Publisher’s Ponderings

From an old Sam Cooke song performed by the Kingston Trio… “Way out West they got a name for rain and wind and fire. The rain is Tess, the fire is Joe and they call the wind Mariah.” Hmmm… There’s no name for snow? On today’s morning walk, the mountains whispered to...

It seems like I frequently feel like giving thanks a month earlier than the traditional day of Thanksgiving. It must be the appearance of the golden aspen leaves of October, which by November are only a brown mess underfoot.  The Rocky Mountains in Colorado offer...

Well, Holly and I are finally married. I actually proposed and gave her a ring in December of 2019. But then Covid forced us to reschedule our originally planned 2020 honeymoon for this next month. We are so looking forward to a long­awaited and well deserved nine...

Peggy Noonan recently wrote an opinion piece for the Wall Street Journal titled “The Lonely Office Is Bad for America.” Based on the title alone, I was pretty sure that I would be in agreement. On the surface that might seem odd since I walked away from the corporate...

As a person with a lifelong passion for scientific pursuit, I found it quite perplexing that I became so annoyed with the pandemic rally cry of “Follow the Science.” In times past, I would have considered it a dream come true to have so many unscientific people...

Today’s a good day. Spring has sprung. I love spring because all of nature is coming back to life. The meadow is green with new grass. The aspens are turning green as well. The little creek on our property has recovered from its winter slumber. And today for the first...

Just this morning, while out for my usual walk, I ran into the crew taking down trees in the Xcel right-of-way on our property. Turns out, the crew boss lives in Conifer. I should not be admitting this, but he and I burned at least 15 minutes of rate payor time going...

I don’t know about everyone else, but this directive always fills me with dread. Just to let you know in advance, I consider this a problem without a solution. So, the purpose of this Pondering is to simply reassure all of you sharing the same dread that you are not...

I’ve always liked winter for its lessons in being human. But surviving being caught in the backcountry by a raging blizzard is where the lessons really count in what could be a life and death battle.  Nobody plans on being surprised in the mountains by a blizzard....

My greatest fear of a wildland fire is losing my forest.I have spent enough time above timberline to know the experienceof returning to the comforts of the forest below.I will never lose that bonding with the forest.I’ve counted the rings on my largest treesand they...

Okay. This mild snow-free weather has gone on long enough. At first it was a pleasant arrival... the neverending summer. But now we are starting to worry... wildfires in December? Clearly drought conditions. If you are prone to worrying, I don’t want to change your...

In September’s Publisher’s Ponderings, I declared a certain incredibly gorgeous September day as “My Thanksgiving Day” with total irreverence for the two-century tradition of the real Thanksgiving Day.  My bad! I got carried away with assuming the grateful sentiment...

Every once in a while we get legitimate critiques of our content that usually end with the comment, “That’s not very serene.” It always makes me wonder what would be said if the name of the publication was Colorado Lifestyles. Would that judgment then be, “That’s not...

On my walk this morning, I decided to celebrate Thanksgiving right then and there. It was the most beautiful day imaginable; a balmy 80 degrees, no humidity, a soft caressing breeze, and a Colorado blue sky with billowing clouds preparing for afternoon showers. Fall...