Big Bad Wolf Obsvations
Wolves are one of the most incredible predators on earth.
We can all learn a thing or two from these magical creatures.
Wolves are the ultimate team players, they know that working together benefits the whole pack.

Quotes
“Where there are sheep, the wolves are never very far away.” – Plautus

“In the calm, deep waters of the mind, the wolf waits.” – F.T. McKinstry

“If you live among wolves you have to act like a wolf.” – Nikita Khrushchev

“A wolf is no less a wolf because he’s dressed in sheepskin and the devil is no less the devil because he’s dressed as an angel.” – Lecrae

“The wolf’s clear, intelligent eyes brushed mine. The wolf is gentle-hearted. Not noble, not cowardly, just non-fighting.” – Lois Crisler

oColorado's Reintroduction of Wolves
According to State Senator Dylan Roberts, wolves are federally protected and state officials aren't allowed to interact with wolves in any way even if they are attacking livestock or pets.

Dan Gibbs, executive director of Colorado's Department of Natural Rescues told the legislative committee that a ruling from Fish and Wildlife would be preferable it is not required. The passing of a law at the last minute would be pulling the rug from under the state's plan to release wolves by December 31, 2023 because state officials have already requested permission to manage the wolf population by the end of the year.

The committee passed the measure by a vote of  11-2 sending the bill on to the entire state legislature. December 31 seem a long time off from May 1, but time goes quickly.

 Non-Partisan Party
During George W. Bush's presidency "Barney Cam" videos almost daily presented views of the daily adventures of Barney and Miss Beazley.

John Quincy Adams had an alligator who (no kidding) lived in a bathroom in the White House.

.First Lady, Grace Coolidge, had what was probably the last wild animal pet to live in the White House. Walking on a leash, Rebecca Raccoon, attended social events with Mrs. Coolidge.

 "If you want a friend in Washington, get a dog<" Harry Truman's famous quote..

"Bo is the most famous member of the Obama family," First Lacy Michelle Obama

George H.W. Bush said, "Even on my most difficult and challenging days as President, Ranger and Millie brought great joy to my life. There is  nothing like the unconditional love of a dog to help you get through the rough spots."

            Franklin D.Roosevelt and Fela

'
Spring is Sprung
Which month of the year is the shortest? May. It only has three letters

Will February March? No but April May.

When it gets warmer there is a spring in people's steps.

When is it impossible to plant flowers? When you haven’t botany.


Rooster Fights Should Be Banned
Dog fighting is a declining industry because people see that dogs get hurt. People apparently care more about dogs than they do about chickens. Either way it is cruel to cause animals, who have no recourse, to fight for their lives.

Roosters fighting for their lives -      

When it is Spring Time in the Rockies.
Colorado Springs is the home of the Air Force Academy. The Academy has a rule that cadets cannot be married not to each other and not to civilian sweethearts.

Come spring the most anticipated celebration is graduation.

The second most popular ceremony is the marriage ceremony..The newly graduated cadets are no longer bound by Academy rules and make their first stop the Academy chapel.

No Account Accountants
Why are accountants always tired after work? Because their job is so taxing.

What does the pessimistic accountant think? It's accrual world.

Why. are most accountants so good looking? They have great figures.

What does the pessimistic accountant think? It's accrual world.

Why are most accountants so good looking? They have great figures.

                                                    Prairie Chicken mating dancing

Bear Season
Spring is the season the Bears come out of hibernation if they haven't come out already because of the warm days. When they do wake after a long winter's nap, they are hungry. Homeowners need to clean up edible garbage around their property. Durango, Colorado was especially hard hit because of drought years in which bears did not find the usual natural bear food and came into town to feast on easy to find people-food in trash cans. After several years of researching bear-proof cans and other anti-bear tips to make coexisting with bears more enjoyable and safer, the following tips for living with bears are recommended:

1. Lock garbage cans and keep meat
scraps frozen until until the day of trash pick up.

2. Keep compost in bear-resistant
containers.

3. Enclose chicken coops and bees hives
in electric fencing.

4. Feed pets inside and store their
food inside.

5. Grill should be cleaned thoroughly
after each use.  

6. Use bird feeders only during the winter when
the bear will be hibernating.

7. Hiking bring along Bear spray, hike with
a buddy, make noise.

8. Leave the dog at home (best) or
keep the dog on a leash.

Quote
"“You rescued me when I thought nobody would. When I thought I wasn't worth the effort. You gave me everything and asked for nothing."“ ― Charles Martin

Rocky Mountain Rescue Group
A volunteer organization, Rocky Mountain Rescue Group (RMRG) has served Boulder County's 450 square miles which receives an average of 10m visits to open spaces a year. That results in about 200 search and rescue calls each of the over seventy five years the group has been in operation..Those numbers don't mean much until you are the one being  helped off the mountain.


