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Advanced Technology Allows Macular Degeneration Patients To See Again And Allows Many Low Vision Patients To Drive Again
A scene as it might be viewed by a person with age-related macular degeneration
Same scene of Grandchildren as viewed through telescope glasses.
For many patients with macular degeneration and other visionrelated conditions, the loss of central visual detail also signals the end to one of the last bastions of independence driving. Colorado optometrist, Dr. Robert Stamm is using miniaturized telescopes which are mounted in glasses to help people who have lost vision from macular degeneration and other eye conditions. “Some of my patients consider me their last chance or people who have vision loss” said Dr. Stamm, one of only a few doctors in the world who specializes in fitting bioptic
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For more information and to schedule an appointment today, call:
Robert Stamm, O.D. Low Vision Optometrist Member IALVS
Toll Free:
(877) 393-0025
www.NebraskaLowVisionDoctor.com
[contents] 4
VIEWPOINT
5
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
6
COMMUNITY EVENTS
7
YOUR CO-OP NEWS
12
NEWS CLIPS
14
INDUSTRY
16
COVER STORY
20
RECIPES
22
GARDENING
24
OUTDOORS
25
ENERGY TIPS
29
FUNNY STORIES
30
DISCOVERIES
APRIL 2017 Volume 48, Number 04
“Bluebird” by Ericka Kinsella, a member of Sangre de Cristo Electric from Coaldale.
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[cover] Harrison Walter runs near his home outside of Westcliffe. Photo by Dave Neligh.
THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE COLORADO RURAL ELECTRIC ASSOCIATION COMMUNICATIONS STAFF: Mona Neeley, CCC, Publisher/Editor; mneeley@coloradocountrylife.org Cassi Gloe, Designer; cgloe@coloradocountrylife.org ADVERTISING: Kris Wendtland, Ad Rep; advertising@coloradocountrylife.org Colorado Country Life (USPS 469-400/ISSN 1090-2503) is published monthly by Colorado Rural Electric Association, 5400 Washington Street, Denver, CO 80216-1731. Individual subscription rate: $9 per year for Colorado residents or $15 per year for out-of-state residents, taxes and postage included. Periodical postage paid at Denver, Colorado. © Copyright 2016, Colorado Rural Electric Association. Call for reprint rights. Subscribers: Report change of address to your local cooperative. Do not send change of address to Colorado Country Life. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Colorado Country Life, 5400 Washington Street, Denver, CO 80216 Advertising Standards: Publication of an advertisement in Colorado Country Life does not imply endorsement by any Colorado rural electric cooperative or the Colorado Rural Electric Association. Editorial opinions published in Colorado Country Life magazine shall pertain to issues affecting rural electric cooperatives, rural communities and citizens. The opinion of CREA is not necessarily that of any particular cooperative or individual. EDITORIAL: Denver Corporate Office, 5400 Washington Street, Denver, CO 80216; Phone: 303-455-4111 | mneeley@coloradocountrylife.org | coloradocountrylife.coop | facebook.com/COCountryLife | Twitter. com/COCountryLife | Pinterest.com/COCountryLife | YouTube.com/ COCountryLife1 Advertising: advertising@coloradocountrylife.org | 303-902-7276 National Advertising Representative: National Country Market | 611 S. Congress Street, Suite 504 | Austin, TX 78704 | 800-626-1181
®
Posted on Colorado Country Life: Reader Lola Burkett spotted this wise owl reading a copy of Colorado Country Life south of Simla. INSTAGRAM PIC OF THE MONTH
Colorado Country Life posted: Each
pin represents a photo a reader took with the magazine. CCL is traveling the world!
@ColoradoREA: Didn’t make the NRECA Annual Meeting? Check it out here: ow.ly/2JwA309zbey
PINTEREST SNEAK PEAK
Colorado Country Life posted: Easter brunch is best! Look for more recipes at pinterest.com/cocountrylife
MONTHLY CONTEST: Coors Field is hosting an autism awareness night on April 22. Visit “Contests” at our website, coloradocountrylife.coop, and enter to win four general seating tickets to the game. See Discoveries on page 30 for another chance to win.
[viewpoint]
Retail Choice
It’s a bad deal for rural Colorado when it comes to electricity BY KENT SINGER CREA EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR KSINGER@COLORADOREA.ORG
I
In the late 1990s, many state legislatures debated whether it would be a good idea to restructure the electric industry. This notion was sometimes called “retail wheeling” or “retail competition,” and it referred to the creation of a new system of providing electricity. Under the new system, electric utilities would no longer be monopolies with exclusive rights to serve consumers in certain areas. Instead, individuals and businesses would have the right to choose Kent Singer which utility provides their power. Who initiated the retail choice movement? In most cases, including in Colorado, the main proponents of retail choice in the electric industry were the largest consumers of electricity. These proponents included such businesses as manufacturers, large retailers, oil and gas developers and other big users of electricity. These companies argued that if they had a choice in their retail supplier of electricity, competition would drive rates lower and they would save money. Electric co-ops across the country adamantly opposed retail choice because they understood that it would harm rural ratepayers. Why? Under retail choice, suppliers of electricity (perhaps Xcel Energy, perhaps new suppliers) would be authorized to sell power to any co-op customer. While that might sound like a good thing on the surface, the “alternative” suppliers are, in fact, only interested in serving the largest loads in co-op territory. If those large loads, or consumers of electricity, are “cherry-picked” from the co-op system by another supplier, they would no longer be responsible for their share of the expenses of a system that was built to serve them. This would leave the remainder of the co-op members responsible for those costs, resulting in rate increases for the residential, agricultural and small-business members of the co-op. In our free market system, it may seem like something of an anachronism that the electric industry in Colorado is a monopoly that does not allow competition in the provision of electric service. But when you understand how the industry was started and why this policy was adopted, it makes more sense. There was a time in Colorado when competing electric companies erected poles and strung wires along opposite sides of the same city street. Over time, our legislature and public utilities commission came to realize that this was an extremely inefficient way to provide a crucial commodity like electricity. Given the extremely high costs of building utility facilities, the legislature and the regulators determined that ratepayers would be better served if these facilities were not duplicated by competing companies. The idea of a “regulated monopoly” was born: This means that in
exchange for an exclusive service territory, the utilities must provide affordable and reliable service. This system worked well for Colorado ratepayers for decades. However, today some interest groups hope to reignite the retail wheeling debate for the same reasons they did some 20 years ago—that is, to change the system so that the largest consumers of electricity can have lower rates. The Colorado legislature rejected the retail wheeling movement back in the ‘90s. We at the Colorado Rural Electric Association were key players in those legislative debates because we were certain that a move to retail competition would not be in the best interests of rural ratepayers. We believed then, and continue to believe, that the Colorado transmission grid limits a true market from developing and that the largest incumbent providers would likely be able to unfairly “game” the system. In 1998, the Colorado legislature appointed a group of industry experts to evaluate whether retail restructuring was in the best interests of Colorado ratepayers. In the final report of the Colorado Electricity Advisory Panel (issued on November, 1, 1999), the majority concluded that retail restructuring would result in higher rates, particularly for low-income, fixed-income, rural, residential and smallbusiness consumers. Of course, that report came out nearly 20 years ago, and a legitimate question is whether circumstances have changed such that retail restructuring makes more sense today. In my view, it does not. Colorado is still transmission-constrained, the incumbent providers of electricity are still likely to possess unfair market power and co-op members are still at risk of higher rates resulting from the cherry-picking of our best loads. Many studies evaluated whether retail restructuring has been good or bad for electricity ratepayers. In a study completed in 2016, a consulting firm out of Madison, Wisconsin, took a look at all of the states where retail choice was implemented and concluded that: “Retail choice states, from the beginning of retail choice up to the present, have had retail prices persistently higher than those in other states.” Retail choice is not an idea whose time has come.
