Migration

When folks in other places think of Colorado, what images of the state do they conjure up? 

The Denver Broncos with John Elway, Tim Tewbow, and Payton Manning? Probably only sports fans. 

Do they think about the fine universities in Colorado: 

• University of Denver, a private school known for its School of Law; 
• Or the University of Colorado in Boulder, known for a time as one of the top party schools in the nation, but better known for its School of Medicine?
•  Perhaps they think of Colorado State, with its prestigious School of Veterinary Medicine, especially equine medicine and now doing important cancer research on golden retrievers. 
• Then there is my alma martar and current employer the University of Northern Colorado recognized as a university that trains the best educators. 

But probably foremost on the list of Colorado's recognizable attractions is no doubt its ski industry. Everyone has heard of Aspen, Vail, Breckenridge, Copper Mountain.

But there is another destination in Colorado: Bittersweet Lake. I blogged last year about taking Ellie to see the lone swan on the lake. Much to my surprise when I drove past the lake a few weeks ago there was a pair of swans. As I explained last spring, swans here are rare, but every now and then they migrate south to Greeley with the Canada geese, the destination spot for hundreds of thousands of migrating geese. I decided Friday to take my camera with me to photograph the swans after work. The wind blew bitterly cold across the lake from the north. I wasn't quite prepared for the cold as I walked across the park into the wind to the lake shore. Much to my disappointment, the swans weren't there, nor were the hundreds of geese that generally blacken the lake there are so many of them. Much of the pond is iced over, with only a small bit of water for the fowl. While we haven't had much snow, it has been really cold.

Mallards bounce in the windy waves.

I am amazed at how the fowl can take their afternoon naps on the ice.

Gulls linger with geese and ducks, floating on air as they glide in the wind.

I haven't given up getting the swans' pictures. I will keep my camera in the car and take the long way home past the lake just in case the swans return.

There is another migration taking place here in Northern Colorado.

 I am trying to transfer files from my tired, worn out little MacBook that has been so dependable for years to my new iMac. I broke my ankle right after the first of the year in 2007. Slipped on ice. It was a serious break that kept me non-weight baring for 15 weeks. Since I couldn't get to my desk top computer in the basement, I had my daughter buy a lap top and install a wireless Airport. I became so accustomed to the laptop that it has been my constant companion and hubby has taken over the desk top.

Wanting more power and a bigger screen to work on photo editing, I have replaced the tired little black lap top (before it completely crashes) with a new iMac. Isn't she beautiful? But what a struggle it is to get files transferred. Twice the supposedly easy migration from from one hard drive to the other failed, so I am using an external drive to move files. I got my Quicken files moved yesterday with my brother's long distance help. And I have my photo library moved. Now I am working on syncing the iPod with the iMac. I used Face Time to get tech support from my brother in Texas (thanks, Brother) and from my daughters who are far more advanced than I (Jen does tech support for real--she works for HP).

Technology is passing me by. I am now in the cloud, too, but I don't really know what that means. And because I like to putter on the lap top when I watch TV,  I also bought an iPad to replace the Mac Book. Too much technology, really. I don't how much life the Mac Book has left. It stumbles now and then sending me into panic, so I fret that it will just die in the middle of an amazing Pinterest excursion. I took advantage of my educational discount to upgrade my computer system and went all out to upgrade my technology.

This bad girl is loaded with Photoshop Elements II along with Picasa, so I have a lot to learn.  

I have always been a computer geek-- a Mac geek. But as the technology gets more sophisticated, I do struggle to figure it out. Soon, though, I hope to dazzle my blog with amazingly edited photos--well, after I get my grading done.

We've had another mild week end with no snow,  just cold, dry wind. The lawn is so dry, and while it has been cold, the ground isn't frozen. Hubby is in the mountains ice fishing. I posted on my Facebook that I am on chore duty feeding the horse, feeding the chickens, feeding the cats, and feeding the dog, but I don't have to feed him for a couple of days. He is having a good time sitting on a bucket on the ice dangling a string attached to a pole in a small hole in the ice hoping to snag a trout or two.

As for me, today I have laundry to do, papers to grade, and tax documents to assemble. I don't much like February. The only flowers blooming greet me as I walk into the super market and I'd love to take them all home.

I am rather enjoying reading your blogs to see how you deal with the same winter cabin fever that we all seem to have this time of year. Your beautiful flower photos, recipes of breads, pies, and soups, your trips, walks, and tours (especially in England), and your wonderful narratives all inspire me, keep me cheerful, and put a smile in my heart.

Hope everyone has a great week.