Steve Dundorf who has been a RMRG volunteer for around 30 years, said "It has been about helping  those in need and saving the lives of people in our outdoor community."

Technical search and rescue means one or more of: snowmobiles, ATVs, scerch evauations, and even a helicopter at times. It is a year around operation. Just because avalanche and ski season are coming to an end does not mean that need is declining.  The Department of Parks and Wildlife in cooperation with Department of Transportation has worked out a deal where a person can combine the fees for a car license and a fishing license for a small savings..


Ways to Help the Monarch Butterfly
Ways to help the Monarchs coming from central Mexico soon when their migration starts'.
Loss of milkweed can be augmented by planting and watering a small patch of milkweed.
Supplement wild milkweed with occasional watering.
Do not use insecticide and herbicide to control conditions that put Monarchs at risk.
Keep pets away from Milkweed plants.

                              Monarch on Milkweed

Quotes

Fixing global warming is more important than astronomy. David Grinspoon

Astrology is an aesthetic affront. It cheapens astronomy, like using Beethoven for commercial jingles.  Richard Dawkins

The thing I like about astronomy is being  outside at night and seeing the stars in a dark sky. It makes you feel small. Jimmy Walker

I come home from trying to pretend to know about astronomy and physics all day and turn on 'The Real Housewives'. Eddie Redmayne

Stars in Your Eyes
March 27-31 but particularly Tuesday the 28th people  who know where to look can see Jupiter, Venus,
 and Mars. Plus with binoculars or a telescope they can also see Mercury and Uranus. All five planets will be in a line from the western horizon to the moon which will be straight over head.

Ron Hranac, past President of the Denver Astronomical Society gave further directions about where to look.
About 8 PM on Tuesday the 28th Jupiter will be the lowest. Mercury will be above and slightly to the right.Third in line Venus. Then comes Uranus. Mars will be just below the Moon.

If it is warm and a nice night it could be fun to see how many of the five planets you can spot.


For Those Inclined

 The Sink restaurant in Boulder, Colorado is celebrating it's 100th adversity of being the place to go for generations of University of Colorado students, faculty, and staff. The Sink started getting very popular with celebrities in the mid 2010s with big names like Rashaad Salaam, Tony Mendez, Jake Johnson, Damon Wayans Jr., Madeleine Albright, Bill Walton, and more making appearances.  The Sink's most famous employee was janitor Robert Redford. Most famous customer was a surprise visit from President Barack Obama in April 2012. ..

Quotes (left over from St.Patrick's Day)

Experience is the comb that life gives a bald man.

Happiness being a dessert so sweet,
May life give you more than you can ever eat.

There are only two kinds of people in the world: the Irish,
And those who wish they were.

Do not resent growing old.
Many are denied the privilege.

May the winds of fortune sail you,
May you sail a gentle sea.
May it always be the other guy
Who says this drink's on me.

Fishing
If fishing is addictive does that mean I'm hooked?

Assisting the Rio Grande Cutthoat
In September of 2020 a team of wildlife scientists and technicians closed the upper limits to the creek and headwater lakes of Sand Creek and used fish-killing poison to kill all the fish. In 2021, the Biologists stocked thousands of genetically pure Rios in the lakes and plans to stock more fry this year.

Cutthroats need cold water and Sand Creek is the southern-most drainage to support a postulation of Rios in the Western states. "Species need us in climate change era to get them into habitats where they'll be safe." Fred Bunch, Great Sand Dunes' chief of resource management
From High Country News

Fishing Get Your License
March the Fishing License for the summer of 2023 is out and available now. Buy a license and Purchase at a
first warm day. or when the spirit moves you.

Retail Location​​ Stop by hundreds of retailers​
or 
CPW location and buy your license in person.  
Purchase By Phone ​Toll Free 1-800-244-5613​​
Purchase Online​​​ Buy a license online​.

