Long Story Has No Ending

Most of Colorado was a "bust" weather-wise over Memorial Day weekend. Snow, rain and cold really put a damper on all those pallid, cabin fevered campers so desperate get outdoors. Lovely Ouray was no exception, and thus tourism was on the light side.

Long Story Longer, Conclusion...

Whether on the battlefield or in life (some would ask, "What's the difference?"), those who readily adapt to negative events fare better than those who don't. It's called "Resilience," Problem is, there's only one way to become Resilient. Suffer. If one lives long enough, there will be ample opportunities to become resilient.

Long Story Longer (revised)

I will try not to go into detail about the past couple of shitty weeks. If there's one thing worse than having "Shitty Weeks," it would be reliving them. Please, don't make me do that...

Little Big Horn

We had a brush with another local hiker the other day. I couldn't believe our luck when this little Big Horn Ram walked right by us on our walkabout above Lovely Ouray…as though we were his "peeps." Big Horn Sheep are usually headed up to "lamb" in the high country by now, but we keep seeing stragglers. Must be due the the snow we keep getting around here; it's screws up instincts as well as plans. Check out the photos...

Feeling "Gut-Shot," but among the Living

We had the alarm set for 5:00 AM, but woke up at 4:00 AM and couldn't go back to sleep. Gee, I wonder why? Well, that's the price one pays to live in the Boondocks, where you have to leave by 6:00 in order to get to the hospital by 7:00 in order to have surgery at 8:45. As it turned out, being first in line had it's perks, as the rest of the day's surgeries were canceled due to the Infection Inspector discovering ants crawling around on recently sterilized surgical silverware—and this on the third floor! Must have been those darn nurses, using scalpels to make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in the break room again.

Spring Gains A Foothold In Lovely Ouray; Letting The Chips Fall...

Spring eventually triumphs over winter around here, but it always takes the entire "fifteen rounds." It's a bout of fits and spasms, April, our most epileptic month—a bipolar mix of January and July, parkas one week, tank tops and shorts the next. Spirits that dare soar on her fair weather breeze will soon be dashed by a winter gale. 

Watercolor on Yupo…Two Examples and Lessons Learned

I decided to break out the Yupo this week, just for a change of pace. My goal was to render some landscapes that, well, resemble landscapes, one here in Colorado, and the other next door in Utah…my second favorite state. Unlike watercolor paper, Yupo has a slippery, impermeable plasticized surface. It is more forgiving, but tends to require a different technique, as well as a bit more patience. I swear, some day I'm going to switch to oils or acrylics (or latex enamel) for God's sake, so I can paint over mistakes.