“ COLORADO’S TRANSMISSION GRID LIMITS A TRUE MARKET FROM DEVELOPING…”
4
APRIL 2017
Kent Singer, Executive Director
coloradocountrylife.coop
Morton_COCountryLife_4.17.qxp_Layout 1 3/3/17 4:35 PM Page 1
[letters]
History and Cattle
The article on American Milking Devons was fascinating. It makes history come alive. Thank you. Shirly Gendreizig Lyons
BUILT STRONGER. LOOKS BETTER. LASTS LONGER.
In Defense of Pollen
I want to stand by Dennis Smith on his love/hate relationship with pine trees (Outdoors, December ’16). The pollen from evergreen trees can coat everything in sight. We live in a suburban development that was once a Christmas tree farm. I estimate there are more than 3,000 mature pine and spruce trees in our neighborhood. We have two “blooms” of pollen: one in early May and the other in early June. Under the right weather conditions, we can see pollen blowing down the street just like a light coating of snow does. If we leave our car outside at night, there will be a couple of days that we turn on the windshield wipers before driving the car. Trudy Cowman, Woodbury
Blue Jays in Colorado?
#4326
RESIDENTIAL | FARM | EQUESTRIAN | COMMERCIAL | COMMUNITY | REPAIRS
When you build with Morton, you build something that lasts. A Morton stands the test of time—we’ve been at this for more than 110 years after all. What got us here is simple: our materials, our people and a warranty that beats all others.
800-447-7436 • mortonbuildings.com
©2017 Morton Buildings, Inc. A listing of GC licenses available at mortonbuildings.com/licenses. Ref Code 604
Being a transplanted Iowa native, I was surprised to see not only the headline photo, but also the mention of blue jays in Outdoors (February ’17). During our almost 30 years in Montrose and time spent near Coaldale, I’ve never seen a blue jay. In fact, I didn’t think they lived this far west. By the way, I enjoy your articles. Deanne Hunt, Montrose EDITOR’S NOTE: Outdoor writer Dennis Smith responded to this letter: Blue jays seem to be a relatively recent migrant to the Front Range. I don’t recall noticing them until only a few years ago myself. I’m not sure just how far into the state they may have encroached, but they are certainly extending their range westward. We’ve had four to five pairs hanging out in our immediate area for the last couple of years, and their numbers seem to be increasing. This year we had a few more “babies” at the feeders.
Got something to say? We welcome letters to the editor. Send your letter to Editor Mona Neeley at 5400 Washington St., Denver, CO 80216 or at mneeley@coloradocountrylife.org. coloradocountrylife.coop
APRIL 2017
5
[community events]
April 10 Colorado Springs “A Tale of Two Husteds” Lecture Western Museum of Mining & Industry 6 pm • 719-488-0880 April 10 Colorado Springs Pikes Peak Rose Society Presentation: Japanese Beetles Fire Station 8 6-8:30 pm waltkilmer39@verizon.net April 11 Ignacio 9Health Fair Ignacio High School 7-11 am • 9healthfair.org April 11 Lakewood “Che Malambo” Dance Company Performance Lakewood Cultural Center 7:30 pm • lakewood.showare.com April 13-15 Denver “The American Clock” Theater Performance MSU Denver Studio Theatre 7:30 pm • 303-556-2296 April 14 Denver Bon Jovi Concert Pepsi Center bonjovi.com April 14-16 Fruita Desert RATS Trail Running Festival Various Fruita Locations geminiadventures.com April 15 Colorado Springs Chocolate Bunny Egg Hunt Bear Creek Nature Center 719-520-6387 elpasocountynaturecenters.com April 15 Dolores “Totally Tomatoes (and Peppers!)” Class Four Seasons Greenhouse 10 am fourseasonsgreenhouse.com
April 16 Sedalia Easter Brunch Cherokee Ranch & Castle 12 pm • 303-688-5555 April 21-23 Denver StarFest Convention Marriott and Hilton DTC Convention Hotels starfestdenver.com April 21 Durango Sorrel Sky Gallery Anniversary Celebration Sorrel Sky 866-878-3555 • sorrelsky.com April 21-22 Evergreen “Willy Wonka Jr.” Theater Performance Evergreen Players Center Stage evergreenplayers.org April 21-22 Stoneham Spring Fling Primitive Junk Market sjmarostica@yahoo.com April 22 Colorado Springs Rose Pruning Demonstration Horticulture Art Society Garden 8 am-2 pm • 951-834-2300
April 22 Montrose Winter Farmers Market Behind Straw Hat Farm Market & Kitchen Store 10 am-1 pm montrosefarmersmarket.weebly.com April 22 Monument Great American Cleanup Event Throughout Monument 719-884-8013• gacppp.com April 23 Pueblo Sangre de Cristo Dancerz’ Hot Fudge Sunday Arts Center Theater 3 pm • 719-295-7200 April 27-30 Fruita Fat Tire Festival Various Fruita Locations fruitafattirefestival.com
6
APRIL 2017
photo credit: “Autumn Grove” by Cydney Springer
[April]
April 15 Durango Peanuts™ Easter Beagle Express Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad 888-872-4607 • durangotrain.com
Governor’s Art Show & Sale, Party and Gala
April 29-May 28 at the Loveland Museum Gallery, Loveland The Governor’s Art Show is the largest juried art show to exclusively feature Colorado artists. The event kicks off with a preview party and gala on April 28. For more information, call 970-670-0335 or visit governorsartshow.org. April 28 Denver “Calder: Monumental” Exhibit Opening Denver Botanic Gardens botanicgardens.org
May 5-7 Cortez Ultimate Treasure and Gold Show Montezuma Fairgrounds wwats.org
April 28 Fort Collins Student Choral Concert Harmony Library Round 7-8:30 pm • 970-221-6740
May 5 Trinidad “A Piece of My Mind” Theater Performance Southern Colorado Repertory Theatre 719-846-4765 • scrtheatre.com
April 30 Florence “Spring into Song” Concert Florence High School 3 pm • fremontcivicchoir.org
[May] May 2 Fort Collins “Navies & Sovereignty: China and the U.S. in South China Sea” Presentation Old Town Library 7-8:30 pm • 970-221-6740 May 4-7 Black Forest Arts and Crafts Spring Show and Sale Black Forest Community Center bfacg.org
May 6 Grand Junction Grand Junction Walk for Multiple Sclerosis Canyon View Park 970-263-4393 walkmscolorado.org
SEND CALENDAR ITEMS
TWO MONTHS IN ADVANCE TO:
Calendar, Colorado Country Life, 5400 Washington St., Denver, CO 80216; fax to 303455-2807; or email calendar@ coloradocountrylife.org. Please send name of event, date, time, venue, brief description and phone number, email and/or website for more information. coloradocountrylife.coop
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[news clips]
Updating
Clean-up
Painting trim
Co-op National Meeting Includes Helping Others Electric co-op employees from across the country partnered with Rebuilding Together San Diego for a day of community service during the recent National Rural Electric Cooperative Association’s annual meeting in San Diego, California. This day of reaching out to the community hosting the national meeting is coordinated by the electric co-ops’ Touchstone Energy brand and is in its ninth year. In February, 100 volunteers arrived in San Diego a day before meet-
ings began and spent that time on crews improving four local homes. Volunteers cleaned up yards, added accessibility modifications where needed, painted home exteriors, did carpentry work and made necessary improvements to the homes. The San Diego nonprofit partners provided materials and instruction, while the electric co-ops provided the labor and another real-world example of how co-ops have a commitment to community.