Looking for the current Fishing Season Dates and Fees? 
See the Fishing Season Dates and Fees page.

                                                              Cutthroat Trout

Quotes
Beautiful Day, today, not too hot and not too cool, breezy but what the heck it is March. No telling what tomorrow will bring but what the heck it is March
---G. Eldon Smith

Our life is March weather, savage and serene in one hour.
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade.
~ Charles Dickens

March bustles in on windy feet,
Sweeps my doorstep and my street.
~ Susan Reiner

March is the month God created to show people who don’t drink what a hangover is like.
~ Garrison Keillor

l
Ladies Who Have Helped Build Colorado
There are many more who contributed to the history of Colorado in many ways as there are woman. These samples are to point out the variety of participating,

Justin Ford M D. Denver's Baby Doctor the first female and first African-American doctor in Colorado.
She was not licensed on those criteria by the Mediacal Board. So opened an office in her home. Dr Ford delivered over 7,000 babies in her career in her home and at the patience's homes.

She was eventually admitted by the Denver Medical Association and the Colorado Medical Association. Two years before death in 1952.

 

Dr. Serena Auñon-Chancellor attended Poudre High School in Fort Collins, and went on to receive a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from George Washington University and a doctorate in medicine and health science from the University of Texas. She’s also board-certified in aerospace medicine. Auñon-Chancellor has logged more than 196 days in space.

Gale Norton Served as Secretary for five years (2001-2006) under President George W. Bush • November 23, 2004

More about Colorado Women at Colorado Women's Hall of Fame

“The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid.”
― Jane Austen,

"Multiple exclamation marks are a sure sign of a diseased mind"
--- Terry Pratchet

Not actually disgruntled, he was far from being gruntled.
–  P.G. Wodehouse

Colorado's Great Sand Dunes
Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve is an American national park that conserves an area of large sand dunes up to 750 feet  near Alamosa, Colorado on the eastern edge of the San Luis Valley,The park contains the tallest sand dunes in North America. The dunes cover an area of about 30 sq

The park contains the tallest sand dunes in North America. from the surrounding mountains filled the valley over geologic time periods.  eventually forming the dunefield over an estimated tens of thousands of years.

In October 2022 the National Park Service purchased a portion of The National Conservancy's Medano-Zapata Ranch Preserve which birders on the park. This expansion has given the park more land in addition to the dunes. The land includes springs and wetlands which support migrating birds. There is a beetle species living there that found nowhere else.

Mailing Address:Visitor Center
11999 State Highway 150
Mosca , CO 81146

One More Time
Everything is funny, as long as it's happening to somebody else. --- Will Rogers

Quotes
“With good land-use management, water scarcity can even be a useful tool for containing the heedless sprawl of human habitation. Unfortunately, ...”
― David Owen, Where the Water Goes: Life and Death Along the Colorado River

“The American West quietly became the first and most durable example of the modern welfare state.”
― Marc Reisner, Cadillac Desert: The American West and Its Disappearing Water


The Great Salt Lake
The lake is becoming saltier and uninhabitable to native flies and brine shrimp. Soon the lake will be unable to sustain the more than 10 million migratory birds and wildlife that frequent it. Already, the lake has lost 73% of its water and 60% of its surface area, as trillions of gallons of water are diverted away from it to supply farms and homes. Studies suggest that only about 9% of the lake’s decline is due to evaporation and reduced runoff can be blamed on climate change.

The overuse of water is the main threat to the largest saltwater lake in the western hemisphere, and huge water diversions to irrigate vast operations to grow alfalfa and hay are no longer sustainable in Utah. “We really need to increase the speed of our response, and also increase our ambition for how much water we restore to the lake,” said Ben Abbott, an ecologist at Brigham Young University.

Lake Powell
Last summer at its low point, Lake Powell's water level was only 32 feet above the levels required to operate Glen Canyon's hydro power intakes which resulted in the dam's power output to be 50% of what is considered adequate to supply seven states.with electricity. The current plan is to keep Powell operating by taking water from smaller reservoirs upstream and cutting water usage throughout the Colorado Basin---and pray for a decent snow pack.

Drought
Will we recognize the mountain west when the lakes and rivers are dried up? Will we be able to live without electricity? We must learn how to limit our water use on crops that need large amounts of water and lawns that need water two or three times a week. No additional golf courses.