• It’s official: Juneteenth is a national holiday (6/17/2021) - Today Pres. Joe Biden signed a bill making Juneteenth, June 19, an official federal holiday. The bill arose from the fact that although the Emancipation Proclamation was signed in 1863, […]
• The size of a hummingbird (6/17/2021) - Back in the spring of 2013 I was an avid online hummingbird watcher. A man in Southern California had a live streaming webcam focused on a hummingbird nest, and hundreds […]
• Doggo rescue: So Colorado! (6/15/2021) - I was browsing the internet this evening and somehow stumbled across this photo. What a picture. “Only in Colorado” was my first thought. Okay, so maybe not only in Colorado, […]
• Colorado in a nutshell (6/14/2021) - Dude Dad has, I think, successfully nailed every Colorado stereotype in the book. If he truly learned all this in only two weeks, he’s amazing. But maybe we Coloradans are […]
• Streaming webcam now in Nederland, Colo. (6/13/2021) - Nederland, Colo., is a small (no longer “quaint”) mountain town nestled in a valley along the Peak-to-Peak Highway. It straddles the junction of Highway 119 and Highway 72, 16 miles […]
• Kamala stumbles out of the gate (6/11/2021) - Vice President Kamala Harris was decidedly underwhelming this week as she undertook her assigned task of dealing with U.S. immigration problems. She traveled to Guatemala, home country of the majority […]
• Just change the moon’s orbit (6/9/2021) - Sleep well, America. Trump’s gone and Texas GOP Representative Louis Gohmert is hard at work in Washington. No more crazy ideas like injecting bleach to cure Covid. Now we have […]
• You must meet Nightbirde (6/9/2021) - Last night on America’s Got Talent, a beautiful young woman named Jane Marczewski, aka Nightbirde, sang an original song titled “It’s Okay.” Afterwards she commented, “You can’t wait until life […]
• Eisenplower & Co. to clear Colorado roads next winter (6/3/2021) - It’s not exactly snowplow season in Colorado, but as is so often the case, it is the perfect time to purchase winter equipment. And the state has just purchased 20 […]
• Webcams for people-watchers (6/2/2021) - Not long ago a reader asked if any of the webcams I follow are live streaming, where a viewer can actually see people moving around, etc., and yes, the streaming […]
• Memorial Day 2021 (5/31/2021) -
• Neither snow nor rain … (5/31/2021) - Neither snow nor rain nor cold nor gloom of night stays these tourists from the impatient completion of their appointed rounds. And so the Rocky Mountain blues continue. This holiday […]
• Rocky Mountain blues (5/28/2021) - Reservations? To enter Rocky Mountain National Park? Yep. It started last year because of Covid and all the people looking for outdoor activities. But the powers that be have put […]
• An inaccurate quote is not a quote at all (5/26/2021) - This morning I was surfing the internet, looking for images I might use for a Memorial Day post. At the same time, I was watching for appropriate quotations. And I […]
• President Ulysses S. Grant was prescient (5/25/2021) - No doubt there are numerous great quotations from throughout history that I’ve not seen before, but I continue to be surprised by the prescience of Americans almost 150 years ago. […]
• Greenwood: I didn’t know what I didn’t know (5/23/2021) - Many of you probably watched “60 Minutes” this evening and saw the segment about the Greenwood riot and massacre in Tulsa in 1921. And you probably heard about it last […]
• The great mask muddle (5/20/2021) - The CDC has said that those of us fully vaccinated can, in most situations, stop wearing masks. And so the mask burnings have begun. People everywhere are gleefully abandoning their […]
• Mea culpa, readers (5/19/2021) - I’ve been playing with this blog behind the scenes (or I hope it was behind the scenes) and somehow deleted the comments on my previous post about the bear cub. […]
• Happy ending for injured bear cub (5/17/2021) - The video tells the whole story. A black bear cub was orphaned and injured in Colorado’s Cameron Peak fire last year. He was found by wildlife officials, who treated his […]
• Israel destroys AP headquarters in Gaza (5/16/2021) - There’s a lot to be said about the current Israeli shelling of Gaza, and I’ve said most of it before. To avoid repeating everything, I’ll just refer you to previous […]
• Cat survives jump from 5th floor (5/15/2021) - The Chicago Fire Department captured this video of a black cat jumping from a fifth-story window to escape a fire two days ago. The cat narrowly missed a wall on […]
• Once a mother, always a mother (5/10/2021) - This video was posted May 8, the day before Mother’s Day. At least one of these mothers will never forget the experience. (Recorded by Michael Austin at Franklin Park Zoo […]