Sprucing up
Working together
Co-ops Spend Day at the Capitol State legislative issues, House and introduced herself and reviewed her Senate bills being considered, ecofocus on health care and education, nomic development in rural Colorado among other issues. and Tri-State Generation and TransRick Thompson, Tri-State’s transimission’s closure of two power plants tion team manager, reviewed the were all part of the program pretimeline for closing one of the units sented Tuesday, February 14 as part of at Craig Station and the Nucla power Colorado Rural Electric Association’s plant. He explained this negotiated Co-op Day at the Capitol. deal, which has been in the works for Electric co-op directors, managers several years, and noted that it is not and staff attending the 2017 CREA connected to the Clean Power Plan. Annual Meeting in downtown Denver Closing the morning was Stephanie Rep. Diane Mitsch Bush (D) addresses co-op directors. spent Tuesday morning listening to Copeland of the Office of Developspeakers in the Old Supreme Court chambers at the Capitol. The ment and International Trade. She explained how her office is day opened with a review of legislation from Senate President Kevin working to help bring new enterprise to rural Colorado. One of Grantham (R). He was followed by Rep. Diane Mitsch Bush (D), who the building blocks for that will be internet service that meets the spoke about the state budget and the challenges of trying to find needs of those living and working outside the metropolitan areas. more money for needed infrastructure construction. There was discussion of how co-ops can partner with her office to Next up was Colorado Attorney General Cynthia Coffman (R) fol- meet this goal. lowed by recently-appointed Lt. Governor Dr. Donna Lynne (D), who 12
APRIL 2017
coloradocountrylife.coop
[ news clips]
Work Continues On Test Site for XPRIZE Twelve semifinalists were selected from seven countries to advance in the Carbon XPRIZE competition. The $20 million global prize is designed to promote breakthrough technologies that will convert carbon dioxide into valuable products. The semifinalists will utilize the Wyoming Integrated Test Center – Carbon, or ITC–C, at Basin Electric Power Cooperative’s Dry Fork Station for small-scale demonstrations this summer. Electric cooperatives, which contributed financially to the ITC–C, will receive unique benefits from these tests. They will be among the first to learn more about how to capture and store carbon and about useful applications of carbon and marketable commodities. Basin Electric, the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, and Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association helped fund the ITC–C, along with the state of Wyoming.
coloradocountrylife.coop
Cooperative Solar Skyrockets By the end of the year, the total solar energy capacity of America’s electric cooperatives will be five times what it was just two years ago, according to data released by the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association. This year, co-ops are on pace to add 480 megawatts of solar, which would bring their total capacity to 873 MW. This more than quadruples the 180 MW reached in 2015 and represents a twentyfold increase over the 37 megawatt capacity in 2010.
Among the states where electric co-ops have been actively developing solar, Georgia ranks first with a total of 122 MW, followed by New Mexico, Hawaii, Colorado, Arizona, Maryland and North Carolina. In 2016, solar projects in Colorado were installed by the co-ops serving Grand Junction, Montrose, Cortez, Gunnison, Douglas County, Meeker, Fort Collins, Brighton, Ridgway, Glenwood Springs and Steamboat Springs. Co-ops in northeastern Colorado are working together on a possible solar installation in 2017.
APRIL 2017
13
[industry]
KEEPING UP WITH INNOVATION New technologies change the costs of electric power BY JUSTIN LABERGE Advances in technology are bringing major changes to the energy industry. We are generating a growing portion of our electricity with renewable resources, and advances in automation and communications technology are making our power grid smarter and more reliable than ever. These advances are exciting news for American energy consumers, but they’re also changing the cost structure of the industry. Since electric cooperatives use costs to determine their rates, changing costs require corresponding changes to rates. Not-for-profit electric cooperatives work hard to ensure their rates are fair to all members. To accomplish this mission, cooperatives design their rates so that the bill each member receives matches the cost of serving that member as closely as possible. But just because your local electric cooperative’s rates are designed to be fair doesn’t mean they’re always easy to understand. In fact, rate structures that do the best job of fairly assigning costs are often the hardest to understand. Here is a quick look at three of the approaches electric cooperatives are trying. Time-of-use rates With time-of-use rates, when you use electricity is just as important as how much you use. Rather than charging the same price for electricity at all times, time-of-use rates charge different prices based on the time of day when the energy is used. The goal of this system is to encourage consumers to reduce their energy use at the times when demand for energy is highest. For most electric cooperatives, demand for electricity spikes in the afternoon and early evening hours as heating units and air conditioners battle outdoor temperatures and families return home from school and work and began evening routines. When demand for energy spikes, electric cooperatives must purchase extra electricity to meet the demand. That extra power typically comes from more expensive power plants. A time-of-use rate ensures there’s always power available when consumers need it but provides price incentives to shift certain 14
APRIL 2017
activities — such as running the dryer or dishwasher — to times when demand for electricity is lower. When co-op members embrace this model, they can lower their monthly bills and help the cooperative reduce its costs — which can save members even more money in the long run. Demand charges Perhaps the most confusing concept in energy billing is the demand charge. Historically, most residential consumers have not paid demand charges. But as our power grid becomes smarter and our network of generation resources gets more complex, it’s likely that more electric cooperatives will incorporate demand changes into their residential rate structures. Demand measures the highest amount of electricity you demand from the system at one moment in time. The higher the demand, the more it costs to build, operate and maintain the equipment delivering that energy to you. To understand demand charges, imagine you’re at a party chatting with two guests and you ask them how they got to the party. Betsy tells you she drove 150 miles per hour to get to the party. David says he drove 150 miles to attend the party. There’s a big difference between a car capable of traveling 150 miles and a car capable of traveling 150 miles per hour. Any car can take you 150 miles. But if you want to go 150 miles per hour, you’ll need an expensive car with extra horsepower. The same thing is true with electricity. If you demand large quantities of electricity be delivered to you all at once, the electric cooperative has to build larger, more expensive equipment to accommodate that demand. Even if you only demand that much energy every once in a while, the cooperative still has to ensure its system is capable of handling that request when it comes. If Betsy and David use electricity the same way they use their cars, Betsy is going to be paying a lot more than David each month, even if their total energy use is the same. coloradocountrylife.coop
[ industry] Fixed monthly charges Most electric cooperatives charge a fixed monthly fee to be connected to the co-op’s lines. Common terms for that fee include customer charge, service availability charge or access charge. No matter what it’s called, the goal is to recover the cost of the poles, wires, bucket trucks, computers, switches and employees that bring electricity to your home or business. Those costs are the same every month whether you use a lot of electricity or turn off everything in your house and go on a month-long vacation. Most utilities, including electric cooperatives, have never charged the full monthly cost of service as a flat fee. Often, the fixed portion of a member’s bill is only a fraction of the actual cost to build and maintain the power lines to his or her home or business. The rest of that cost is made up with a separate delivery charge that varies based on how much energy you consume. To understand the difference between these structures, imagine a new vehicle with a sticker price that would require a monthly car payment of $500. Now, imagine if instead of charging $500 per month, the car company structured your payment so it was $250 per month, plus an additional 25 cents for every mile driven. If you drove 1,000 miles per month, you’d end up paying the same amount. If you drove more than that, your payment would be higher, and if you drove less than 1,000 miles, your payment would be lower. That’s how cooperatives traditionally charged for the delivery of electricity to your home. But as renewable technologies become more popular and consumers make better energy choices, the old model doesn’t fully cover the cost of maintaining the grid.
coloradocountrylife.coop
As not-for-profit, member-owned organizations, electric cooperatives want to help their members find the best energy solutions to meet their needs. If members want to install solar, cooperatives want to help. If members want to reduce their energy use through home improvements and efficient appliances, cooperatives are eager to give advice. But even if we all consume less energy, we still need the power grid, and it costs a lot of money to operate and maintain that grid. By lowering the variable delivery charge and increasing the fixed charge, electric cooperatives can keep the grid running safely and reliably while allowing members to make the energy choices that work best for their lives. This system does a better job of fairly charging each member for the actual cost of their service. The total amount of money raised by the cooperative remains unchanged, but some members end up paying a bit more, and some a bit less. Looking toward the future The coming years will bring many changes to the way we generate, deliver and use electricity, and advances in energy technology promise to greatly improve our quality of life. America’s electric cooperatives are working hard to ensure that whatever the future may bring, you’ll be connected to that future through a modern energy grid that is safe, reliable and fairly priced for all. Justin LaBerge writes on consumer and cooperative affairs for the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association.
