Category Archives: The Move

Colorado, The Move, Weather +Climate

Stuck

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Winter                                                                 Settling Moon

The opportunity for learning grows as the day goes on. The second load in the U-Haul encountered a ditch in front of our house. Stuck. Snow has begun to fall, gentle snow-globe snow. That means the county snowplows, very diligent have started up again. The sheriff has come.

Little is in the house as yet; the dogs have been crated since 11:30 or so. Richard, the driver, has a plane to catch for West Palm Beach tomorrow, holiday with his family. He intends to finish tonight and has called for extra workers.

Serenity to accept the things you cannot change. Repeat. And, repeat.

Not much we can do but watch this min-drama unfold. The movers do not work much longer, I can tell, and who could blame them? The thing I could do, I did. I suggested they come back tomorrow, but Richard has his plane.

As I said, lots of opportunity for growth. Wisdom to know the difference. Amen.

Faith and Spirituality, Great Wheel, Reimagine. Reconstruct. Reenchant., The Move, The West

Signs and Portents

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Winter                                                   Settling Moon

Signs and portents. While studying the Hebrew scriptures, I learned that a true prophet was one whose prophecies came true. A false prophet? Well…

Reading the signs that come into our lives. Difficult, but inevitable. Three instances. When I first came here on Samain, October 31st, for the closing, I found three large mule deer bucks in the backyard. They looked me, curious. I returned the curiosity. I moved closer and they stayed in place. On later reflection they seemed to be spirits of Shadow Mountain investigating a new resident.

Second. When Tom and I drove out here on December 20th, we encountered heavy fog in Nebraska. Then, the sky was clear and the stars out. The suddenness of the change took both Tom and me by surprise. A physical moment crossing from the humid east into the arid west, a welcome home to our new region.

Third. Shortly after crossing this barrier, a very bright and what appeared close shooting star, perhaps multiple shooting stars gathered together, flashed across the northwestern sky. Again, it took Tom and me by surprise. A confirmation of the second sign and welcome to the clan of those who have traveled this way before.

The wonderful thing about omens is this, they are multivalent, open to multiple interpretations. As our life here becomes more settled, their import might change.

Colorado, Feelings, The Move

Acceptance

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Winter                                               Settling Moon

Belongings had to be shuttled in by U-Haul truck. Van wouldn’t fit in the driveway. An extra, healthy charge.

New place, new persona. Anger, not helpful. I looked up the serenity prayer, took off the first word and went through this wise sentence many times. “Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change: the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference.”

So. Could I adjust the size of the van or the length and width of our driveway? No. Pay the cost, then. Greet the driver and the movers as allies in our move. Which they are.

The dogs, whose crates would be exposed to the wind through open garage doors, I could help. I cut up emptied boxes and taped them around their crates as a wind barrier. Unexpected result? Quiet, peaceful dogs. Something I could change.

Kate and I had a nice lunch while the movers are packing the remainder of the load into the U-Haul truck, got some rest and can still laugh. The Colorado me.

 

Colorado, Mountains, The Move

Home

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Winter                                                   New (Settling) Moon

The cargo van has been unloaded and returned, a day early, to the Denver airport. A bit of confusion there, as there was when we picked it up. Cargo vans do not normally leave the local Enterprise fleet. This one did. They knew it, too. $300 fee to cover re-registration and licensing, plus a taste for corporate.

Kate and I had supper at Tres Los Garcias in Aspen Park. Aspen Park is the largest of three retail centers along 285 located in Conifer. As you might expect in a state with a longstanding Latino community, the food is pretty good.

As we drove up Shadow Mountain Drive tonight, there was snow coming down. I hope it’s a small snow since the van comes tomorrow. After that, let it snow!

Still a measure of unreality here, the I feel like I’m on vacation feeling. Though not in the house. The dogs have all found spots on the living room’s radiantly heated tile. They’re going to have the run of this level, the one with the kitchen and Kate’s sewing room. (at until they prove our trust is not warranted.) We’ve found our own spot. Home.

Colorado, Dogs, The Move

Containment Challenges: The Colorado Chapter

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Winter                                                        New (Settling In) Moon

With Kate letting her body adjust to altitude a mile high it’s just the four dogs and me. I woke up this morning to Kep, the Akita, and Gertie, the German Shorthair, playing outside my closed door. Hmmm. I shut them in Kate’s sewing-area to-be along with the big girls, Vega and Rigel.

Dogs test their containment and if it has flaws, they will find them. In this case the latch is semi-circle of metal that snugs into like shape depression. It allows the door to close, but open again with slight pressure from the kitchen side or a pull from the sewing area. Apparently repeated pushing against the door can pop it loose, too. So, some modification will be called for. Too early for me to figure it out.