• Happy Mother’s Day (5/9/2021) - Elsewhere, the same source said the above quote is from The Golden Girls. The website includes lots of good Mother’s Day quotes. The following might be my favorite: “I want […]
• Two more screenshots from last night (5/9/2021) -
• Just another Colorado sunset (5/8/2021) - We had heavy clouds off and on all day, but at sunset I caught this view on the Nederland, Colo., webcam. As I’ve noted in the past, I would love […]
• Oversight Board upholds Facebook ban on former president (5/5/2021) - The Facebook Oversight Board today upheld Facebook’s “indefinite” ban of former US president T****. But they also ruled that an indefinite ban was too vague and that within six months, […]
• Let’s get controversial: cultural appropriation (5/4/2021) - Yep, that’s Justin Bieber in the photo, but I’m not writing specifically about him. Frankly I don’t even like him. The topic here is his hair, his dreadlocks, dreds, or […]
• After the storm (5/3/2021) - I’ve realized in the last few days that if I don’t start posting again, I’ll probably lose all my readers. All three of them. Please forgive me, but I’ve been […]
• Make every day Earth Day (4/22/2021) -
• Will justice for one become justice for all? (4/21/2021) - Guilty. Guilty. Guilty. Yesterday in Minneapolis a jury found ex-police officer Derek Chauvin guilty on all counts. Guilty of murdering George Floyd. I admit I did not watch the trial. Nor […]
• justice begins. (4/21/2021) - Originally posted on I didn't have my glasses on....:
  “if one really wishes to know how justice is administered in a country, one does not question the policemen, the…
• ‘Rescue’ dog lives up to the name (4/20/2021) - When 15-year-old Chucky fell into the family pool in Boksburg, South Africa, his buddy Jessie worked tirelessly for 34 minutes to rescue him. Chucky is a Pomeranian and Jessie, a […]
• Clouds from both sides (4/14/2021) - The mountains are so much more than glorious peaks and serene valleys. And the clouds that play among them are so much more than colorful sunsets. Above, at the Beaver […]
• Keeping an eye on eaglets (4/8/2021) - Update, April 12: Observers have reported that there is actually only one eaglet in the nest and that it is increasingly unlikely the second egg will hatch. I’ve been lax […]
• A mother’s work is never done (4/6/2021) - This video has been widely circulated and you may already have seen it. Still, it’s cute as the dickens, isn’t it? (Yeah, we said that back when I was growing […]
• Solace in stone (3/29/2021) - Rock balancing artist Michael Grab (aka “Gravity Glue”) lives in Boulder, Colo. He built these ten balanced rock towers last week as a memorial to the ten victims of the […]
• A meaningful gesture by the Boulder PD (3/25/2021) -   When Boulder police officers arrived at a local hospital to officially take the King Soopers shooting suspect into custody, they used fallen Officer Eric Talley’s handcuffs. And they made […]
• The calls are coming from inside the house (3/25/2021) -  
• Rest in Peace (3/23/2021) - Remembering the ten victims of yesterday’s shooting at King Soopers in Boulder, Colorado: Denny Strong, 20 Neven Stanisic, 23 Rikki Olds, 25 Tralona Bartkowiak, 49 Teri Leiker, 51 Officer Eric […]
• Rest in Peace, Boulder victims (3/23/2021) - Remembering the ten victims of yesterday’s shooting at King Soopers in Boulder, Colorado: Denny Strong, 20 Neven Stanisic, 23 Rikki Olds, 25 Tralona Bartkowiak, 49 Teri Leiker, 51 Officer Eric […]
• There’s a live webcam at Red Rocks (3/20/2021) - Thanks to a mention by new reader dunelight, I have another live webcam to add to my collection — famed Red Rocks Amphitheater in the foothills near Denver. People come […]
• Time is a thief (3/18/2021) - For the last year I’ve been telling myself that I’m lucky compared to so many other people. There’s been no cruel Covid death in the family. No overwhelming loneliness because […]
• Today everyone is Irish (3/17/2021) -   An Irish Blessing   May the road rise to meet you, May the wind be always at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face, The rains […]
• Denver braces for Xylia (3/12/2021) - For 10 days or so, the biggest story in Denver has been the incoming winter storm, now named Xylia. It’s been pretty crazy. I’ve been up to the pharmacy twice […]
• Getting kids to read (3/11/2021) - In my experience (speaking as a former kid), one of the best ways to get kids to read is to tell them the book has been banned. Or, now that […]
• A timely illustration (3/10/2021) - This cartoon hits too close to home to be funny. You see, my granddaughter’s birthday was February 23. That same week she was accepted to the Denver School of the […]
• Celebrate good times, come on! (3/9/2021) -   One week from today, according to the CDC, I can start seeing my son and grandkids again. Whee!!