APRIL 2017
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GOING THE DISTANCE
Community, compassion and a don’t-quit attitude add up to triumph for a runner with unique challenges BY HAL WALTER
Harrison Walter is all smiles as he runs with his dad and coach Hal Walter.
photo by Dave Neligh
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On the track’s back stretch, he began to lose ground. After country and track teams. And it would not be the last. rounding the second curve he veered off the track and over to Harrison has always been a runner. He ran with his mom, Mary, some spectators along the fence. Then he got back on the track and before he was even born. He ran with us in a jogger as a small hit the straightaway. child. He ran his first 5K in grade school. Later he ran — and Before the bleachers he stopped and jogged in place, then he swam and biked — in the school triathlon. He is also a musical ran backward nearly wiping out the two lead runners who were marvel with perfect pitch, can take apart door locks and clocks by now finishing their second lap and charging toward the finish and put them back together again and excels in the computer line. He started jogging forward again, but his efforts seemed to be lab. He is a wiz at the video game Minecraft. I prefer the term absorbed in some other dimension altogether rather than propel“neurodiverse” to autistic when describing him, as it sets aside ling him forward. I strode over to the inside curb of the track and attempted to encourage the boy to get running. The boy’s name is Harrison, and he has autism. I am one of his coaches. I am also his dad. As other runners in the race were finishing, Harrison greeted my encouragement by flailing away at me with his arms, striking me right in front of the spectators. I asked One of the Custer County Schools coaches and the cross-country Harrison Walter waves as he begins his first him if he wanted to team prepare for the 2015 state meet. cross-country meet. finish the race or to pack it in, and he started to jog forward again. He still had an entire lap to go. When the stereotypes so common in our society and, in turn, opens the he rounded the first curve the crowd started cheering, and he possibilities. pulled his uniform shirt up over his head. On the way out the door on one of the last days of fifth grade, I was reaching the bailing point when something extraordinary Jack Swartz, then the school’s cross-country coach, who was also happened. A team from the neighboring community of Cotopaxi Harrison’s fourth-grade teacher, asked him, to my surprise, if he came running up alongside us on the turf inside the track. They wanted to be on the middle school cross-country team the next encouraged Harrison along. I took a step back and just watched. season. Harrison exuberantly replied, “Yes!” What I saw was this group gain energy as kids from other teams Though I competed at running and in the extreme Colorado joined in, including kids from Harrison’s own school. And when sport of pack-burro racing for decades, it was my philosophy to they hit the straightaway in front of the bleachers, his shirt was no provide Harrison the opportunity and exposure to sports and the longer over his head and he took off sprinting the last few yards, outdoors, but not pressure him into any activity. Oddly, before this and kept on running until he reached the chain-link fence encirmoment, I had not even considered that he would ever be involved cling the sports field. in school sports. The kids continued after him, mobbing him with their conNow the coach put forth this remarkable invitation. I was “all gratulations. I stood back in the amazing glow of this deep sport in,” as they say. And I was about to embark on a new journey into moment, stunned by the compassion and sense of community that the world of something I call “deep sport.” In my thinking, it is a I just experienced. It wasn’t the first experience like this I had since place where triumph has a meaning separate from winning in the Harrison began running on the Custer County Schools crosstraditional sense. It is a place where richness and diversity com-
[continued on page 18]
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photos by Hal Walter
It was the first meet ever held on the new track in the tiny town of Fairplay. The skinny blonde-haired boy from Custer County Schools lined up with the rest of the middle school 800-meter runners from all around the central Colorado region. When the starting gun sounded he got a great start, rounding the first corner in full stride with the pack.
photo by Jennifer Leigh Russ
Harrison Walter runs in the Monte Vista cross-country meet in the fall of 2016.
At the following meet in Pueblo, Harrison ran an even stronger race, and I felt like we really found another niche for him with cross-country. However, in his third meet in Westcliffe, he melted down terribly right in front of the hometown crowd, confused because the boys were running separately from the girls. This was something we tried to prepare him for, but which simply did not compute on race day. After an epic test of will and a lot of coaxing by coaches, race officials and myself, he finished last in front of a crowd that was cheering just as hard for him as they had for the winners.
bine with a greater sense of community to celebrate the value of all human beings and their participation and success. I sometimes joke that we could not have gotten away with such an unlikely narrative anywhere else, but in all seriousness, this experience of inclusion on academic, social and athletic levels is only made possible by the tight-knit philosophy of Westcliffe’s small school, where grades K-12 are housed under one roof and where the larger regional community of rural schools welcomes us. As part of the deal with the coaches and the school administration, I accompany Harrison to practices and also to competitions. As such, I’m sort of an adjunct volunteer parent-coach available to support the rest of the team as well. That first year in cross-country proved to be a roller coaster of performances and emotions with Harrison’s unpredictable behaviors. In his first meet at Avon-Beaver Creek, nobody knew what to expect. Harrison faces extreme behavioral challenges and battles with impulse control. However, in his first meet he ran well enough to help his five-man team place second among several larger schools. It was a lesson in teamwork for both him and his four teammates, who really needed him to finish in order to place as a team. 18
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(Left to right) teammates Matthew Kienlousch, Micha Zeller, Jeremiah Taylor and Harrison start a race in Salida.
photo by Jennifer Leigh Russ
photo by Hal Walter
[continued from page 17]
Seconds after the photo above is taken, the crowd and its cheering become too much for Harrison.
Thus began a roller coaster of unpredictability. He ran just fine at the next meet in Salida. Then in Monte Vista he ran from the start over to the sidelines to comically high-five spectators before returning to the race and, of course, a lackluster performance. A couple weeks later he repeated the high-five antics at the state meet in Arvada,
losing so much time from the start that he was unable to recover. He wound up finishing last of several hundred entrants. I had a long winter to contemplate his participation in sports. Suddenly it was spring track season and Harrison said he wanted to run. The coaches suggested the 400-meter dash and the 800-meter run. Since track and field involves a long day of events, the chaos of so many kids and so many activities tends to be a challenge for Harrison, scattering his focus. I worked out a system with the coaching staff so as to avoid having to wait a long time for his events amid the frantic activities of these meets. We don’t have track facilities in Westcliffe, so all spring events are at other area schools, many of them in the San Luis Valley where the culture of running is strong and deep. Harrison ran pretty well at meets in Mosca, Alamosa and Center. At the first meet in Mosca he finished the 400-meter dash, and kids from many of the surrounding schools surrounded and congratulated him. Puzzled by this, he yelled out, “Did I win?” There was one kid in particular from another school who took notice of Harrison and offered words of encouragement during this meet. This boy quickly pointed to him and shouted back loudly, “Yes, you did!” The following week at a meet in the town of Center this young man once again went out of his way to encourage Harrison. Just before the 800-meter run he asked me, “What’s up with your son?” I told him Harrison has autism and he nodded, telling me that he was in 8th grade and has a sister at home with Down syndrome. “I love her to pieces,” he said. There are moments in this life that restore my faith in humanity, and this was one of them. His words stuck with me the next couple of meets, including one in Salida that concluded with Harrison flipping out during the 800 and then violently batting a clipboard out of an official’s hands at the finish line. This was followed the next week by the aforementioned dramatic scene in Fairplay. In the following weeks, Harrison bounced back from these disappointments to place third in his class in the school triathlon, and then third place in his age group at the Hardscrabble Mountain Trail Run 5K. Thinking maybe we were past a rough spot, I put together a fun summer coloradocountrylife.coop
photo by Dave Neligh
cross-training program that included cycling and hiking along with trail runs in preparation for his second cross-country season. The first meet of the year was once again at Beaver Creek, and I watched as Harrison went from running third on his team to crashing to the ground in the blur of a tantrum just 10 yards from the finish line. After several minutes that included him running away from the chute twice, he finally finished the race rolling on his side across the line, remarkably still ahead of one teammate. His tantrum continued after the race. On the long trip home I quizzed him about what happened, finally getting out of him that it was the crowd’s cheering that sent him reeling. Over the next few weeks, and despite my significant investment in various ear plugs, he continued to violently melt down — now from the starting gun — in meets in Gunnison, Pueblo and Salida. He managed to finish each race, but his placings were poor and far below his ability. He was again pulling his uniform shirt over his head, as if to hide. I was miffed. The stereotype of autistic kids is that they have major sensory issues and dislike loud noise. But Harrison finished plenty of races in front of loud, cheering crowds. Heck, he went to two Mumford & Sons concerts with tens of thousands of screaming fans, blaring music and a laser light show. It clearly wasn’t the racket. It had to be something else. After some further discussion, it began to make sense that it was not the cheering, per se, but rather his processing of it that was causing him discomfort. It was more about his own awakening self-consciousness — for him, the cheering was drawing a tighter focus on his own growing awareness that he is different from the other kids. We talked it over and I reassured him people were cheering because they want him to do well, just like they do for all the other kids. Still, the night before the season’s final event in Monte Vista I fought off the doubts. We had to get up at 4:30 a.m. and drive through the dark for several hours just to get there. If the last four meets were any indication, it was a likely setup for more disappointment. Nevertheless, I’m not one to quit in the face of hardship. I learned in sports and in real life that true triumph springs only from facing challenges again and again. We headed out that next morning with me harboring no expectations, and as we drove away Harrison seemed unfocused. He broke from a Minecrafttrance to announce he just built “a lava pool secret entrance with a
Volunteer parent-coach and dad Hal Walter (right) shows his pride in son Harrison, who runs on the Custer County Schools’ cross-country and track teams under coaches Jesse and Ruth Taylor.
