There’s snow on the ground, but it isn’t too early to start thinking about summer home improvements, most especially your cooling and air conditioning system.

Colorado is known for changes in weather. There’s certainly many more freezes left before winter and spring pass. It’s expected that between now and summer daytime temperatures will vary from below freezing to clear and sunny days in the mid 60s.

As the weather changes, so does the temperature of your home. Now is the time to shop for cooling systems, in order to maintain a comfortable temperature as we approach the summer months.

Did you know, according to Xcel, ‘Cooling is the #2 user of electricity for most commercial buildings. New cooling equipment is at least 20% more efficient than units just 15 years old, and the most-efficient new units are up to 52% more efficient than the minimum-efficiency models. (Source: E Source by Platts).’

If you are a customer of Xcel energy, have you heard of The High Efficiency Cooling Rebate program?

The rebate is available for qualifying high-efficiency cooling units including different chillers, condensing units, hybrid evaporative cooling, rooftop units and more. These are listed on the Cooling Rebate page on Xcel’s website. These cash rebates are on average approximately 50% of the cost between purchasing the high-efficiency cooler rather than the standard efficiency cooler.

In addition, those who take advantage of the High Efficiency Cooling Rebate will benefit from the savings to be had with a high efficiency system, as they keep their homes cool all summer, this year, and future years.

If you’re looking forward to hot summer days, and want to take advantage of the rebate, Xcel instructs customers to call the Business Solutions Center at 1-800-481-4700 or e-mail energyefficiency@xcelenergy.com.

Over the past weekend Coloradoans, Americans and the world have watched as the Japanese in Honshu Japan are trying to find what’s left of their family and homes after an 8.9 earthquake sent their ordinary lives out of order.

The 8.9 earthquake, which I heard one report will be upgraded to a 9.0 on the Richter scale, is one of the biggest earthquakes of all time (or at least since they started being measured in the 1900s).  The largest earthquakes of all time are within the vicinity of the Pacific Ocean where there has always been more seismic activity. Read the rest of this entry »

A fresh start to a new year and all the talk is-is the market up? Is the market down?  As I wrote on my real estate blog Denver metro real estate closings were up in December 2010, but under contracts were down on month-to-month and year-to-year comparisons.

No matter how stable or unstable you think the market is – there are several factors that can influence our front range economy in 2011.

One of the most important are Jobs

It’s all the talk on the news.  Job growth, and companies moving to Colorado will positively impact the metro area.  Not only does it bring more buyers to the Denver metro market, but gives residents the stability and security to purchase a home.

In 2011 the purchase of Qwest will be complete that could pull jobs away from the metro area.  Certainly it is in the forefront of Mayors and Governor on how to make Colorado and cities attractive for companies to come to Colorado…  As we get new news, I’ll be sure to update you!

Like the Colorado weather which can change in just a couple hours, the demographics of Colorado can vary just as dramatically when embarking on a couple hour drive across the state.

There are a lot of reasons to relocate to Colorado.  Some prefer the dryer climate.  Others are seeking the 300+ days of sunshine each year.  Some come for retirement, some for adventure; others relocate because of a job transfer.

If the location of your Colorado relocation is flexible you have a great decision to consider – will it be the city or the country?

If you crave the conveniences of nearby shopping and schools, and particularly if you have a young family communities including Highlands Ranch, Parker, and Castle Rock are popular choices.

But when it comes down to it, if the country is calling for you there are plenty of options near and far from the Denver metro area.

Just west of Denver, if you prefer the foothills and don’t mind the colder winters, a few places to check out include Bailey, Conifer, Evergreen and parts of Golden and Morrison.  Best of all these communities are still within commuting distance for those who are willing to trade a drive down to Denver for the beautiful scenery and overlook of the foothills.

But if you’re still preferring to be a little further out Colorado won’t disappoint you.  Popular communities further away from Denver include Estes Park and Red Feather Lakes to the north of the state.

And if you choose to be even further away you just may like the western slope.  Grand Junction is the largest town on the western slope and is the nearest city to many who live within the smaller Western slope ag-communities including Delta, Olathe and Montrose.

Of course if you take the Colorado road less traveled there are several small communities nestled across Colorado, in the plains or in the mountains that just might be what you’re looking for!

