THE END OF A BAD SUMMER



Fire smoke in background

The best season in Colorado has finally arrived and it's wonderful.  Cool nights, warm but growing less so days, and a riot of tree colors.  (More on that in my next post,) We are in heaven here after such a brutal summer, accompanied by the interminable wild fires that were so destructive.  It all began on June 9.  Bestie Mags Lew, my sister-in-law Nancy and I were up at Estes Park for the Wool Festival and when we sat down in the little arena area to watch the Leaping Llamas/Llama Limbo events, we could see the beginning of the High Park fire, located in Rist Canyon slight north and west of Fort Collins.  Thus began our season in hell,  though at the time we had no idea that our governor would soon be proclaiming, "Colorado's burning!"  The fires destroyed land and homes in the foothills and canyons while the drought took its toll on the crops and livestock of the plains.  Our usual summer afternoon thunderstorms and rain never materialized, day after dry day.  An ugly time.


This  darling creature is a paco-vicuna, a mix of alpaca and its cousin the vicuna.  They are adorable and their fleece is considered very special.  There are only around 400 of them in the USA.

This giant llama is preparing to jump over the bar during the Leaping Llama competition.  Note fire smoke in background.