The late blooming of roses lining the perimeter fence reminds us both that summertime is well and truly upon us. Spring may have seen an explosion of color but around our home here in Windsor, Colorado, there is always something throwing off a splash of color. We continue to be surprised at just how well those little plants, bushes and trees have done in the few years we have lived here, but then again, it has been a summer to remember. Good spring rainfall has seen light afternoons rain showers continue deep into summer.
Light afternoon rain showers? Well, there has been a
lot of atmospheric activity and would be more accurate to say that the evening
thunderstorms, typical at this time of year for the Rockies' front ranges, have
produced a little more rain than normal such that barely a day has passed
without a clap of thunder or two waking us from our early evening downtime. The
end result though has been a level of greenery unseen for many years.
For those readers who may not have of late been keeping
up with the posts to social media channels we completed what we consider our
last construction project for our home. It took our contractor more than a year
to assemble the necessary decorative stones for the wall we wanted to build
around the concrete pad we had poured when our house was under construction.
The drop-off to the lawn was just a tad too steep for Margo and me to be
comfortable and we were more than a little worried that one of our friends
might simply step off the pad not realizing the thirty plus inch drop. But
build it we did.
As for that stone it was a match for the stonework we
chose as a feature element of our home. It was always part of the plan as we
like to say, but with travel commitments and a constantly changing list of
priorities building this wall somehow fell to the bottom of the list. No
matter; we made it and the finished look to our home’s lower level that it
provided proved as decorative and functional as we had hoped. There is a degree
of privacy coupled with a level of intimacy that now encourages us to simply
take time out of an evening to just sit and relax.
The outdoor pad now with the wall in place represents
an extension of the retreat we dreamed of constructing (at some point) as the
house was being built. It’s a retreat in that under the main floor deck, this
outdoor pad would see the addition of a bar, a high-top table and a fire pit
where we could toast s’mores. The ideal place for an early evening cocktail as
it becomes a place to enjoy lengthy conversations. The addition of lamps and
candles only added to the overall ambiance of the setting. While not large by
any measure it’s big enough for a dozen or so guests to feel at ease without
any possibility of over-crowding.
Margo and I continue to work and we continue to drive. The connection between the two is something we don’t try to hide – we enjoy the time it takes for us to reach a trade conference or exhibition. Our consulting business continues to evolve even as our client list changes. These days we are focused on all things data; from the creation of data to the movement of data to where it is the target of analytics processes including input for basic artificial intelligence (AI) modelling. Writing about such a theme has us constantly returning to the books and even quizzing subject matter experts to ensure the stories we come up with make sense. Having an escape as each story is finalized is critical to our mental state and on that score, finishing the house the way we have done is proving to be a big help.
Come evening and with the afternoon light fading, there
is even more opportunity to enjoy the outdoors. With all the lights turned on
it has become our go-to evening oasis. Our previous home in Niwot, Colorado
definitely had places we could retreat to but they were much larger and open to
a much greater vista. So much so that ultimately, these areas took over and we
never truly enjoyed the level of friendliness, indeed intimacy, that our home
now provides.
What this space looks out onto is the seventeenth green
of the Highland Meadows golf course. And yes, at this time of year, groups of
golfers come up the fairway until well after eight. Margo and I often wonder
what they be thinking about us as we simply sit back and enjoy their struggles
but there have been some surprise observations. A neighbor on the other side of
the fairway stopped us on a morning walk only a short time ago to ask us if we
were building a swimming pool. Now there’s a thought! Unfortunately, Margo has
yet to join me on the same page when the addition of a swimming pool is raised.
I might add at this point that as the contractors
finished the project the task of setting up the furniture fell to Margo and me.
Fortunately, we have a pressure washer that we put to good use cleaning the
area. But as for the furniture, when did such simple items become that heavy?
And when do so many small bugs find these items a good place to call home.
Washing, scrubbing, drying, polishing – I need to find myself another hobby! I
can almost hear a gasp coming from Margo as she reads this post as around our
home that is the one H-word I am not allowed to utter any more.
In between moving furniture around there is always time
for friends and to that end friendships have developed with some of our
neighbors. When living in Niwot where the homes were all on acreages, the
opportunities to lean over the fence for a chat were few and far between. Not
so in Windsor where the distances have shrunk and where neighbors openly wave
to each other on our morning walks. Not surprisingly to read perhaps is that
when neighbors Don and Anne Marie wanted to know if we would join them for a
night of Bordeaux wine tasting, we were more than happy to share a table with
them.
Writing about the project just completed on our outdoor
area shouldn’t convey any sense that we have moved on from what has been
happening within our home. True, finishing the lower level had jumped up the
priority list and yet, an item here or a piece of architectural clutter and our
main living space has come together rather nicely. We replaced the sofa with
one that had a lower back and we added occasional tables. And there you have
it; the optics changed to where it now looks like a far bigger area.
In case I haven’t pointed it out in previous posts,
Margo loves flowers. There is always a mix of fresh flowers together with
artificial as well as the dried arrangement or two. I have only been an
occasional admirer of flowers but with how Margo has finished the settings, I
have to say that I would be very disappointed to find that they had all somehow
been removed. While the H-word might be banned from my vocabulary, for Margo
it’s more a way of life with flowers having made a serious contribution to just
how the two of us became a couple.
With the coming of summer and the litany of greenery
that has sprung up everywhere you turn, even as we have been working hard these
past couple of months there is time for a quick trip up into the mountains as a
luncheon break. Our mental health not only benefits from stepping out into a
newly finished backyard but from carving canyons in our Jaguar F Type. It is
the perfect car for a laid back drive up familiar roads as it demands little from
the driver. Just point and around the corners it goes. Not every drive is to an
event as our proximity to mountain scenery continues to draw us away from our
home.
Estes Park may be a major tourist attraction but for us
it’s less than an hour’s drive to the heart of this mountain township. We
choose to make the trip midweek as during the weekend the town is overrun with
tourists and the roads become clogged. For nearly thirty years we have been
taking this trip and it never gets old. It has become our habit to stop by
Claire’s for brunch and I have lost count of just how many times we have sat at
one of their outside tables. The habits we have developed on the other hand are
one H-word we are both OK with as we anticipate many more trips to the
mountains yet to be taken. And then, there is the most beautiful season of all
still to come; the fall.
But until then, I will sit back on the deck at
Claire’s; soak up the atmosphere and enjoy my sandwich. Till next time; cheers!
Comments