Carrie N Miller Gold Country Realty, Cripple Creek, CO

Cripple Creek, Colorado, home of the Worlds Greatest Gold Camp and the Two Mile High Club of Cripple Creek is hosting it's 78th annual Donkey Derby Days June 27th and 28th. Here is a link to an article about the "Derby" race that occurs daily during the event. This is a down home hoe down real time country event, with Hairy Legs contests to Best Beards, Mountain Mamas, Parades, Pipe Bands and Jugs and Tobbacy Spittin along with Donkey Races. Check it out:

http://www.coloradospringsstyle-digital.com/coloradospringsstyle/20090506/?pg=44&pm=2

One of my favorite places to visit, the Cripple Creek District Museum! This wonderful Historic Museum holds a wealth of artifacts for the District History Buff! Mining memorabilia, photos and furniture and maps of the spectacular days of the Cripple Creek and Victor mining era! Here is a list of their May Events!

May Events at the Cripple Creek District Museum

Saturday, May 2 - Join authors Leland Feitz, Celinda Reynolds Kaelin, Kathi MacIver, Jan MacKell and Richard Marold for Bookfest 2009 at the Museum Gift Shop. Feitz, a former curator of the Museum, will be signing his wonderful "Quick History" and other local history books. Many of our guest authors have new books out, including Kaelin's American Indians of the Pikes Peak Region (Arcadia Publishing), MacIver's Historic Places: Cripple Creek, Colorado (Columbine Press), Red Light Women of the Rocky Mountains by MacKell (University of New Mexico Press) and Winfield Scott Stratton: The Reluctant Millionaire by Marold, who does portrayals and programs on the District's first millionaire. The festivities will run form noon to 3 p.m. in the Museum Gift Shop and light refreshments will be served.

Sunday, May 10 - Happy Mother's Day! All moms will receive complimentary admission to the Museum from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Friday, May 15 - The Museum will kick off for the summer with a day of free admission to celebrate Historic Preservation Month. Admission is free all day, and guests will receive complimentary lapel stickers. Summer hours at the Museum will be seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Friday, May 22 - An Evening at the Museum, 5 to 9 p.m. Come enjoy the beauty of the Museum when it is lit up at night! Guests are invited for a full tour of the Museum during the evening hours, including our 1890's Assay Office and the Museum Gift Shop. Light hors d'oeuvres will be served. Admission is $5 for adults, $4 for Colorado residents, and $3 for military (active or not), seniors and children under 12.

For more information on these and upcoming events, contact the Museum at 719-689-2634 or CCDMuseum@ccvnet.net.

*republished with permission from the Director of the District Museum

For more information on Cripple Creek and Local Events:

www.goldcountryco.com

http://www.visitcripplecreek.com/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=cpc-cripplecreekname

Weather Cam for Cripple Creek-updated by the minute!

http://www.cripplecreekgov.com/page.asp?id=124

This year, in the light of the tragic deaths of the Lofgren Family and a DU Student by Carbon Monoxide poisoning ( http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_11984173) Governer Ritter has signed into law HB 09-091, otherwise known as the "Lofgren and Johnson Families Carbon Monoxide Safety Act".

Briefly, the bill requires all single and multi family homes that are offered for sale or transfer after July 1, 2009 to have a working Carbon Monoxide Detector within 15 feet of any room used for sleeping. The Bill goes on to further define the Law. Full text of the bill can be read here: http://www.leg.state.co.us/clics/clics2009a/csl.nsf/fsbillcont3/8CA7AA87F3BED22D8725753700718548?open&file=1091_enr.pdf

So, looks like our contracts will change to reflect this requirement. There is language in the Bill that provides for this in our Colorado Real Estate Contracts. I can imagine all those Property Managers with full inventories are going to be busy!

What are you doing out there to inform the public of this bill? I have several residential listings, and all of those Sellers need to be notified of these requirements. I work in an area of Turn of the Century homes, where many properties have dated furnaces, fireplaces, additions and add ons; these all need to be retrofitted with the CO Detectors; http://goldcountryco.com/residential.htm

I will be letting those folks know that they need to comply. Oh, I expect some will pitch a fit about the Government intrusion into their private business. I will sympathsize and nod my head. Its disturbing that the Government feels they have to legislate common sense. But in matters of public safety, I don't fool around.

The good news is, Colorado Association of Realtors has a partner program where REALTORS can purchase 6 packs of various detectors at a discount. This is pretty cool, so go here to view the packages available if you are interested: http://coloradorealtors.com/applications/Member%20Benefits/CAR_COflyer.pdf

The short version of the Bill may be reviewed at the CARonline site here: http://coloradorealtors.com/car_news_viewarticle.asp?ArticleID=2141

So, stay safe out there. Its a tricky world we live in!

Yesterday was a typical Easter for us in the High Country. I woke early to let the dogs out, start the coffee and brush the demanding cat. She won't shut up til I give in give her a good brushing. It was, as usual, still dark outside. I stoked the fire, glad to see the 20 yr old daughter that refuses to work had loaded wood into the fire before retiring, which is usually sometime right before I get up. Then I sat down on the computer to pull up my e-mail and check my daily horoscope. Typical daily routine for me.