Peach season in Colorado was sweet this year.  We took a break from the Front Range and brought in a nice haul from the Western Slope at the tail end of the harvest this year. You?

After you’ve eaten all you can, and frozen some, maybe you’re not sure what to do with the rest of your Colorado peaches.  I was pleased to find a nice recipe in the monthly newsletter we get from our milk delivery service, Longmont Dairy Farm, called Poached Peaches Served with Chantilly Cream.  And then a friend who wants to see me gain 47 pounds suggested that I skin and saute some pitted peaches in butter, and add cream, brown sugar, cinnamon, and then serve them over ice cream. You’re welcome.

And there are about a million other things you can do with them, I’m sure, including grilling, and that old standby: Making pie.  If you do, call me, my hobby is pie tasting.

For more sweet ideas, try the Colorado Proud recipes section.

In 2007, Oxford Dictionary chose “locavore” as its word of the year. Meaning “someone who eats locally grown food,” the word soon became a movement. It all began in San Francisco, when four women committed to eating only foods grown or harvested within a 100-mile radius of their homes. You may have also heard the concept referred to as foodshed, slow food, sustainable food, local first, or eating locally.

The good news is this: The principles founded in San Francisco are easily applied here in Colorado, since just about everything you could want—besides sea food—can be found all around the state. Think of the abundance of foods that Colorado produces: Corn, wheat, trout, bass, beef, chicken, lamb; winter, spring, and summer vegetables.  Game meats of wide variety, eggs, milk, juices, wines, herbs and spices, delicious green and red chilis and more. And don’t forget those famous Colorado peaches. What luck!

Getting Started

• Read the 12 key points of locavorism at the Locavores.com Web site
• Find information about Colorado’s locavore movements at LocalSustainability.net or PeakToPlains.com
• Attend farmer’s markets
• Join a locavore group, either online or in person, or both. Read locavore periodicals and blogs such as eatlocalchallenge.com
• Turn your backyard into a garden, or raise chickens
• Look for slow food or locavore dinners at your local restaurant. If there aren’t any, approach your favorite neighborhood bistro and ask!
• Shop at food co-ops
• Call or write Colorado State University’s Division of Continuing Education and Osher Lifelong Learning Institute about its course on locavorism.
• Get your friends involved for a locavore bar-b-que or party.

Happy eating!

In another attempt to ease the financial crisis heard round the world, Colorado Housing and Finance Authority (CHFA) and Congressman Ed Perlmutter (D-7) announced a new mortgage program to help Coloradans leverage Federal First Time Homebuyer Tax Credit into a down payment. If you’re not familiar with the tax credit afforded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, it effectively “lends” borrowers the credit of up to $8,000 at 0% interest, which would have to be paid off by June of next year.

To learn more about the tax credit and how it may apply to your situation, ask a Colorado mortgage company or lender for more information.

The Anschutz Company, citing financial barriers and other complicating issues, announced that it has sold “the ski train.”  For many ski enthusiasts living in Denver, the ski train was a delightful distraction with a purpose: toting skiers in old-time luxury from Denver’s Union Station downtown to Winter Park. I guess it’s not too late to buy a home in Winter Park.

For more on this end of an era, see the Denver Business Journal’s article dated April 20, 2009.

May 4-8 is Teacher Appreciation Week, that time when parents and students take a moment to reflect on all the things teachers do.

In real estate, this sentiment applies because every home owner with a family knows how important it is to consider the school system when relocating or considering a move to a new community. Even homebuyers without children or with children in private schools outside the neighborhood are smart to check out the specifics of their local schools, as they have an impact on the market, the taxes, and the overall environment.

If you’re relocating to Colorado, and are unaware of the school system in the Colorado neighborhoods you’re considering, take a moment to find out a little about the school system there.  And if you do have children in school, thank a teacher today!

RELATED LINKS

• Why schools are a critical factor in buying a home, even if you don’t have children.
• Denver High Schools
• Aurora High Schools
• Boulder High Schools
• Arvada High Schools
• Westminster High Schools

With so much awareness around Earth Day and Earth Week, and with so many things to do in Colorado in celebration and observance of it, there are a wealth of ways to do your part.  Just for starters, I thought I’d share a few of them with you, and then celebrate the day myself by turning off my computer and taking a nice walk in the woods. (Making sure to keep an eye out for mountain lions, that is.)