fishing rod.” I just shook my head and drove on. It was a beautiful, crisp fall morning in the San Luis Valley, and when the starting gun fired Harrison sprinted right past the cheering crowd. He did not offer high-fives to spectators and he did not melt down in a tantrum. He ran and kept on running right through the finish chute with all its applause and hurrahs, and into my arms, placing third on his team and perhaps overcoming more adversity than many other kids will ever face in sports, or maybe even in life. As his coach and dad, I could not have been more thrilled or proud. Hal Walter writes from Westcliffe, often sharing his experiences as an autism dad. He is the author of two books on the subject, Endurance and Full Tilt Boogie.
Harrison Walter (fourth from right) and the other middle school runners get ready for the start of the 800-meter run at Center.
photo by Hal Walter coloradocountrylife.coop
photo by Dave Neligh APRIL 2017
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[recipes]
Bake a Brunch, Don’t Wait for Lunch Delicious dishes for late-morning meals BY AMY HIGGINS RECIPES@COLORADOCOUNTRYLIFE.ORG
C
Children wake at the crack of dawn to see what treasures the Easter Bunny left behind. But after the egg hunts end, breakfast is long past and lunchtime can’t come quickly enough. That’s when brunch saves the day. Even families who don’t celebrate Easter can benefit from brunch ideas, so stock your kitchen with these ingredients and bake a brunch worthy of accolades.
Cheesy, Crispy Smashed Potatoes
Recipe courtesy of Chef George Duran
TIPS Easter Stats In 2016, 80.6 percent of Americans planned to celebrate Easter. It is also the most popular church day of the year, followed by Christmas and Mother’s Day. Source: WalletHub
The Pro Knows The Cheesy, Crispy Smashed Potatoes recipe was provided by Chef George Duran, the host of TLC’s “Ultimate Cake Off” and Food Network’s “Ham on the Street.”
25 red bliss or fingerling potatoes, bite-size 4 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra to coat roasting pan 4 garlic cloves, finely minced salt, to taste pepper, to taste 1 cup grated Jarlsberg cheese 2 tablespoons minced parsley Heat oven to 450 degrees. Cook potatoes by steaming, boiling or microwaving. Set aside. In small saucepan, add olive oil and garlic. Cook on medium-low heat until garlic browns and turns crispy, about 5 minutes. Strain garlic, reserving olive oil and crispy garlic. Once potatoes cool, use back of pan to gently smash them down to about 1/2-inch thickness. Drizzle olive oil throughout roasting pan then add smashed potatoes. Drizzle reserved garlic olive oil on top of each potato and season with salt and pepper. Roast 20 minutes. Remove from oven and evenly divide cheese and parsley on top of each potato. Cook another 10 minutes until cheese begins to brown. Top each potato with reserved crispy garlic and allow to cool before serving.
Spinach and Sun-dried Tomato Quiche
Recipe courtesy of Jarlsberg Cheese
Pie dough: 3/4 cup butter 1 cup white flour 2 tablespoons water Filling: 1 red onion, cut into rings 1 cup fresh spinach 1 tablespoon butter 4 eggs 1 cup milk salt, to taste pepper, to taste 1/4 cup black olives 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, sliced 1 cup shredded Jarlsberg cheese To make pie dough: Heat oven to 400 degrees. Mix butter and flour in food processor or by hand until mixture has granular consistency. Add water and knead into dough. Let chill 30 minutes. Roll dough and fit into 10-inch pie pan. With fork, make holes in dough and bake 15 minutes. To make filling: Heat oven to 350 degrees. In frying pan, fry onion and spinach with butter then scoop mixture into quiche base. Whisk together eggs, milk, salt and pepper, and pour over spinach and onion. Top with olives, sun-dried tomatoes and cheese. Bake 35-40 minutes.
For more great brunch ideas, visit coloradocountrylife.coop. Click on Recipes. 20
APRIL 2017
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Drug Companies Fear Release of the New AloeCure Big Pharma stands to lose billions as doctors’ recommend drug-free “health cocktail” that adjusts and corrects your body’s health conditions. by David Waxman Seattle Washington:
Drug company execs are nervous. That’s because the greatest health advance in decades has hit the streets. And analysts expect it to put a huge crimp in “Big Pharma” profits. So what’s all the fuss about? It’s about a new ingredient that’s changing the lives of people who use it. Some call it “the greatest discovery since penicillin”! The name of the product is the AloeCure. It’s not a drug. It’s something completely different. And the product is available to anyone who wants it, at a reasonable price. But demands may force future prices to rise. TOP DOC WARNS: DIGESTION DRUGS CAN CRIPPLE YOU! Company spokesperson, Dr. Liza Leal; a leading integrative health specialist recommends AloeCure before she decides to prescribe any digestion drug. Especially after the FDA’s stern warning about long-term use of drugs classified as proton pump inhibitors like Prilosec®, Nexium®, and Prevacid®. In a nutshell, the FDA statement warned people should avoid taking these digestion drugs for longer than three 14-day treatment periods because there is an increased risk of bone fractures. Many people take them daily and for decades. Dr. Leal should know. Many patients come to her with bone and joint complaints and she does everything she can to help them. One way for digestion sufferers to help avoid possible risk of tragic joint and bone problems caused by overuse of digestion drugs is to take the AloeCure. Analysts expect the AloeCure to put a huge crimp in “Big Pharma” profits.
The secret to AloeCure’s “health adjusting” formula is scientifically tested Acemannan, a polysaccharide extracted from Aloe Vera. But not the same aloe vera that mom used to apply to your cuts, scrapes and burns. This is a perfect strain of aloe that is organically grown under very strict conditions. AloeCure is so powerful it begins to benefit your health the instant you take it. It soothes intestinal discomfort and you can avoid the possibility of bone and health damage caused by overuse of digestion drugs. We all know how well aloe works externally on cuts, scrapes and burns. But did you know Acemannan has many of other health benefits?...