As the darkness lifted over the earth, I noticed it was lighter than usual along the ground lines....yes, it was snowing! April 12th. Easter. Now, this isn't an unusual occurance for us living at 8500' along the Central Rockies. In fact, its normal. Many an Easter I have spent hiding eggs inside the house for the kids to hunt. We have even hidden the eggs more than once just to enhance the experience! It's always been kinda fun. On the rare occasion when we actually COULD hide eggs outside, we have to do it quickly, as the dogs were not far behind rooting out our treasure. An egg head count was necessary, although we could never come together on the actual amount of eggs we hid, empty cartons besides the point, some got used for salad before the event and some just plain got et by the adult egg hunters.

But now that the kids are grown, the hubby has expired and I am here with the one child that seems to have planted herself permanently in the World of Warcraft, my Easters are different. I spent some time updating my numerous online accounts and sites that I post stuff to like Facebook, Postlets etc and yearning for email. The daughter spent plenty of time World of Warcrafting. Then we got moving.

As the snow swirled and the wind blew, we got out the ladders. Not just your usual ladders. I pulled in the big 12 footer. Set it up under those darned upside down light fixtures that manage to catch the dead bugs. Pulled them down and washed them up and lo! Light!

It's amazing how much light a pile of dead bugs block!

Then we hit all the high spots...the mounts, the dusty antlers and the boar pig with the captains hat, the commemerative knife collection....all things nailed 'way up high that collect dust. Dusted! The tops of the bookshelf! Vacuumed and Dusted! I even rearranged some furniture! Open space! Or, as the dogs see it, more space for them to lay around. Pulled off many of those stupid knicky knacky things that collect during the course of a lifetime! Counterspace!

Of course, we were covered with dust and the schmutz that comes off the tops of things that haven't been dusted in years, but felt great! Its that feeling that knowing the cobwebs are gone, the dust has been cleared away in places visitors can't see. To think of it, I may even invite someone over to see the house cause those dust bunnies have been sucked away! It's been awhile since I had a party....

But first I have to clean out the room that I piled all that knickyknacky junk and spare furniture in.

Thats for another snow day. It's April, ther'll be another one soon......

Its a brisk morning here in the Central Rockies near Guffey, Colorado. Sun's shining, breeze is breezin, birds are birdin. Ducks on the pond, a sure sign that Spring is here and always a welcome sight! So, as I type these words and gaze out over the landscape beyond the ruination we call a garden towards the pasture, I am today also contemplating pulling a bale out for the horses.

Let me explain. I am running 5 head out here, on 105 acres. BLM standard grazing recomendations for this "neck of the woods" call for 1 Animal Management Unit for every 15 acres. This translates to 1 cow/calf pair for every 15 acres. Theoretically, 5 head of horses should do fine on this fine piece of heaven without supplemental feed. I have worked hard to drag, dig rocks, bury badger holes (large construction type digs in the middle of your pasture usually surrounded by smaller construction type digs), seed, weed and spread piles of manure to bring the best out in the pasture. To me this means fields of flowing high altitude grass. I still supplement their feed with hay through the winter, so theres not a skinny beastie wandering around the place. We have often contemplated changing the name from the "Buckhorn Ranch" to the "Fat Dog Ranch".

Now, its almost April. Well, heck, March 31st is as good as April, isn't it? Winter was really mild out here, and the lack of snow got us all feeling a bit edgy about the dryness in the pastures. Plus, lack of snow brings on the added benefit of fire dangers, yet another thing to worry about here 8 miles from the fire station. Anyway, March certainly rolled in like a Lamb and true to that old saw is rolling out like a Lion! Of course, we are pleased with the moisture this brings, that feeds the grass and brings the water tables up and so on. Its a good thing. But its right at the tail end of the winter type feeding cycle for me. So, I debate every time this year about pulling out one of my 1100lb bales of grass.

I am just going to do it. Theres several reasons. Even though I prefer the horses thinner when I start the spring riding, they tune up quicker, its that time of year when they are seriously huntin' green tender grass. They will eat anything that pops up out of the ground that is green and tender. Now, 100 acres with a couple of cross streams provides a lot of forage, although right now it's not optimal being kinda dried out and not very tasty.

You know what one of the first flowers of spring round here is? Tender and juicy. Sweet and addictive.......Loco Weed (http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/pr_histpubs/Pubs/SC115.PDF).

Talking with my late Cooperative Extension person several years ago, she said that horses become addicted to Loco Weed when alternative food choices are not around. Loco Weed proliferates in overgrazed pastures, although it will readily grow in areas that have been disturbed by tires, grading or excavating. Its a hardy little devil insidious in its beauty! Horses affected by the Loco are nervous, trembly, lack coordination and freaked out. The degree of all of this is, of course, relative to the amount of the weed ingested. I have heard also that horses will seek out loco when addicted, resorting to eating the bitter older plants instead of fresh green grass. Now, thats addiction! Can it be cured? Heck if I know. And I dang sure don't feel like gambling with my ride either!

So, just to give me one less reason to loose sleep at nite, I am pulling out a bale of hay. The grass is just barely tipping out green under last year's dried up remnants. I know soon I will notice the silvery leaves pushing up out of the earth. As much as I dig, tear and rant at this native nasty, I also know there ain't no way I am going to defeat its growth. So, I'm gonna put out a bale. Sleep well. Its not total insurance, but insurance nonetheless, and I will rest better knowing I have done what I can to prevent any addiction to the weed so I can have a good ride when the weather warms up!