Mountain Living

 

One of the best finds of my decluttering project is a journal that Neal kept when we lived in the mountains. In the summer of 1996 we moved to the mountains West of Boulder, CO. It was a rented house near Sugarloaf Mt.  Altitude 7600’. That adventure lasted about 4 years until the homeowner came back to live there.

For me it was a point of pride to say I lived in the mountains – Mary, the rugged pioneer homesteader. Yeah, right.

We enjoyed the weather differences and the wildlife. We had snow both earlier in the year and later in the year than we’d experienced elsewhere. Sometimes there was a lot of it. The most we recorded was 30 inches. We went out and played in it. We both worked in Boulder and there were a few times we couldn’t get home because of the snowy climb up. Temperatures were generally mild. Neal recorded only one winter day at 0 degrees and one summer day above 90.

There were a variety of squirrels including black ones with tufts on their ears. We had red foxes and grey foxes, lots of deer, of course, and the occasional bear. Once, a bear tore a bird feeder and part of the cap rail off the deck. Had a bear on the deck once. We even had a peacock land on the deck once.

The other side of the adventure is that our only utility was electricity.  The furnace was oil fueled, the kitchen range propane fueled, and water came from a well on the property. The only one that ever caused a problem was the well that needed repairs a couple of times.

Some of the hills around us had been denuded by wildfires. Makes you think.

We had mixed feelings when we moved back to Boulder. We loved living up there, but it was much more convenient living in the city with a full set of utilities and nearby supermarkets.

We were so glad to have had our mountain adventure.

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