COLORADO Decked in virginal veils and jaunty bowties, 178 canine couples walked down the aisle recently in Littleton, Colo., though we’re still wondering how a ring fits over a toe that sports a claw. The mock nuptials weren’t just a dotty indulgence for dog lovers, reports the Denver Post. “Bow Wow Vows” raised over $3,000 […]
Heard Around the West
Posted inJune 11, 2007: Brave New Hay
Epiphanies on the range
They are polite, eager, inquisitive. I can’t decide if they make me feel 20 years younger or exhausted. Every teacher should be so lucky. I’m driving around the West with 21 students from Whitman College in Walla Walla, Wash., where I teach, and we’ve talked to ranchers and environmentalists, looked at forests that have been […]
Posted inJune 11, 2007: Brave New Hay
Tribal victory
Yakama Nation buys Lyle Point, ending decades-long struggle over fishing rights
Posted inJune 11, 2007: Brave New Hay
UnGuarded
National Guard suffers at home as equipment goes overseas
Posted inJune 11, 2007: Brave New Hay
Dear friends
WELCOME, NEW HCN EMPLOYEES Shaun Gibson, HCN’s new designer and production assistant, designs pages and promotional materials, finds photos and artwork, and helps post each issue on the Web. Shaun has spent most of his life in small towns in Colorado. His great-grandfather was a miner in Crested Butte, and his grandfather was one of […]
Posted inWotr
Rhubarb: It tastes like spring
One cup flour. Spring tulips splashed across yards as I morphed into an alley-cruising backyard spy, desperate to find a rhubarb patch. I’d all but given up when I spied a plot of the familiar elephant ear leaves. Three-quarter cup uncooked oatmeal (not instant.) Ding-dong. A skinny boomer in shorts answered the door, as I […]
Posted inWotr
Paint it red and call it fine Western dining
Here in the Western lands, there is said to be a cuisine called Tex-Mex, though some claim that Rocky Mountain oysters is the true Western soul food. Personally, I don’t think a bull’s scrotum is going to appear on the great tables of the world. I have searched for our authentic style and think I […]
Posted inWotr
The clock is ticking
Last month, we both received the Environmental Protection Agency’s Climate Protection Award. The EPA awards are meant to encourage individuals and institutions leading in the fight against global warming, which has emerged as the greatest threat to planetary security that we face. Selected by an international panel of judges, our fellow awardees included the Rev. […]
Posted inArticles
A gold mine in the Colorado wilderness?
A grandfathered mining claim passed down through generations has trumped the Wilderness Act. For the mine owners it’s a victory; for others the potential mine raises concerns over wilderness protection and mining regulations. For nearly 60 years, Robert and Marjorie Miller of Montrose, Colo., have tried to re-open the Robin Redbreast Gold Mine in southwestern […]
Posted inArticles
In the Arizona desert, feathers are flying
Earlier this month, while bald eagle chicks were testing their wings in the Arizona desert, the fight to protect them took an ugly turn. Environmentalists accused government bureaucrats of suppressing science to avoid protecting the Arizona bald eagle as a separate population under the Endangered Species Act, but officials say they were following the law. […]
Posted inWotr
Global climate change? Let’s go shopping
Out of nowhere, it almost seems, everyone is talking about global warming. Presidential candidates, corporate moguls, media pundits — the news is saturated with the latest climate-change buzzwords. My current favorite is “carbon footprint,” which made me wonder what I’d stepped in….what we’ve all stepped in. It’s a lot messier and more insidious than you […]
Posted inWotr
Epiphanies on the range
They are polite, eager, inquisitive. I can’t decide if they make me feel 20 years younger or exhausted. Every teacher should be so lucky. I’m driving around the West with 21 students from Whitman College in Washington, where I teach, and we’ve talked to ranchers and environmentalists, looked at forests that have been logged and […]
Posted inWotr
Bring on the immigrants
Vanishing towns of the Great Plains and Midwest ought to open a welcoming door for immigrants.
Posted inMay 28, 2007: Problems In Paradise
Heard Around the West
MONTANA Blame YouTube, the Internet source for stupid and hilarious videos, for delaying Montana’s Legislature and governor from finishing a state budget. Negotiations stalled for two days while more than 17,000 people went to YouTube to view a red-faced rant by Republican House Majority Leader Michael Lange. Leaving an unproductive budget meeting with Democratic Gov. […]
Posted inMay 28, 2007: Problems In Paradise
Longing for a buried past
If you have heard of the Yaak Valley in northwest Montana, and if you know of the threats to its particular wildness, it’s probably because you’ve read a plea for its protection by Rick Bass. Bass’ fierce love for the Yaak has not always been good for his fiction. “It bleeds just like blood throughout […]
Posted inMay 28, 2007: Problems In Paradise
A poet’s novel of the San Luis Valley
Entering Colorado poet Aaron Abeyta’s first novel, Rise, Do Not Be Afraid, is like visiting a world that no longer exists — if it ever did. Santa Rita, the mythical Western town that forms the subject of this short, dense novel, is a place reminiscent of Eden, both before and after the Fall. One is […]
Posted inMay 28, 2007: Problems In Paradise
Working for a serial killer?
Regarding your story “Disposable workers of the oil and gas fields,” I work in the oilfields now; I’m a derrick hand (HCN, 4/2/07). While I respect anyone with 50 years in the fields, I also say “crap” to the perceived value of “safety meetings.” I have to write at least one job description report and […]
Posted inMay 28, 2007: Problems In Paradise
You want pommes frites with that?
I am sick to death of the pro-horse-slaughter people decrying the demise of the foreign-owned horse-slaughterhouses that provide horsemeat for human consumption in Europe and other locales (HCN, 4/30/07). The best argument that these people can rally is to point out the prohibitive cost of euthanizing an animal that is no longer useful, or keeping […]
Posted inMay 28, 2007: Problems In Paradise
Filet of filly–for lions and leopards
I have to agree with Sharon O’Toole for the most part about euthanizing our equines (HCN, 4/30/07). A few years ago, when my old saddle/packhorse needed to be put down, I dreaded not only the process of euthanizing, but also “offering” him to rendering works. Then I found out about donating him to a local […]
Posted inMay 28, 2007: Problems In Paradise
The cost of driving ’til you qualify
Although it’s great that you are talking about the housing issue, one sweeping statement — “Don’t blame water or oil for the cul de sac’s decline. Blame creative financing.” — is skirting the fact that, yes, transportation costs (and hence oil) play a key role in many people losing their homes (HCN, 4/30/07). According to […]