+ wild flower camping adventure

Last week Amy and I went on a camping adventure.  Just us girls and our trusty dog friend Molly. We camped near Caribou a little south of the Rainbow Lakes area and the wild flowers were in a glorious bloom! It was so rejuvenating and inspiring to be away from the city and fill our lungs with clean fresh air.  

 

 

 

  I brought along my plant book and we tried to identify the wildflowers, these are my educated guesses of what they are..

Heart leaved Alexanders

Silky Scorpionweed also known as 'sky pilot' which "celebrate the attractive plant's presence in high altitudes"

Columbines were growing in groups in this magical aspen grove
"the slender spurs of these flowers contain fragrant nectaries that can be reached only by hummingbirds and long-tongued insects such as hawk moths."

Pretty Shooting Star, "the fine, powdery pollen is released from the anthers by vibrations caused by bees.

this plant could be Marsh Skullcap.  Its leaves have been used by herbalists for centuries.

 Quotes are from the text Plants of the Rocky Mountains. Lone Pine Publishing.

+ Mountain Hare

+ monster truck hearse

hand made and destroyed by They Might Be Giants...

+ Tie Dye Master

Kirk of Emerald Spring in Portland Oregon sells these beautiful Tapestries on Etsy for all your wall decorating, picnicking, or gypsy camping needs.  these are just a few of many beautifully made large scale tapestries. 

About Kirk

I work hard to bring to you the best in hand dyed clothing and tapestries. I have been working with fabric and dye for over 15 years. My goal is to produce the highest quality tie dye artwork that you can find anywhere. I love to satisfy my customers. I will custom order any size or color that is within my realm of possibilities. Send me a conversation and let me know what you want and I will work some special magic:) I order all of my fabric, dye and clothing from Dharma Trading Company (www.dharmatrading.com) Feel free to browse dharma trading companies website and if you see a clothing item that you like, send me a conversation with the item # and I will respond with a quote on how much it would cost to tie dye and ship to you. My desire is to provide outstanding service and customer satisfaction:)

shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop/Emeraldsprings?ref=pr_shop_more

+

“And then there is the most dangerous risk of all... the risk of spending your life not doing what you want on the bet you can buy yourself the freedom to do it later.” ~ Randy Komisar

+ manic panic

+ Kramer and Frank playing billiards

the first minute of this clip has got to be one of my all time favorite moments on Seinfeld.

+ Salida and the Chalk Cliffs area

Romantic weekend getaway. hot springs, country roads, blue skies, mountain hotel, whiskey drinks, horses, silly fun with my favorite person. 

+ Kentuckiana pedestrian bridge

My Dad has been encouraging my love of bikes since I went on my first 50 mile country ride wearing only a diaper and a helmut on the back of his 1970's schwinn in 1986.  We love everything that biking stands for and encourages. This pedestrian bridge is a big deal for Kentucky and Indiana (their side isn't quite done yet) and I was so exited to see it and experience it with Phil. The Ohio is about a mile wide and we took the massive circular ramp onto the hundred year old, abandoned for decades bridge, there were tons of people exploring this new space and I am happy for Louisville to be progressing in this kind of way. 

+ Daniel Boone National Forest

Two hours east of Louisville is the georgous Daniel Boone National Forest.  Within the thick trees are many rock formations, including the Natural Bridge and the Red Rive George. Our first day exploring we hiked up and around the Natural Bridge wilderness.  It was breathtakingly beautiful.  The forest floor consisted of mainly giant leaved rhododendron, mountain Laurel in bloom and ferns. the canopy was made of 100 year old trees, long and skinny.  We came to learn that all the old growth was logged a century ago for the L&E railroad to Lexington but they stopped butting around 1907 and after the 1940s, the train stopped running through the area and L&E gave the land to the state for a park. 

Most of these pictures is from the hike to Natural Bridge.  We passed interesting trees, giant boulders covered in roots and moss, fungus, cave entrances, yellow finches, and amazing rock patterns and formations.

+ Unibunny

        This adorable one eared bunny is up for adoption on Denver craigslist right now. 

Ad states as follows:

VERY RARE ONE EARED BUNNY
THIS BUNNY IS VERY SPECIAL
VERY TINY...VERY CALM...
REHOMING FEE OF $100.00

                              

+

Oregon Contra Luz Opal with botryoidal Jasper inclusions, from Oregon

+

“She waited for the train to pass. Then she said, “I sometimes think that people’s hearts are like deep wells. Nobody knows what’s at the bottom. All you can do is imagine by what comes floating to the surface every once in a while.”

—	Haruki Murakami

+ New Deck

 Ok, so mostly my skateboarding days are over, but I am still capable of minimal short easy rides and this 20$ deck is going to take me across campus way quicker than walking.  I took my trucks off the heavy old deck I use to use ages ago and now i have a small, light, fun board for cruising around on.

+ Smoothies at home

#1.  cucumber, apples, ginger root, parsley, banana, pineapple juice, ice.

#2.  blueberries, banana, raspberries, acai, hemp seeds, cherry juice, ice

+ outside at home I.

more pictures to come soon. these are the first days of spring when all our wild weeds started popping up through the dirt.

+ Derby Pie in Denver

This is the best picture of the day, mostly because making pies and drinking whiskey early in the day results in fun in the sun and forgetting to take many pictures.  But I did think to take this shot of all the lovely ingredients and below I am including my version of the Kentucky Derby Pie, which has much less sugar than most, and it comes out pretty damn delicious.  This recipe makes 2 pies, because the fun part is being able to share with others and still have some for you! Make sure you have whipped cream on top!

• 3/4 cup flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 4 eggs, beaten
• 3/4 cup melted butter
• 5 tablespoons Kentucky bourbon
• 2 cups chopped walnuts
• 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• pinch of salt, pinch of cinnamon
• 2 ready-made piecrusts

Bake pies for 45-50 minutes, pull our once a little golden brown.  If you leave them in too long they get dried up and aren't as gooey (gooey is good).

*disclaimer: i in no way own derby pie recipe, this recipe is my original formula inspired by the real thing.