God's Garden

Come join me in the cool Colorado mountains in God's Garden where the moose run free and the eagles soar, where big fish tales can come true, where the texting halts, Pinterest is far away, the iPad left behind. Where the wild flowers flourish, the wild life sets the rules, and we are just momentary visitors.

Our first morning Ellie yells from inside the camper, "Look Daddy, there's a caribou." Actually a mother moose has brought her young calf to the lake shore for an early morning drink.



Probably not. She is pretty big and not so friendly. She had to give Fritz the schnauzer pup put a strong warning not to get so close and to stop his barking.

We are lucky enough to camp on private land at lake's edge away from the crowds at the camp ground on the far shore.  Lots of drift wood piles up on this shore e as the wind blows east across the lake. Really cool wood that has been tossed about and so perfectly placed. How can I do this at home?

The days are mild, the nights cool. A breeze stirs through the pine trees, rustles the aspen leaves. Late in the afternoon the clouds roll in with thunder and lightening and a bit of rain. We wonder if it might be raining at home.

God's Colorado garden is not a healthy garden as the pine beetle ravishes the pine forest. A harsh reality hits as we realize just how bad the beetle kill in the Colorado Rockies is. There are far more dead trees than live ones. We respect the No Camp Fire declaration.

The Continental Divide still has some snow where from the top of the mountain peak as the snow melts the water will flow downhill either to the east or to the west. This water shed fills the mountain lake. 

I missed the really good shot of the eagle flying low over the lake in search of fish. I had put the camera away. I did get another chance to photograph the eagle, but this one circled much higher. Still what a thrill to see the bald eagle soar free on the 4th of July. 

This little guy took to his underground home just in time as the eagle appeared in the sky, cruising the lake and shore  looking for lunch. 

Every garden must have butterflies. This one looks a bit weather warn and tired.

Pretty little clumps of flowers in God's garden that would look really pretty in my little rock garden.

Here's an innovative way to grown raspberries as they forge their way through a stack of drift wood looking natural and healthy.

Some underwater gardening, too, at lake's edge.

Piles and piles of dead trees strewn about the lake's shore along with  what appears to be yellow scum which is actually pollen from the pine trees blown in the wind.

The only little plant that I can put a name too: woolly thyme with its delicate pink flowers.

The grand kids went treasure hunting finding pretty rocks, odd bits of drift wood, old glass bottles,  but the real find was Elinore's horse shoe.

The lake was built in the 1920s as water supply for Greeley back in the day when draft horses were used to build the dam. Anyone who knows horses would recognize that this shoe came off of the hoof a very big horse. Ellie said that because it was so big, it must have a lot of luck in it. 

                               The Head Gardener relaxes in his belly boat casting his fly reel. 

No big fish tales to tell this time. Now back to the Garden Spot where the work never ends, where there is always something to do, where technology resumes, the pace quickens. There's work to be done.

Hope you had a wonderful holiday and that your week is busy and your garden flourishes.