A Good Morning in Retirement

October 8, 2015October 15, 2016 / Laura Lee Carter / 3 Comments

Honestly, I cannot believe what a shutter-bug I have become since moving away from the city!

First thing I noticed this morning, as soon as I woke up, was the beautiful sunrise to the east of our home. We can thank the fires out west for the brilliant red hue, but this truly is a beauty!

Then I took a walk down below our home through a Pinyon-Juniper forest. Below is a large horse ranch. Those horses have no idea how good they have it! Or maybe they do….

Looking back up the hill I got a great view of our new home. Did you notice the wires running above the roof? That’s our new lightning protection system. Can’t be too careful up here!

Did you notice the snow up on the West Spanish Peak? Yesterday we had our first good snow storm up on the Sangre de Cristos…

And when the clouds cleared, we saw this!

How did I end up here, feeling so fortunate?

It’s a long story, one I can now share with you in my new memoir!

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October in Southern Colorado

October 3, 2015September 30, 2017 / Laura Lee Carter / 3 Comments

This morning we woke up to heavy fog and 44 degrees outside.

But, per usual, the fog burned off to reveal a great view of the Spanish Peaks and the Sangre de Cristo mountain range.

Up high the leaves are changing quickly and falling down, but at 7,000 feet it is still cool and beautiful.

In the small town of La Veta, the first Saturday in October is reserved for Octoberfest! The whole town shuts down with Main Street closed to cars, so vendors from everywhere can sell their wares…

….to the tune of a German band, the smell of freshly roasted bratwurst…

….and a darn good antique car show!

What’s not to like about that?

Looking forward to another amazing light show tonight, like the sunset we had here a few nights ago.

To learn more about how we ended up here, living in a solar home in the Colorado outback, check out: A Memoir of Retirement: From Suburbia to Solar in Southern Colorado… Also, please follow me on Twitter!

The Aspens are Golden This Time of Year!

September 28, 2015September 28, 2015 / Laura Lee Carter / 3 Comments

I had just been up to Cripple Creek on Friday, so I knew the aspens would be perfect up at Cordova Pass yesterday. It’s south of here, off the Highway of Legends.

At 11,248 feet (3,428 m)), Cordova Pass lies on the western shoulder of the West Spanish Peak. The drive up there was gorgeous and made so much better with the fact that so few people are ever on that road.

And when we got there… WOW!

I didn’t know this is also a wonderful place to view wildflowers in mid-June. We also stopped off in the tiny town of Cucharas (altitude 8,468 feet), and made a reservation at the Timbers for Mike’s upcoming birthday.

Then we came home to see the Broncos win again, observe another gorgeous sunset over the Spanish Peaks, and then a beauty of a lunar eclipse!

“I just want to live happily ever after every now and then…” — Jimmy Buffet

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Life among the birds, the bees and the bunnies!

September 12, 2015October 11, 2016 / Laura Lee Carter / 3 Comments

Can you spy the camouflaged bunny in the photo above?

Oh! There he is!

Since my last (AND FINAL!) concussion this past Tuesday, I have had the time and proper disposition to sit and look out of our south-facing doors and windows quite a bit. In this process I have observed many small bunnies crawl up through our sunflower bushes and peek in. Then they run back down the hill as fast as they can!

For unknown reasons, the disturbed ground around our new home has harvested hundreds of sunflower bushes, some over six feet tall! This ground cover attracts an assortment of insects and birds, especially some tiny yellow birds. The sunflowers are the perfect cover for small bugs, birds, etc.

Then this morning we had a new visitor, a Road Runner…up-close-and-personal! They are bigger than I thought, and quite blue when seen up close. Mike says this one seems to be following him around. I guess that explains why they are in the cuckoo family…

I am filled with gratitude that I can now live like this forever. Please go learn more about our move from Fort Collins to here in my new memoir and follow us on TWITTER!

Photo credits to Mike for these great close-ups!

Reconnecting with nature

September 8, 2015September 30, 2015 / Laura Lee Carter / 5 Comments

I see now that it is only by living in a suburban home for 60 years, that I can now see the difference in terms of connecting with nature.

Yes, I still live in a house, unlike my brother who lives outside all of the time, but in a place like this, nature cannot be ignored.

For example, in a passive solar home which is properly positioned to the sun, the solar heat is just now starting to edge into the south-facing windows.

Ask my pup Rasta. He loves the new sun on his dog bed. And yes, he does wear a jacket even in the summer, crazy pup.

Another example is the incredible sunsets we sometimes enjoy, like last evening. At first I only noticed the nice light to the southeast of us.

It was still cloudy to the west, over Mount Mestas. Then I looked out a few minutes later to see this!

Now tell the truth, if this was happening right outside your door, could you really ignore it?

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I discover one wish I have for retirement

September 2, 2015September 28, 2015 / Laura Lee Carter / 5 Comments

A few years ago I read a marvelous book: “The Signature of All Things” by Elizabeth Gilbert. I was so impressed with it, I wrote about it on my former blog. One image in this book struck me.

The main character Alma’s father was an international trader and ship’s captain. He enjoyed inviting interesting people from around the world to share his dining room table in Philadelphia.

I loved the idea of this. I see the same in our new home in the foothills of southern Colorado. Granted, rural Colorado is not the same as Philadelphia, but I enjoy meeting others and learning about their lives.

I don’t really know how to make this happen, besides inviting my friends from elsewhere. If you know a good way to make this happen, please let me know.

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