things that can potentially be yours; so that you will more and more want a haven that can be your own.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): I’m not a fan of nagging. I don’t like to be nagged, and I scrupulously avoid nagging others. And yet now I will break my own rules so as to provide you with your most accurate and helpful horoscope. According to my analysis of the astrological omens, you aren’t likely to get what you truly need and deserve in the coming days unless you engage in some polite, diplomatic nagging. So see what you can do to employ nagging as a graceful, even charming art. For best results, infuse it with humor and playfulness.

telegraph

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May 9, 2019 n 21

classifieds

Deadline for Telegraph classified ads is Tuesday at noon.

Ads are a bargain at 10 cents a character with a $5 minimum. Even better, ads can now be placed online: durangotelegraph.com. Prepayment is required via cash, credit card or check.

(Sorry, no refunds or substitutions.)

Ads can be submitted via: n classifieds@durango telegraph.com n 970-259-0133 n 777 Main Ave., #214 Approximate office hours: Mon., 9ish - 5ish Tues., 9ish - 5ish Wed., 9ish - 3ish Thurs., On delivery Fri., 10:30ish - 2ish please call ahead: 259-0133.

Lost&Found Found: Bike Light In Horse Gulch. Call to identify 7598820.

Announcements Congratulations Alan Morris for retiring after teaching 30 years in the classroom at Fort Lewis Mesa and Needham Elementary! Thank you for your dedication to educating kids. Enjoy your well-earned retirement with many fun-filled adventures!

Evryman Mens Group Meets from 7-9 pm Thurs at the VFW, 1550 Main Ave. Evryman promotes connecting men more deeply to themselves and their relationships. All men are welcome.

Join me for an informative evening. Enter the building on the north (river) side. The meeting is downstairs. Paul Senecal 7597395.

Lunch, 11am-2:30 p.m. & dinner, Sun. Thurs., 5-9:30 p.m., Fri. & Sat. ‘til 10 p.m.

Closed 2:30 to 5, daily, $$.

The Perfect Gift for your favorite dirtbag. Literature from Durango’s own Benighted Publications. The Climbing Zine, The Great American Dirtbags, American Climber, Climbing Out of Bed and Graduating From College Me are available at: Maria’s Bookshop, Pine Needle Mountaineering, the Sky Store, or on the interweb at www.climbingzine.com.

22 n May 9, 2019

HaikuMovieReview ‘Won’t You Be My Neighbor’ I feel bad for kids today because they don’t have a Mister Rogers – Lainie Maxson

Reruns – Sales Associate High energy person needed. Approximately 20+hrs/week. Stop by and drop off a resume. 572 E. 6th Ave.

BodyWork

Wanted

Classes/Workshops

Turn Vehicles, Copper, Alum, Etc. Into Cash! at RJ Metal Recycle, also free appliance and other metal drop off. 970-259-3494.

Create Art … Have Fun Various gourd art classes now offered in Mancos. Drums, weaving, carving, etc. www.schoolofthewest.org; or contact Janice 209-404-4694, reichline@aol.com

massageintervention.life Voted best massage in Durango 2018.

Couples, sauna, outdoor shower, cupping.

Reviews on FB + Yelp. 970-903-2984.

HelpWanted Youth Crew Leader The Southwest Conservation Corps is looking for Youth Crew Leaders to lead local high school students on Conservation based projects in the Four Corners region. $500-$620/week DOQ/DOE. Flexible start date of May 13th. Visit www.sccorps.org/leadership-opportunities for a complete position description. Send questions or resumes to: Teresa DiTore, Youth Programs Manager; tditore@conservationlegacy.org.

Admin Assistant for Nonprofit Wanted part-time grant writer, admin assistant for nonprofit. 970.236.2313, http://ccohome.org

Himalayan Kitchen 992 Main Ave., 970-259-0956, www.himkitchen.com. Bringing you a taste of Nepal, Tibet & India. Try our allyou-can-eat lunch buffet. The dinner menu offers a variety of tempting choices, including yak, lamb, chicken, beef & seafood; extensive veggies; freshly baked bread. Full bar. Get your lunch punch card – 10th lunch free. Hours:

Job Openings at The Yellow Carrot!

Do you love food? Are you passionate about service? The Yellow Carrot is hiring high energy individuals for our Service Staff and Catering Team, as well as an Administrative Assistant! Apply in person at our new location: 3206 Main Ave., Suite #1. Only serious inquiries, please!

Director of Faith Formation Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, part-time salary position, 25 hrs per week: https://durangouu.org/employment-opportunity/ Contact: information@duran gouu.org Ranch/Farmhand Looking for self starter with skills used in ranching/farming. No farm animals.

Mowing, tree trimming, tractor skills, general cleanup, etc. 30-40 hours per week. Must be able to follow directions.

602-793-8880.

telegraph

Hope Chiropractic and Yoga Presents Grace, Gravity, Gaia and Grit Pain Relief Workshops: A new paradigm for freeing your body-mind-spirit from pain.

Heal your Sacred Psoas - Muscle of the Soul. Help for low back and hip issues, stress, fatigue and sleep loss. Sat May 18th 9:30-12:30 Smiley Studio 10. $55 Early bird ends Sat May 11th. Must pre-register.

Class size limited. More info Dr Keneen Hope DC 970-305-3239 www.hopechi royoga.com Mommy and Me Dance Class Come join the fun! Now registering for classes. Call 970-749-6456. mom myandmedance.com.

Services Low Price on Storage!

Inside/outside near Durango, RJ Mini Storage. 970-259-3494.

Harmony Organizing and Cleaning Services Home and office 970-403-6192.

Advanced Duct Cleaning Air duct cleaning specializing in dryer vents. Improves indoor air quality; reduces dust and allergens, energy bills and fire risk. 970-247-2462 www.advanced ductcleaninginc.com

Mother’s Day Massages 30, 60 & 90 min. Meg Bush, LMT 970759-0199.

Massage with Kathryn 20+ years experience offering a fusion of esalen style, deep tissue massage with therapeutic stretching & Acutonics. New clients receive $5 off first session. Call 970201-3373.

RealEstate FSBO 5BR/2BA in Town ADU (accessory dwelling unit) rental option avail. Call for details 970-759-0551.

Radon Services Free radon testing and consultation.

Call Colorado Radon Abatement and Detection for details. 970- 946-1618.

ForSale Kawasaki Z-125 Motorcycle Super fun, easy park, 100+ mpg. Needs smaller rider. $2900 cash. Call Sue 970426-6764.

Reruns Home Furnishings Great summer inventory arriving daily! Patio items galore, planters, bistros.

New great stuff and daily markdowns.

572 E. 6th Ave. 385-7336.

ForRent New Office Space Available inside natural health care office 1 block off Main. Perfect for body worker or therapist. Shared waiting area & free pkg. $550/mo Call 970-749-2815.

NewspaperOrigami

We’d give you the shirts off our backs ... (unless we happen to be wearing them.)

Available in a range of sizes & styles (including muscle T)

Cool but understated bike logo

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Hi-tech breathable mesh venting

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Get yours today at: www.durangotelegraph.com or stop by our office: 777 Main Ave., Suite 214

The second-best thing to being there ... Issue 8 is out now.

Wherever you find the Telegraph or at www.gulchmag.com.

To find out about advertising opportunities, email: steve@gulchmag.com

telegraph

May 9, 2019 n 23

24 n May 9, 2019

telegraph