A little bit of snow!

The anticipated foot of snow did not materialize...a bit over 2" greeted first light this morning, and it's been flurrying all day since. This storm adds 3" to the season's snowfall, bringing the total to only 6". It's lovely outside anyway - the little bit of snow, the grey sky, the cold air - I love it all. Here are a couple of photos of this afternoon's chilly landscape - looking towards the park from my home, and a few of this summer's sunspots (yellow daisies) in the snow.

Waiting for Snow!

I've been watching the news clips of all the snow and winter weather that so many are experiencing. Then I look outside at the dry landscape of this little part of the world. Beulah is in the grasp of a months-long drought -- we've had only 3" of snow so far this snow season and around 1" of total moisture since the latter part of August. We've also had many days of 50s and 60s -- easy weather to enjoy, but too warm and dry for the season. So, yesterday's forecast of up to a foot of snow between last night and tonight was very welcome news. We woke to just an inch on the ground this morning, but the grey skies are holding back so far today. The little bit of white and temps in the 20s do make it look and feel more like December, but come on snow!

A relatively quiet fall day at MPEC!

A delightfully cool mid-November Saturday in Pueblo Mountain Park saw the labyrinth be brought very close to completion. A small but dedicated group of volunteers completed, but for a few finishing touches, the final outer paths by laying the last few hundred stones while I cemented in four beautiful wildlife stones carved by Beulah artist John Clay. Meanwhile, the pond appears to be on its way to putting on its winter cover of ice...if the chilly nights persist, that is. Time will tell. The changing leaves are losing most of their color as fall grows older. A great day in the park. ~Ranger Dave

MPEC wins El Pomar Award for Environment!

Last evening was a fun time for MPEC at the El Pomar Awards Banquet at the Broadmoor International Center in Colorado Springs. We went to the program as one of 3 finalists in the Environmental Issues category and wound up winning the award, which comes with $15,000. In the tough economy, I can say that this will be be put to very good use in continuing MPEC's good work in 2011. Click on Pueblo Chieftain to read an article on the event that ran this morning. Here are some photos from the celebration (Board Member Susan Finzel-Aldred and her husband and MPEC volunteer Archie Aldred were also at the event but unfortunately didn't make it into this batch of photos). The group picture, seated from left: Kim Toman, Operations Director; Beverly Samek, Board Member; standing from left: Greg Smith, Co-Program Director; Dave Van Manen, Director; Helene Van Manen, founding Board Member and volunteer; Mary Twinem, Board Chair. Other photos: Elaine Lopez Pacheco, found Board Member and Development Coordinator; Cindy and Greg Smith.

CO Trail Fund-Raising Dinner Program a real hit!

This past Saturday evening, around 100 folks showed up at MPEC for some great food and Ranger Dave's musical slide program on his progress on the Colorado Trail Backpack for Nature Education. Several delicious soups, salad with MPEC's special home-made dressing, breads and deserts started off an upbeat evening at MPEC. Then Dave told the story in pictures and live music of his 267 miles along the trail this summer. Check out the hike blog at http://www.rangerdavehikes.blogspot.com/ for more details on the Colorado Trail Fund-Raising Hike. Here are some photos from Saturday's program (staff and volunteers in the kitchen; cooks extraordinaire Mary Porter and Bernie Abrahams with some of the homemade breads; warming up the crowd before the program; MPEC's happy members Barbara Blake and Michael Wenzl).

The making of a labyrinth!

A dedicated group of MPEC members have taken on the labor-intensive yet joyous volunteer project of building a labyrinth in an unused corner of the Horseshoe Lodge's front yard. In case you are wondering, a labyrinth has its roots in many ancient and traditional cultures, and is a maze-like path, usually circular. Unlike a maze with path options along the way, a labyrinth has only one path that leads to the center. The path of MPEC's labyrinth is being outlined with many, many rocks, and will incorporate a few of the cement posts that mark the perimeter of Pueblo Mountain Park. If you are interested in helping out with this wonderful project that will be unfolding over the next several weeks, please contact me at 485-4444. Here are a few photos from last Saturday's efforts. ~Ranger Dave

A very colorful autumn keeps hanging on!

What an unusual October...last year we received 30" of snow over the month, this year we've had less than a half inch of rain, we haven't had a hard freeze yet, and it's already the 27th. It has been a wonderfully colorful season in earthy leaf tones that just keep going and going. I stepped out a little while ago to take a few photos to accompany this posting and practically stumbled over these two bucks. It is certainly cooler outside today, and tonight will likely bring our first hard freeze.