• Visit the Nature Conservency in Boulder
• Walking to and from your favorite restaurant (preferably one that serves local food), or ordering takeout from someplace that uses bike couriers to deliver.  (Check out what Bimbamboo in Boulder is doing.)
• Check out the Denver Children’s Museum for their Earth Day activities for kids of all ages.
• Attend the Pikes Peak Earth Day Festival, a free, all-day festival in Colorado Springs April 25
• Start your vegetable garden, keeping in mind how to maximize your water usage.
• Visit your local farmer’s market.
• Attend the Colorado State University Earth Day Celebration and Student Sustainability Fair, going on all week in Fort Collins.
  

And because we don’t have to stop observing Earth Day tomorrow, remember that no matter where you are or what day it is, you can always use sites like FreeCycle and Zwaggle to pass along the things you no longer need without tossing them into a landfill.

Happy Earth Day, everyone!

I’m a little late, but April 12 -18 is National Library Week. Here’s why I care:

Friends to parents and researchers, businesspeople and folks just plain killing time, libraries are often an underused and unappreciated asset to citizens in every town.  But Colorado’s commitment to good libraries is undisputed. From the main branch in Denver’s impressive downtown building to the small intimate branches in neighborhoods all over the Front Range and Western Slope, if you’ve got a library near you, I encourage you to get involved with it, even if it means borrowing an old classic you pretended to read in high school. (I’m reading A Tree Grows in Brooklyn right now.)

For the most part, I have to hand it to the Colorado library system for keeping up with the times. Using most systems’ Web sites, you can hold or request materials, pay fines, renew materials, and sometimes browse resources right from your browser.  What can really make the difference in your library experience is that some libraries can navigate you to the places at their Web sites where you can gain access to exclusive databases that are otherwise inaccessible or expensive to use otherwise.  These kinds of databases can often make a big difference to job seekers looking for work, and businesspeople doing research.

Another library-related resource is Ask Colorado. It’s not officially a part of the library system; rather, it’s a cooperative that literally bridges the gap between librarians and information seekers. Ask Colorado facilitates one-on-one Internet chat rooms around the clock; using the Ask a Question button, anyone with an Internet connection can ask a reference librarian any number of questions about how to find information relevant to any kind of project.

Here are a few of my favorite library branches in Colorado:

Nederland Community Library–Most small mountain towns don’t have much in the way of amenities. But Nederland (just 20 minutes west of Boulder) not only boasts a grocery store, video rental store, hardware outlet, and fitness center, it’s got its own library. It’s a rare thing, and an appreciated one, especially one that’s managed and maintained with a lot of love. If you visit, say hello to Gretchen, the head librarian. She’s passionate about literature and the arts, and always considers special requests.

Rangeview Library System (formerly the Adams County Library), Pearl Mack branch–The Pearl Mack neighborhood is in Adams County, near Denver, in what could be described as an area that’s “underserved” by other arts and culture initiatives.  If ever there was a need for a library in Colorado, this area is one of them.

Boulder Public Library, Main branch–In downtown Boulder, on Arapahoe, just off Broadway (map of Broadway). Head librarian, Tony Tallent, keeps a blog. Say hello!   Also, this just in: During the course of writing this entry, I learned by way of the Downtown Boulder and Daily Camera Twitter streams that, “Roof leak closes second floor of Boulder Public Library.”

Denver Public Library, Ross-Cherry Creek branch–In the Cherry Creek area of southeast Denver, near the Cherry Creek Mall and the whole Glendale, Cranmer Park, Denver Country Club, Bonnie Brae area. When I lived in the neighborhood, it was one of my favorite locations for a library, as I was doing a lot of shopping then. Uh-hem.

Denver Public Library, Central branch–In the heart of Downtown Denver, you’ll find floors of materials, art, and meetings for people just like you and me…and her and him.  The only downside to the DPL central branch is the parking, but if you catch it on a slow day, you’ll find the visit worth it.

I just can’t say it enough: I love libraries. If you you, too, tell me why.

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