HELPS THE IMMUNE SYSTEM TO CALM INFLAMMATION According to a leading aloe research, when correctly processed for digesting, the Aloe plant has a powerful component for regulating your immune system called Acemannan. So whether it’s damage that is physical, bacterial, chemical or autoimmune; the natural plant helps the body stay healthy. RAPID ACID AND HEARTBURN NEUTRALIZER Aloe has proved to have an astonishing effect on users who suffer with digestion problems like bouts of acid reflux, heartburn, cramping, gas and constipation because it acts as a natural acid buffer and soothes the digestive system. But new studies prove it does a whole lot more. SIDE-STEP HEART CONCERNS So you’ve been taking proton pump inhibitors (PPI’s) for years and you feel just fine. In June of 2015 a major study shows that chronic PPI use increases the risk of heart attack in general population. UNLEASH YOUR MEMORY Studies show that your brain needs the healthy bacteria from your gut in order function at its best. Both low and high dosages of digestion drugs are proven to destroy that healthy bacteria and get in the way of brain function. So you’re left with a sluggish, slowto-react brain without a lot of room to store information. The acemannan used in AloeCure actually makes your gut healthier, so healthy bacteria flows freely to your brain so you think better, faster and with a larger capacity for memory. Doctors call it “The greatest health discovery in decades!”
body’s ability to break down and absorb calcium. Aloe delivers calcium as it aids in balancing your stomach acidity. The result? Thicker, healthier looking hair…more youthful looking skin… And nails so strong they may never break again. SAVE YOUR KIDNEY National and local news outlets are reporting Kidney Failure linked to PPI’s. Your Kidney extracts waste from blood, balance body fluids, form urine, and aid in other important functions of the body. Without it your body would be overrun by deadly toxins. Aloe helps your kidney function properly. Studies suggest, if you started taking aloe today; you’d see a big difference in the way you feel. GUARANTEED RESULTS OR DOUBLE YOUR MONEY BACK Due to the incredible results people are reporting, AloeCure is being sold with an equally incredible guarantee. “We can only offer this incredible guarantee because we are 100% certain this product will work for those who use it,” Says Dr. Leal. Here’s how it works: Take the pill exactly as directed. You must see and feel remarkable improvements in your digestive health, your mental health, in your physical appearance, the amount inflammation you have throughout your body – even in your ability to fall asleep at night! Otherwise, simply return the empty bottles with a short note about how you took the pills and followed the simple instructions and the company will send you...Double your money back!
HOW TO GET ALOECURE This is the official nationwide release of the new AloeCure pill in the United States. And SLEEP LIKE A BABY A night without sleep really damages your so, the company is offering our readers up to 3 body. And continued lost sleep can lead to all FREE bottles with their order. sorts of health problems. But what you may not This special give-away is available for readers realize is the reason why you’re not sleeping. of this publication only. All you have to do is Some call it “Ghost Reflux”. A low-intensity call TOLL-FREE 1-800-748-3280 and provide form of acid reflux discomfort that quietly keeps the operator with the Free Bottle Approval you awake in the background. AloeCure helps Code: JC025. The company will do the rest. digestion so you may find yourself sleeping Important: Due to AloeCure’s recent media through the night. exposure, phone lines are often busy. If you CELEBRITY HAIR, SKIN & NAILS call and do not immediately get through, Certain antacids may greatly reduce your please be patient and call back.
THESE STATEMENTS HAVE NOT BEEN EVALUATED BY THE FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION. THIS PRODUCT IS NOT INTENDED TO DIAGNOSE, TREAT, CURE OR PREVENT ANY DISEASE. coloradocountrylife.coop
APRIL 2017
21
[gardening]
Ohh, That Smell!
Factor in fragrance when selecting plants BY VICKI SPENCER MASTER GARDENER GARDENING@COLORADOCOUNTRYLIFE.ORG
W
When people plan their gardens, they usually select plants based upon color, size and shape. Less often they think about the scent. But we are often drawn to certain plants specifically because of their unique fragrances. Some scents are simply appealing to the senses while others tend to bring back childhood memories. For me, sweet peas always remind me of my Aunt Mildred. She planted them along her chain link fence. The sweet pea vines would cling to the fence and provide a beautiful background for her rose bushes. They also made lovely bouquets for the house. Another fragrance reminiscent of my childhood is mint. It brings back memories of my mother’s garden where it was tucked into a corner under a lilac bush. There are different ways we could categorize scented plants (such as trees and bushes or annuals and perennials). Although it is not scientific, I put plants with offensive odors into a category of their own. This is because they are ones I avoid planting too close to my house or patio. While stinky plants may be offensive to my nose, they seem to be appealing to children. At Michigan State University 4-H Children’s Gardens, kids love to explore the different smells in the scented gardens and wonder at unexpected odors. “Skunk cabbage really does smell like a skunk,” a child exclaimed, when I visited. Plants with less-appealing odors are also thought to deter wildlife from invading gardens. Some examples are ornamental onions, Russian sage and marigolds. Like all plants, your success in growing scented ones will depend on providing conditions as close as possible to their natural habitats. With that in mind, your next consideration should be where to locate them so they can be enjoyed by people, as well as insects. For instance, if a plant is a strong attractor for bees, you want to include it in your garden as a pollinator. However, if someone in your family is allergic to bees, you would not want to plant it near high traffic areas. Instead, you could locate it in a distant corner of your yard where the bees can do their work undisturbed.
Some plants don’t give off a scent unless they are brushed against or crushed. These are ones to place near a door, sidewalk or pathway. Others provide an airborne scent that encompass a wide area. Examples include roses, garden pinks and freesias. These are good placed under windows, over pergolas or around patios, so they can be enjoyed while sitting by the window, relaxing in the garden or walking along the sidewalk. Some plants, such as impatiens and evening primrose, have a strong scent that fills the air during the night. You might enjoy these while sitting on your patio on a hot summer evening. Finally, there are some scented plants that are ideal for cutting and putting into flower arrangements to enjoy indoors. These include roses, peonies and carnations. Although you can order scented plants from catalogues, it’s a good idea to visit your local nursery to see if the plant’s fragrance is one that you personally enjoy. When selecting the plants, consider when the flowers will bloom and give off the most aromas. Considering seasonal diversity will allow you to enjoy different fragrances year round. There are some flowering shrubs that survive over the winter and flower at the beginning of the year in spite of cold temperatures or snow. For example, witch-hazel is a hardy shrub with small, strongly scented flowers formed of four unusual shaped sepals that
come in yellow, red or a purplish color. Vibumums are another group of shrubs which bear whitish-pink flowers in the fall and winter and darker pink flowers in the spring. In previous columns, I mentioned several spring-flowering bulbs that also provide distinct scents. These include iris, grape hyacinth, phlox, violets and daffodils. There are also many spring-flowering shrubs with pleasant fragrances. For instance, clematis is an evergreen climber native to China with dark green leaves and white or pinkish flowers and a delicate scent. Some summer perennials that you may enjoy are cosmos and jasmine. There are more than 200 genus of jasmine, but you should talk to your garden center about which ones will grow best in your area. I had success with climbing jasmine, a low maintenance shrub with white star-shaped flowers that emerge from burgundy buds. The foliage tends to be sparse at the base, so it’s a good idea to place low-growing plants underneath. I particularly enjoy jasmine because you can cut the flowers for indoor arrangements and the scent is absolutely incredible. April is a wonderful time to visit your garden center where you can explore the selection of beautiful plants and flowers and consider what scents you want to enjoy throughout the coming months.
More Online Read previous gardening columns at coloradocountrylife.coop. Click on Gardening. 22
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[outdoors]
KILL LAKE WEEDS
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Easy maintenance such as routinely replacing or cleaning your air conditioner’s air filters can lower your cooling system’s energy consumption by up to 15 percent. Also, remember to check your air conditioner’s evaporator coil, which should be cleaned annually to ensure the system is performing at optimal levels. 24
APRIL 2017
An April Memory
Digging garden worms with Dad for trout fishing BY DENNIS SMITH OUTDOORS@COLORADOCOUNTRYLIFE.ORG
A
Almost invariably, when April rolls around, two things come to my mind: 1) my father, and 2) digging worms with him behind the cow barn on Uncle George’s dairy farm long, long ago. I know: that seems an unlikely, if not weird, pairing of memories, but it’s an inescapable one for me. You see, trout season opened on April 1 back East where I grew up. My father’s birthday fell in the same week, so we often went fishing together on his birthday. And we always had to dig a mess of worms before we went — usually behind Uncle George’s cow barn. Hence, the two events became indelibly linked in my subconscious. Opening day of trout season was a big deal back there, and my dad was the best trout fisherman I ever knew. A child of the Depression, he lived with his Aunt Minnie in a tworoom cabin at the northern extremity of the Shawangunk Ridge in New York’s southern Catskills. He grew up hunting and fishing as a matter of necessity rather than for any sense of sport. At 9 years old, he was hunting squirrels, rabbits and grouse with a sling shot and catching trout in the brooks and creeks to help put food on the table. He was good with his slingshot, but became a real whiz at catching trout. His favorite bait was earthworms. Apparently, there are several thousand kinds, grouped into three main categories — Epogeic, Endogeic and Anecic — determined by how deeply they live in the soil, what they feed on, and so forth. Depending on species, adult earthworms can range in size from a mere third of an inch up to 9 feet long.
