-
Subscribe
Subscribed
Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
I was up there bright and early today to see the new (and final!) stucco color on our house. What do you think? I LOVE IT!
Here’s the view from the south-facing side of the house as you walk around it.
And the view from below the house.
This is a shot I’ve been trying to get for at least 6 months here in Walsenburg. We have coal trains coming through here 20+ times a day, and we have to drive over the tracks constantly here in town. This shows the Spanish Peaks behind the train as it enters downtown.
so nice I had to share them with you. There’s lots of hollyhocks here! They remind me of growing up in a small town in Kansas. Walsenburg is basically very small town and traffic-free except for Main Street and Highway 160 headed west. Most people never get off the main drag and see what a friendly town this can be.
Then we took a drive over to La Veta to visit our friends at Two Fox Cabins. Pat and Doug beautifully maintain this best place in the area to stay! They have a way with wildflowers, and they are constantly improving their place for visitors, so much so that they’re full for most of the rest of the summer.
I just had to share the view from our new front door! We now have the first layer of stucco on and on Monday they will finish it with an adobe-colored finish. Can’t wait!
It was looking so glorious up there that I had to take another photo of the Sangre de Cristo mountains in the distance.
Inside, my custom bathroom is looking wonderful! I chose white marble tile with mint green walls, with green and purple glass highlights in the shower and on the backsplash. What do you think? This is the first time in my life I got to choose everything myself… What FUN!
Mike and I have experienced the lowest lows and the highest highs together, especially in the past few years as we changed lifestyles. We moved from a “safe” suburban neighborhood in Fort Collins, and built a rural foothills solar home in southern Colorado.
Big improvements! First we got the first layer of stucco applied and then all the lights and ceiling fans went in! Do you know how stucco is made?
Well, I didn’t until I saw the men applying a special mix of concrete, sand, and who knows what else to the outside of our house.
Then they slap this mixture onto every surface of the house. This is only the first layer. After this dries and cures they’ll come back to add the second coat with the color in it. We have chosen a terra cotta color for the outside of our house. Can’t wait to see it! And speaking of color…
the wildflowers are at their best up there right now! I cannot get over how much of a difference six inches of rain can make!
We have millions of these yellow flowers plus native Lupines, and Indian Paintbrush!
And this mystery flower is a lovely purple, my favorite! Thanks to my botanist friend Jan we now know this is the Showy Four O’Clock, (Mirabilis multiflora). It only blooms in the late afternoon and then all night. I’ll try to get a better photo of the flowers in bloom soon.
In the meantime, here is a great photo of it! Isn’t it amazingly PURPLE?
Inside we have most of the tiling done…
Then it’s time to finish the kitchen and baths, and we FINALLY have a move-in date!
This summer the solstice begins on June 21st at 12:38 P.M. EDT, Father’s Day! The summer solstice heralds the beginning of summer in the Northern Hemisphere. I hope you can spend time outdoors this weekend, enjoying the longest day of the year!
This morning we took a drive up to the new home we’re having built in the foothills west of here. Our kitchen cabinets just went in this week! This color is called Hargrove Cinnamon, and the wood is birch. Lovely huh? I can’t wait to cook my first meal here!
The house is really taking shape now! The view from the kitchen sink island is seen above, an amazing perspective on the Spanish Peaks!
We followed County Road 520 south on our way back to Walsenburg (a long, winding dirt road) and saw yellow Plains Greenthread (or Navajo Tea) EVERYWHERE!
Mixed in occasionally with the Greenthread are some very healthy looking native Lupine specimens!
Here’s your very own Lupine bouquet. HAPPY SUMMER SOLSTICE!
So we’re back with our original builder, who is supposedly finishing our home. Two weeks later he hasn’t even begun to finish tiling our small home.
Because of all the extra rainfall we have received here (over 10 inches since the middle of April!), the wildflowers are going WILD up near our new home!
Especially these yellow flowers called Plains Greenthread (or Navajo Tea), but we also have Indian Paintbrush, Lupines and a couple Penstemons around.
Just had to share these amazing fields! Who knows when they’ll be like this again…
Adventures of the NEW??? Old Farts 
