High R Ground » Colorado

Colorado Peach Season

Jody Reale — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 16:44:07 +0000

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.

Eating Close to Home: The Locavore Movement

Jody Reale — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 12:00:37 +0000

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!

First Time Homebuyer Tax Credit

Jody Reale — Sat, 30 May 2009 12:28:21 +0000

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.

So Long, Ski Train

Jody Reale — Fri, 29 May 2009 12:00:34 +0000

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.

Teacher Appreciation Week

Jody Reale — Mon, 04 May 2009 15:28:16 +0000

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

Happy Earth Day 2009

Jody Reale — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 20:32:21 +0000

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!

Love Your Colorado Library System

Jody Reale — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 13:55:32 +0000

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.

Colorado Weather and Water

Jody Reale — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 12:31:46 +0000

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

Milk Delivery in Longmont, Boulder, and Denver

Jody Reale — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 12:40:22 +0000

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.

Denver Newspaper Folds

Jody Reale — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 12:12:51 +0000

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.