At the corner of Dellwood and Broadway is one of Boulder’s most distinctive mixed-use properties: 2961 Broadway. (Or 1120 Dellwood, if you prefer.) To the newcomer, it appears to be an art gallery, a general store, or a boutique, and that’s exactly what it’s been in the past.  The property has been one kind of store front or another, with a residence in the back, for almost a hundred years.

Today, it’s a luxury home/office/studio that was remodled in 2007. You can see this piece of north Boulder history during open house hours: Sundays, 12-3 PM.

Each spring, the good people of Colorado turn their attention backward, and consider the winter snowfall that was–or wasn’t.  Because snowpack from the previous several months has everything to do with the amount of water available all summer, most city dwellers face water restrictions, especially during years of reduced precipitation or drought.

Although Denver residents are used to finding themselves placed on watering restrictions during the summer months, Boulder uses more of an honor system when asking residents to consider conservation when watering gardens and grass. Check with your local water department to find out when and how you’ll keep your landscaping healthy and green, what your water allowances are, and look for tips on keeping your home beautiful while saving water.

You can find more information on Colorado’s climate and years of precipitation at the Colorado Climate Center.

Photo by Flickr–Creative Commons, by Snap

If you think the days of home milk delivery are gone, think again.  For very reasonable prices, you can wake up to a gallon or two of fresh milk and dairy products in a cooler on your front porch.

In metro Denver--Royal Crest Dairy is one of Denver oldest milk farms, in operation since the ’20s.

In parts of metro Denver, Boulder County, and Northern Colorado–Longmont Dairy Farm is bottled on the farm and shipped ASAP in the old-timey, glass returnable bottles you remember as a kid.

Haystack Mountain Goat Dairy is no longer open to the public, or for tours, but there are many retailers and restaurants that feature products from Haystack, which now ships in its milk and has sold off its livestock.

Windsor Dairy–No delivery, but their raw milk products are the talk of moms groups all over Windsor and the rest of the Front Range.

If you live in Colorado, there’s no question. You’ve got milk.

My dad was a Rocky Maountain News fan, and back then, with two major dailies in town, which paper you picked said something about you.  Usually, choosing the Rocky meant that you had adopted Republican leanings, but that’s not why my dad chose it over the Denver Post.  You might think content is king, and maybe it is for most people, but my dad, a Denver native and first-generation Colorado native, was a devout disciple to principles such as neatness and simplicity.

The Denver Post was formatted in a multi-section mess, each folded into quarters, so that Dad would have to disassemble and then unfold the whole paper, and unfold again, just to find out if there was something there he wanted to read, even if he was–and still is–a Democrat.  The Rocky was more like a newsprint magazine without a binding at the spine. You simply unrolled it, and started reading, flipping the pages as you went. You didn’t have to leave unwanted sections all over the place, unless there was special advertising inserted; you just had to turn to the next page.

As of February 27, however, there’s only one big paper left in town, like it or not.  The Rocky Mountain News closed its doors after nearly 150 years of dutiful service. Some say Denver’s not big enough for two papers, but as a town with all these professional sports teams, I don’t buy it. Times are changing, like it or not, and in any event, here’s what the front page of the final edition had to say:

It is with great sadness that we say goodbye to you today. Our time chronicling the life of Denver and Colorado, the nation and the world, is over. Thousands of men and women have worked at this newspaper since William Byers produced its first edition on the banks of Cherry Creek on April 23, 1859. We speak, we believe, for all of them, when we say that it has been an honor to serve you. To have reached this day, the final edition of the Rocky Mountain News, just 55 days shy of its 150th birthday is painful. We will scatter. And all that will be left are the stories we have told, captured on microfilm or in digital archives, devices unimaginable in those first days.

‘Tis the season when Colorado denizens use the tired old saw, “If you don’t like the weather, wait ten minutes.” Now that the early springtime season is here, it’s time for Colorado’s patented weather patterns that require shorts and flip flops one day, and down parkas and snow shoes the next.  (It goes without saying that I also recommend pants of some sort.)

This week we’re looking at breaking the record high, and a snowstorm with temps in the 30s in less than a week.  The good news is this: ski season isn’t over yet, and even bigger springtime snowfalls in the city melt within a day or two. (Of course, your mileage may vary.)  And in case you haven’t noticed, it’s been windy, with the kind of gusts that make those of us near the Boulder fire of ‘09 a little nervous.

Until June, I recommend keeping the flip flops and the boots near the front door.  Soon you’ll be trading in your sidewalk salt for the stuff you line the rim of your margarita glass with.