• I’ll not cancel Seuss, I refuse to, I won’t! (3/2/2021) - I’m wrestling. Wrestling with the newly hatched culture canceling of Dr. Seuss. At least I think that’s what’s happening because I’ve never been sure just what “cancel culture” is all […]
• Snow, glorious snow (2/26/2021) - I can call it glorious because I don’t have to go to work in it, or drive home in it. I don’t have to get kids to school in it. […]
• Whew, that was close (2/21/2021) - By now you’ve probably heard about the United Airlines plane that suffered an engine failure over Broomfield, Colo., yesterday afternoon and dropped debris on the city. Not long after that […]
• Perseverance lands safely on Mars (2/18/2021) - Our newest Mars rover Perseverance has landed safely on the surface of the planet and almost immediately sent back this photo. Way to go, Percy! There were a few tears […]
• Alarming NYT photo from Texas (2/18/2021) - The New York Times “Evening Briefing” last night featured this photo with a story about the ongoing winter weather disaster in Texas. I hope desperately that it was staged, because […]
• A webcam graveyard (2/16/2021) - To simplify the page with my favorite webcams, I’ve moved the offline cameras to this page. Maybe they’ll come back someday. ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK, WILD BASIN — This lovely […]
• And I thought 2020 was over (2/16/2021) - Over the years I’ve seen my share of snow, ice, freezing temperatures, burst pipes, tornadoes, and power outages. But I’ve never seen a transformer failure with power surges like those […]
• Oh joy, it’s that day again (2/14/2021) -   (But if you insist, I like lavender roses and mini Snickers candy bars. Better yet, Haagen Dazs Bourbon Praline Pecan ice cream.)
• The expected outcome (2/13/2021) - It feels like Trump was just re-elected.
• The choice: Convict or condone (2/12/2021) - To Republican Senators in Washington: The whole world knows Donald Trump was guilty of insurrection when he organized his mob of followers, whipped them into a frenzy, and set them […]
• Jan. 6 — A knife in the nation’s heart (2/9/2021) - This must not stand. The man responsible must be held accountable.
• Proof of vaccination (2/8/2021) - Got my second Covid vaccination Saturday and practically skipped out of the hospital. But all I had to show for it was a Band-Aid and a little wallet-sized piece of […]
• Let’s take a break (2/5/2021) - No politics here. No pandemic. No unpaid bills, missed deliveries, doctor appointments, tax returns, or whatever. Just the exquisite photography of Estes Park’s own Erik Stensland reminding us that there […]
• Know your sources (2/3/2021) - What do you know about your favorite news sources? Do you turn only to those reflecting your views? Do you look for opposing views? How biased or neutral is your […]
• I know a wingnut when I see one (2/2/2021) - In case you missed it, Marjorie Taylor Greene is the newly elected Republican congresswoman from Georgia. She follows QAnon and, among other things, believes the forest fires in California were […]
• American catharsis (1/21/2021) - It’s gone. The malevolent incompetence that plagued our nation for four years is finally gone. Or at least its chief instigator is gone. And yesterday we celebrated. Oh, how we […]
• The Hill We Climb (1/20/2021) - At noon today Joseph R. Biden Jr. became the 46th President of the United States. But 22-year-old Amanda Gorman, the nation’s first National Youth Poet Laureate and the youngest ever […]
• Scarlet letters not enough (1/18/2021) - Two scarlet letters for Donald Trump are meaningless. So what if the history books can note that he’s the only president in history to be impeached twice? Impeachment is little […]
• Your Covid vaccination — to be or not to be (1/14/2021) - Everything about the Covid-19 vaccine distribution has been in a state of chaos since it began. Uneven, uncertain distribution to a wide assortment of destinations. Some getting more than they […]
• you are here. (1/12/2021) - Originally posted on I didn't have my glasses on....:
  ? ? — “here we are, trapped in the amber of the moment. there is no why.” -kurt vonnegut ?…
• Haunted by a song (1/11/2021) - This song, “For What It’s Worth” by Buffalo Springfield, was released in 1967.