Most of us are familiar with nightcrawlers (also known as dew worms) and the common earthworms that we dig up in the top layers of our flower beds and veggie gardens. There are also compost worms (fishermen call them red wigglers) that feed on decaying leaves under forest duff in the woods, and even some that live under rocks in the trout streams called aquatic annelids. My father neither knew nor gave a hoot about any of this, of course; he just knew he liked fishing garden worms for trout. That’s what he called them: “garden worms.” He thought nightcrawlers were good for bass and catfish but much too big for brook trout. Red wigglers were good for trout, too, but found almost exclusively in wet garden compost (yuk), and generally too small to put on the size 10 hook preferred for trout. Garden worms could be dug most anywhere and, more importantly, were just the right size. It’s one of those innocuous little things you learn as a kid that seems to stick with you forever. Somehow it becomes a life lesson you find yourself passing on to your kids and grandkids as if it were a carved-in-stone requirement before taking them fishing. I’m reminded of that every April.
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[ energy tips]
PICKING THE RIGHT AIR-CONDITIONING UNIT FOR YOUR HOME
Enduring Meadow
BY PAT KEEGAN AND AMY WHEELESS
Beautiful to me the vermilion blooms of the crabapple tree. I bought one, planted it, and watered it freely, yearning to see it blossom in spring, but the meadow determined what the meadow would bring. The deer ate the bark, girdled it round. The drought dried the roots in the hard baked ground. Pocket gophers tunneled and constructed their nests. The meadow did what the meadow does best. In spring after snows and abundant rain the meadow brought forth wildflowers profuse in whites and purples, blues, yellows and pinks creating a beauty only the meadow could choose. My ideas of beauty and efforts to wrest are subject to something beyond what I know the earth has its own inclinations and will. The meadow will do what the meadow does best. Pat Maslowski
T
There are several air-conditioning options suited to different situations. • Central air conditioning is generally one of two types: split or packaged. A split system, which has the cold coils inside the home and an outside unit exhausting heat, is the most common. Packaged systems, which are sometimes installed because of space constraints, combine these functions into one box located outside the home. • A heat pump can provide cooling and heating in homes with or without ducts. If you are currently using propane or natural gas as your fuel source, this may be a good option. • A ductless mini split heat pump can be an efficient way to cool up to four zones inside the home. If your existing ductwork is in bad shape or poorly designed, this could be a good solution. • Window units are much less efficient than other options, but they can still be effective for cooling a single room. It’s worth Most homes with central paying a little AC are split systems, with more for a new the condenser and coil loEnergy Starcated outside the home. compliant unit, rather than the dusty $80 unit from a yard sale or auction that wheezes its way through the summer. • Evaporative, or swamp, coolers are an alternative in Colorado. While they use a quarter the energy and are less expensive to install than central AC they also require more frequent maintenance. Replacing an aging AC-unit is a great way to improve comfort, cut energy costs and reduce peak energy demand. However, it may not be practical to change to a different type of system
Photo Credit: Raysonho
The meadow will do what the meadow does best. It has its own will and decides its own way. Whatever I want and endeavor to do, The meadow will do what the meadow does best.
This column was co-written by Pat Keegan and Amy Wheeless of Collaborative Efficiency. Visit coloradocountrylife.coop to learn more about air-conditioning units. Look under the Energy tab. coloradocountrylife.coop
APRIL 2017
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[classifieds] TO PLACE A CLASSIFIED AD
Please type or print your ad on a separate paper. Indicate how many months you would like your ad to run and which month to start. There is a minimum of 12 words at $1.63 per word/month. Be sure to include your full name and address for our records. Check MUST accompany this order or call to pay by credit card. Send your ad to: mail: Colorado Country Life 5400 Washington St., Denver, CO 80216 phone: 303-902-7276 fax: 303-455-2807 email: classifieds@coloradocountrylife.org
ANTIQUE RESTORATION
CHAIR CANING Hand caning, machine caning, fiber rush caning. Pueblo West, 719-547-0723. chaanita@q.com (858-10-17)
ANTLERS
ANTLER CHANDELIERS made only from REAL antlers. We are the manufacturer and we sell all of our products at wholesale prices; save as much as 60% from store prices. Many other antler products and mounts, including 56” elk mount, giant moose paddles, and elk antlers. Showroom now open yearround in Granby, CO. 18 years at this location, over 900 satisfied customers! Designers: We can provide you a single item or a whole houseful. Call ! 970627-3053. (085-09-17)
BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES
(These opportunities have not been investigated by Colorado Country Life.) HEALTH FOOD STORE & DELI: 2 turnkey businesses in one. Strong income/ customer base. Colorado mountains 970-641-5175, leave name & number. (252-04-17)
BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES
SMALL BUSINESS - RAISE ALPACAS! Small herd, different colored healthy alpacas. 10 females, 2 males. Variety of ages. Good fleeces for yarn, roving. Gentle animals. Easy to work with. Fun for the whole family! Becky, 970-2223219 (341-07-17)
CLOCK REPAIR & RESTORATION
www.clockrepairandrestoration.com DURANGO AREA. CLOCKS of all kinds repaired. Antique and modern. Clocks bought and sold. bob.scott@usa.net Call Robert 970-247-7729. (109-06-17)
ENERGY
SOLAR WATER SYSTEMS – livestock or any remote location. 3-10 gpm. Variable speed. Call Peterson High Reach for free quote. 719-688-0081 (316-05-17)
FARM & RANCH SUPPLIES
COLORADO BRAND block letters H over connected J / best offer. $1750 minimum. Call 719-384-2208 (343-05-17)
Find hidden treasure in the CLASSIFIEDS Read through the ads and FIND the CCL classified explaining how to WIN a $25 gift card. It’s easy. You could WIN.