Photo by Flicr–Creative Commons, by SuperFantastic

Is your city a Tree City USA?  If you live anywhere in Colorado, the answer is likely to be “yes.” That’s not just because most people consider even the most urban parts of the state to lean toward the natural, but because many Colorado towns and cities exhibit the following standards and qualifications:

1. A Tree Board or Department
2. A Tree Care Ordinance
3. A Community Forestry Program With an Annual Budget of at Least $2 Per Capita
4. An Arbor Day Observance and Proclamation

These fine Colorado tree lovers have been a Tree City USA for many years:

• Arvada
• Aurora
• Brighton
• Broomfield
• Boulder
• Castle Rock
• Colorado Springs
• Commerce City
• Delta
• Denver
• Estes Park
• Golden
• Highlands Ranch
• Lakewood
• Windsor
• Wheat Ridge
• Westminster
• US Air Force Academy–in Colorado Springs
• Northglenn
• Lyons
• Loveland
• Longmont

To find a list of all the Tree Cities in Colorado, visit http://www.arborday.org/programs/treeCityUSA/index.cfm

Photo by Flickr–Creative Commons, by Marina Cast.

The Senate recently backed a bill in Colorado enabling more Colorado locations to use photo radar vans and detectors to fine drivers for speeding. Only three cities now use photo radar: Boulder, Fort Collins, and Denver.

According to an AP Wire, “Currently cities can use photo radar only near parks, schools, construction zones and streets with speed limits under 35 mph. Democratic Sen. Bob Bacon’s bill would also allow it on streets with speed limits up to 55 mph. Fines would be capped at $40.”

If you’ve spend any time on the roads in Boulder, Denver, or Fort Collins, you may have noticed an unmarked van on the side of the road, not coincidentally just down the road from a posted sign that says, “Photo radar in use.”  Inside is an automated camera system and radar detector that records the speed of each passing vehicle.

The system takes a photograph of the driver and license plate, and the registered owner then receives a ticket by mail. If a ticket goes unpaid or unaddressed after a certain number of days, a member of the Boulder County Sheriff’s Department usually attempts to collect at the home of the registered owner of the car. In other words, your prize for speeding past an unmarked van is a very expensive picture of you most likely talking on your cell phone.  And if you’re slow enough getting your check out the door, you get a visit from law enforcement’s own welcome wagon.  (You might want to remove that “Bad cop, no donut” bumper sticker you thought was so funny last year.)

But it’s not just about the vans.  From the City of Boulder Web site:

Photo Red Light
Running a red light is one of the most frequent causes of accidents at intersections in Boulder. Red light enforcement through traditional officer-based efforts is difficult and potentially dangerous. In response, Boulder has implemented photo red light, an automated camera and computer system mounted on a traffic signal pole at an intersection. Photo red light takes pictures of any vehicles that run a red light, records the time elapsed since the light turned red and the vehicle entered the intersection, and issues a ticket. The photo red light systems are installed at key Boulder intersections that have a high number of accidents.

At present, photo radar and red light systems are for fining speeders only.  Offenders are not fined for secondary offenses, such as not wearing a seat belt. Also on the horizon, talking on a cell phone without the use of a hands-free device is not illegal in Colorado now, but lawmakers are considering backing a motion towards its prohibition.

When my husband moved to Boulder from New York, his parents made a lot of assumptions about what life would be like. “All that snow!” they said, not knowing that the kind of snow we experience here in Boulder, Denver, and the rest of the Colorado Front Range is exponentially more tolerable–and fleeting–than the precipitation New Yorkers must endure all winter.  They wondered if any of the streets of downtown Boulder were paved, and if horse-drawn carriages were still in use. The truth is, there are no handsome cabs in Boulder.

My in-laws and I all laugh together now at the perceptions of “big city folk,” but on one issue their assumptions were pretty close: Wildlife encounters do exist, and seem to be heading toward the more frequent end of the scale.  Yes, it’s normal to find deer grazing on the lawns of homes all over Boulder, especially those close to open space areas, and especially if you’ve landscaped the yard with tasty flowers.  It’s wise while driving at dusk to watch for foxes crossing the road, and my dog has harassed a coyote or two–from afar. But it’s also not that rare to see a family of bears lumbering down the streets, especially on trash pickup day. Usually, coexisting with all this wildlife is a perk. It makes things interesting and serene, and reminds us how lucky we are to live near nature.  However…

The principal of South Boulder’s Bear Creek Elementary recently issued the following letter (excerpted):

“A mountain lion was seen in the South Boulder neighborhood as recently
as two days ago. Although mountain lions are in our area, unseen,
much of the time, this is a good opportunity to remind ourselves and
our students of safety as it relates to mountain lions.”

To learn more about mountain lions, including information about how to avoid encounters with mountain lions and what to do if a close encounter occurs, the Colorado Division of Wildlife tells all at:
http://wildlife.state.co.us/WildlifeSpecies/Profiles/Mammals/MountainLion.htm