• This isn’t Viet Nam (1/11/2021) - For those too young to remember, during the Viet Nam war an American major was quoted as saying, “It became necessary to destroy the town to save it.” That morphed […]
• Food for thought (1/10/2021) -
• Belated but hearty congratulations to new Georgia senators (1/10/2021) - Almost lost in coverage of the invasion of the US Capitol on January 6 was the news that Georgia had just elected two new Democratic US senators, Jon Ossoff and […]
• Rioters, vandals, insurrectionists, anarchists … and stupid (1/8/2021) - Call them what you will, those people who invaded the US Capitol on January 6, but be sure to include “stupid.” Most of them didn’t wear masks because they somehow […]
• Off with his head (1/7/2021) - Who among us will ever forget what we witnessed yesterday? Thousands of rioters, incited by the President of the United States himself, storming the US Capitol, breaking into the building, […]
• Beneath contempt (1/6/2021) -    
• Vaccination vexation (1/5/2021) - As I understand it, each state orders and distributes its own supply of Covid-19 vaccine, and the US government may or may not be able to supply all that a […]
• 2020 retrospectives? No thanks (1/2/2021) - Goodbye and good riddance. Those are my feelings about the end of 2020. All those interesting year-end retrospectives I used to enjoy? Not this year. Who wants to dwell on […]
• Happy New Year! We made it! (1/1/2021) - Wishing you health, wealth, and happiness in the new year  
• New Year’s Eve and fingers crossed (12/31/2020) -
• I almost forgot Pantone’s Color of the Year (12/30/2020) - I’m about a month late, I think, in writing about Pantone’s Color(s) of the Year selection for 2021. Perhaps that’s because I’m not crazy about their combination of yellow and […]
• Merry Christmas from Colorado (12/25/2020) -
• Better than a fruitcake (12/21/2020) - After all these months, we’re getting a whopping $600 per person from Congress in stimulus (Covid relief) money. Sure, it will help for Christmas, but in the Denver metro that’s […]
• Holly is not mistletoe (12/19/2020) - I first published the article below back in 2012, but having just watched “The Masked Singer,” I feel compelled to reprint it. On the show Robin Thicke was given a […]
• All I want for Christmas … (12/18/2020) - Yes, I actually chuckled at the originality of this cartoon. But that doesn’t change the fact that I am mad as hell at Congress for putting politics above a months-ovedue […]
• It’s so much more than a mere tattoo (12/16/2020) - This Super Dad spent 30 hours getting a tattoo to match his son’s birthmark so his son would no longer be self-conscious. Now they have something to share for life. […]
• I am the storm (12/15/2020) - Fate whispers to the warrior, ‘You cannot withstand the storm.’ The warrior whispers back, ‘I am the storm.’ — Unknown Such bravado! Nevertheless, the screenshot is me — er, my character — in Assassin’s Creed […]
• Return of the Grammar Grinch (12/14/2020) - I try mightily to maintain my composure when the English language goes off the rails, but having spent my working years as an editor makes it difficult. Being “old and […]
• Let nothing stop the vaccine deliveries (12/10/2020) - In Colorado this week there have been several test runs of Covid vaccine delivery. Packages frozen like the Pfizer vaccine have been tracked and delivered from Denver to points in […]
• I appreciate you! Pass it on (12/10/2020) - I was reminded today by the young man who delivered my groceries that I am deeply appreciative of so many people who’ve helped get me through this year. This young […]
• A wee little Christmas complaint (12/8/2020) - Longtime readers (all three of you) might have noticed a lack of holiday complaints here this year. Usually they start back in October, with observations about the first appearance of […]
• You won’t believe your eyes (12/7/2020) - Focus only on the cross in the middle and the familiar, recognizable faces become grotesque: The explanation for this is on Bright Side, a website full of nothing but happy, […]
• About those preemptive pardons (12/4/2020) - Am I the only one wondering about those preemptive pardons Trump might issue? Doesn’t such a pardon suggest that the person pardoned has likely committed a crime of some kind? […]
• Humans removed the Utah monolith … and others (12/1/2020) - The mysterious monolith in the Utah desert disappeared Friday night, November 27. And as it turns out, there were witnesses to its removal. Photographer Ross Bernards and several friends were […]
• Meet Hancock the hypocrite (11/30/2020) - This is Denver Mayor Michael Hancock. By now you may recognize him because he’s been in the national news this week. Why? Because after nine months of cautioning us about […]
• About that Utah monolith (11/29/2020) - It’s gone. The mysterious, gleaming monolith in the Utah desert is gone. In its place, a sad little cairn. Now we are left to speculate about who removed it Friday […]
• Second best story of the week (11/27/2020) - The mysterious, unexplained Utah monolith was discovered by helicopter pilots who were out counting bighorn sheep in a rugged part of the state. Spectacular, isn’t it? Beautiful in its simplicity. […]
• Wishing everyone a safe and happy Thanksgiving (11/26/2020) - The years have flown by, but this 1943 (my birth year) Saturday Evening Post cover illustration by Norman Rockwell will always be my Thanksgiving. This is how it looked when […]
• A return to dignity (11/25/2020) - Yesterday President-elect Joe Biden introduced some of his cabinet nominees and appointees. I didn’t see the live event but I was particularly impressed by the staging. And I’m not even […]
• Never attack a man’s dog (11/23/2020) - This story was all over the news today, but in case you missed it, here it is again. As John Wick would tell you, never mess with a man’s dog. […]
• Not your average bull in a china shop (11/20/2020) - “Donald Trump is a bull who carries his own china shop with him.” — Douglas Brinkley, a presidential historian at Rice University
• Trump admits, briefly, that Biden won (11/15/2020) - Despite all the baseless claims that follow, it’s the first two words that count: “He won.” Now we know that he knows, even if he never formally concedes. But then, […]