Colorado

When we return home to Colorado, we continue to appreciate the scenery.  We live at 7500+' altitude (2300 meters) in a forested area with snow-capped (most of the year) mountains within view.  With some frequency we see deer, fox, coyote, racoon, porcupine, great-horned owl, and other wildlife come through our yard.  Elk and a bear have been visitors also.  Summer is glorious; we open our windows in June and close them in September.  No air conditioning needed.  The mountain lakes only open up for boating trips when the ice finally melts. Winter, of course, brings snow, but most days stay bright and sunny.  We have our choice of several major snow skiing resorts.  Our worst problem is the rapid population growth along the Front Range of Colorado.

 

View on a walk in our neighborhood.  Pike's Peak in the background.

Boating on Lake Granby.  A bimini top is almost a necessity, due to the intense sun at high altitudes. This is a runabout that I personally designed and built.

Deer outside our bedroom window.  This was one of three bucks grazing.  Our subdivision consists of 200 homes on 1000 mainly wooded acres with a large common-ground meadow.

Now for the bad news.  Spring brings an invasion/migration of Miller Moths.  These creatures come in hordes and will find a way into your home.  If you live in an area with trees (duh), you will be swatting or sucking up (vacuum cleaner) these moths every day.  Spring also brings "pine dust", the pollen from our Ponderosa Pine trees.  For 2-3 weeks everything turns a yellow/green color.  We don't have air conditioning, and open windows are an invitation for daily dusting to get rid of this layer of pollen.