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REAL ESTATE
FSBO: BRIGHT, PRIVATE, 1600sf, 3/2, .5 acre, fenced, landscaped, gardens. Central HVAC, underground power, septic, deck, $150,000. Gisela, AZ (near Payson) 928-474-9374 (331-04-17) READY TO RETIRE? +-13 acres near Mancos, CO. Trout-stocked canyon lake, commercial greenhouse, gardens, lots of water, passive solar timber frame home. $525,000. Jim, 970-769-1391, for pictures. (282-06-17) READY TO WIN? Enter for your chance to win $25. Count the number of classified ads on this page and email that number to classifieds@ coloradocountrylife.org. The subject line MUST say “Classified Count.” We will draw one winner on April 17. from among those who enter. SOUTHEAST COLORADO FARM, 80 acres irrigated, 80 acres riverbottom. Nice large home. $190,000. muffinindustries@gmail.com 757-356-9300 (339-06-17) TIN CUP, COLORADO - 1600sf log home attached 30x30 workshed, 3 car building for storage. Willow Creek runs through adjacent BLM land. Seasonal access or snowmobile. Matt, Monarch Realty, 970-641-1900 (340-04-17)
TICKETS
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WANTED TO BUY
CAST-IRON COOKWARE (Wagner & Griswold). Pyrex. Old toys in good condition. Vintage signs. Anything cowboy and Indian – hats, boots, spurs, rugs, etc. After family gets what they want, we’ll buy the rest. Antiques, collectibles, furniture, glassware, etc. We come to you! 970-759-3455 or 970-565-1256. (871-08-17) NAVAJO RUGS, old and recent, native baskets, pottery. Tribal Rugs, Salida. 719-539-5363, b_inaz@hotmail.com (817-06-17) OLD COLORADO LIVESTOCK brand books prior to 1975. Call Wes 303-7578553. (889-08-17) OLD GAS AND OIL items: Gas pumps, advertising signs, globes, etc. Pieces, parts, etc. considered. Also 1932-34 Ford cars and trucks, parts and pieces, too. Any condition. Brandon, 719-250-5721. (519-11-17) OLD POCKET WATCHES – working or non-working and old repair material. Bob 719-859-4209. (870-06-18) WANT TO PURCHASE mineral and other oil/gas interests. Send details to: PO Box 13557, Denver, CO 80201. (402-03-18) WANTED: JEEP CJ OR WRANGLER. Reasonably priced. No rust buckets. 888-735-5337 (099-04-17) WE PAY CASH for minerals and oil/gas interests, producing and nonproducing. 800-733-8122 (099-02-18)
The classified ads March contest winner is Monika Cary of Kremmling. There were 29 ads. 28
APRIL 2017
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[ funny stories] Visiting his grandparents, a small boy opens the big family Bible. He thumbs through the old pages, fascinated, when something suddenly falls out. He picks it up and finds that it is an old leaf that was put between the pages to press it flat. “Mama, look what I found,” he calls. “What did you find, dear?” his mother asks. With astonishment in his voice, the boy blurts out, “I think it’s Adam’s underwear!” Lila Taylor, Stratton
READERS PHOTOS
Six-year-old Johnny and his 5-year-old friend, David, were walking in a park one morning when Johnny said to David, “Look! I think that’s a dead bird over there!” David looked up to the sky and said, “Where? I don’t see it.” Gary Schumacher, Colorado Springs
Carol and Larry Enderson visits Cabo San Lucas with their copy of Colorado Country Life.
Dani, daughter of Poudre Valley REA members Dan and Kathy Mazzotta, shares a photo taken on the Ningaloo Coast of Australia.
A police officer pulled over a vehicle for an excessive exhaust violation. The officer wrote the driver a ticket and told him, “You’ll need a ring job.” The driver replied, “I got a job and it ain’t in jewelry.” “I meant, a piston ring job,” the officer explained. The driver responded, “I’m not interested in the brand name or style of any jewelry.” Archie Ferrarini, Clifton My great-grandson came to spend the weekend. He ran up to give me a hug and exclaimed, “Grandma, I am almost as big as you!” During our conversation his birthday came up. When I asked how old he was going to be, he said, “I’m 5 going on 6. How old are you?” When I told him 68, his eyes got big and he looked at me so seriously and said, “How come you never grew up?” I could do nothing but laugh because, you see, I am only 4-foot-11 and because of that he thought I had never grown up. Evelyn Fay Hardy, Texas Creek
Phyllis Clark with her copy of Colorado Country Life atop Mt. Floyen overlooking Bergen, Norway.
WINNER: Michael O’Rourke from Pueblo West takes his San Isabel Electric magazine on vacation to the Riviera Maya, Mexico.
TAKE YOUR PHOTO WITH YOUR MAGAZINE AND WIN! It’s easy to win with Colorado Country Life. Simply take a photo of someone (or a selfie!) with the magazine and email the photo and your name and address to info@coloradocountrylife.org. We’ll draw one photo to win a $25 gift card each month. The next deadline is Monday, April 17. This month’s winner is Michael O’Rourke, a San Isabel Electric Association member from Pueblo West. coloradocountrylife.coop
We pay $15 to each person who submits a funny story that’s printed in the magazine. At the end of the year we will draw one name from those submitting funny stories and that person will receive $200. Send your 2017 stories to Colorado Country Life, 5400 Washington St., Denver, CO 80216 or email funnystories@coloradocountrylife.org. Don’t forget to include your mailing address, so we can send you a check.
$15 APRIL 2017
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[discoveries]
New Gym Entertains Kids Across the Spectrum
Experience Sweet Slumber Designed to reduce stress and induce sleep, Dreampad is ideal for those who get insufficient sleep. Originally created for children with autism, the Dreampad produces sound you can feel that triggers feelings of tranquility, helping the body and mind relax. Each pillow comes with a free music app that includes a timer, alarm and range of settings for listening. For more information, visit dreampadsleep.com. See how it works: https://www.youtube. com/watch?v=QJ_IMvVQq9o.
When the Woszczynski family came across the We Rock the Spectrum® franchise, they knew the gym was a perfect fit. With a son who is on the autism spectrum and two other children, they wanted a place where all kinds of kids could enjoy its amenities. We Rock the Spectrum® in Arvada opened just a couple months ago and it’s already getting a great response. The all-inclusive children’s gym features fun equipment, such as swings, a zipline, a trampoline, a rope wall and a climbing wall, that also help children with autism and other special needs develop fine- and gross-motor skills. The Arvada gym is beginning to offer classes, such as social skills and pediatric special needs massage therapy classes, and continues to find ways to connect to special needs families throughout Colorado. The Arvada gym is at 8330 W. 80th Avenue in Arvada. For more information, call 303-284-3049 or visit werockthespectrumarvada.com.
ENTER TO WIN COLORADO ROCKIES TICKETS
Other AutismRelated Resources Autism Speaks provides a wide range of autism-related services in Colorado. tinyurl.com/AutismSpeaksCO Endurance and Full Tilt Boogie by Hal Walter are books by this month’s cover story author. tinyurl.com/HalWalter tinyurl.com/FullTiltBoogie AMC Theatres offer sensory-friendly film showings. https://www.amctheatres.com/programs/sensory-friendly-films#movies Beau Jo’s Colorado Style Pizza occasionally hosts pizza night that is sensory friendly and accommodating to families and individuals affected by autism spectrum disorder. tinyurl.com/BeauJosPizza
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APRIL 2017
Autism Awareness Night With the Colorado Rockies On April 22, the Colorado Rockies, Autism Speaks and the Autism Society of Colorado are bringing autism awareness to Coors Field. Come out to the ballgame to cheer on the Rockies as they face the San Francisco Giants, and help support and bring awareness to autism spectrum disorder. There will be a designated quiet area for those who need time away from the excitement. Proceeds from the event will benefit Autism Society of Colorado.
Enter our April contest to win four tickets in the autism section at this event. Email your name, address and phone number to contests@coloradocountrylife.org and enter “Autism Section at the Rockies” in the subject line. We will choose the winner at noon on April 17. Tickets will be sent via FedEx to ensure the winner receives the tickets on time for the game.
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Save When You Grow a Zoysia Lawn From Living Plugs!
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www.ZoysiaFarms.com/mag ©2017 Zoysia Farm Nurseries, 3617 Old Taneytown Rd, Taneytown, MD 21787
Meyer Zoysia Grass was perfected by the U.S. Gov’t, released in cooperation with the U.S. Golf Association as a superior grass.
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Quantity
Max Plugs*
Free Plugs
Grass Sheets*
150
–
1
500
100
750
Your PRICE
+ Shipping
$14.95
$8.00
4
$45.60
$14.00
150
6
$63.50
$18.00
1100
400
10
$87.50
$24.00
1500
900
16
$125.00
$30.00
q 30” Step-on Plugger $8.95 + $5 shipping
Mail to: ZOySiA FARM NURSERiES 3617 Old Taneytown Road, Taneytown, MD 21787 SAVINGS –
35% 41% 51% 58%
q 4” Amazoy Power Auger for 3/8” drill $14.95 + $5 shipping
q 30” Stand-up Amazoy Power Auger for 3/8” drill $19.95 + $5 shipping * Each grass sheet can produce up to 150 - 1” square plugs. See other options online at www.zoysiafarms.com/mag Amazoy is the trademark registered U.S. Patent Office for our Meyer Zoysia grass.
Write price of order here
$
Md. residents add 6% tax
$
Shipping ENCLOSED TOTAL Card # Name Address City Zip
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$ $
Exp. Date
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We ship all orders the same day plugs are packed at earliest correct planting time in your area.
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Not shipped outside the USA or into WA or OR