After I pick up Kate at 9 this morning, I’m going to finish the shoveling and unload the cargo van. At this altitude and with my current level of acclimation it might take all day.

Managing the dogs makes this place feel homelike very quickly. These familiar, mundane chores are part of where we live. Doing them here offers clear feedback about where home is now.

Mike the Fence guy comes over for his final inspection and payment at 11:00. More integrating.

 

Colorado, Mountains, The Move, The West

A Little Hard to Grasp

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Samain                                                        Moving Moon

Jon came and cleared out a path for the movers. Ruth worked at it, too, with a plastic avalanche shovel. Even Jon, living in Denver, got winded shoveling snow up here, another 3,600 feet higher. Throughout this whole process, people have been kind and sweet. Tom’s driving. Jon’s shoveling. The docents partying. Even Eric, the kennel master at Armstrong Kennels told us we were good dog people and he was sorry to see us go. That’s real praise.

The only move part left of the move is the van coming on Monday. After that we’ll be settling. Oh, there are plenty of sequelae like selling that other house we own, paying the movers, doing some reconfiguring in the kitchen, getting acclimatized, but the move itself will be over on Monday once our stuff returns to us. That’s a big deal in my mind and I will retire the Move category from the posts.

The enormity of this change is still a little hard to grasp. We’re no longer Minnesotans, but Coloradans. We’re no longer flatlanders but mountain dwellers. We’re no longer Midwesterners. Now we are of the West, that arid, open, empty space. These changes will change us and I look forward to that. The possibility of becoming new in the West has long been part of the American psyche, now I’ll test it for myself.

Colorado, The Move

The Pack Is Back

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Samain                                                     Moving Moon

The pack has come together. Kate and Gertie arrived around three. There was a good deal of mutual sniffing and wagging of tails. Kate the Intrepid, as Jane West calls her, dismounted from the cargo van with a victorious grimace. She had driven it all the way, by herself. See.

Jon and crew are coming. He’ll help me clear the driveway for the moving van. This place will soften up, come alive when the furniture is here, the art, the lamps, the books, the pots and pans, the dishes and serving pieces. All in the van. Coming on Monday. A great Hanukkah/Christmas holiday special treat.

Colorado, The Move

Aspen Perks

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Samain                                                            Moving Moon

Tom and I had breakfast at Aspen Perks this morning. All the waiters and waitresses had on elf hats in this mountain cafe just off Highway 285. He had pastry with egg, ham, basil and pesto. I had the Bronco omlette, sausage, bacon and cheese. Back on the low carb way after 24 hours off. As Martin Luther said, “When you sin, sin boldly.”

Tom’s effort, driving out here the entire way while the dogs slumbered, was unremarkable. And in that the best possible result. We got here with no doggie wounds, no almost runaways, not even any agitation. Thanks, again, friend, for a valuable moment in the 27 years we’ve known each other.

I’m still sleep deprived, but not terrible. I have to unload the van, then help Jon shovel the driveway. An Ambien tonight, perhaps tomorrow night and I should be ready for the delivery.

Colorado, The Move

Arrival

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Samain                                                                                     Moving Moon

The moving moon has waned, a sliver this early. It will go dark tomorrow, the Winter Solstice. Our first full day and night here at Black Mountain Drive. Tom Crane, Rigel, Vega, Kepler and I pulled into the garage about 12:15 am this morning. We drove in over several inches of snow, so a first task will be getting the driveway clear for the moving which comes on Monday.

The three dogs slept or rested quietly the whole way. I gave them a trazidone dose at the kennel at 8:30 am yesterday. That calmed them for the first few hours and after that the buzzing of the tires and the constant motion lullabyed them. It was a surprise, but a pleasant one.

Tom drove the whole way, 14 hours in one whack, stopping only briefly for food and gas. It was a great treat to be able to watch the miles roll away.

When I left Anoka after getting the dogs yesterday morning, I crossed the Mississippi at 9 am, realizing as I did that this time I would be not crossing back over it for some months. The Mississippi was now a dividing line between my former homelands east of it and my new one west of it. An American narrative, for sure.

We passed over the Minnesota state line at approximately noon. The state sign, which reads Thank you for visiting made us laugh. Yeah, a forty year visit. But it is now over.

Kate stopped for the night in Lincoln, finding a place where she and Gertie could sleep. She’ll be getting in later this afternoon. Then, the unloading of the cargo van. New tasks in a new place but tasks which, with the exception of clearing the driveway can wait until we’re ready. We have the next several years to get settled here on Shadow Mountain.

Colorado, The Move

Departure

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Samain                                                                Moving Moon

As the moving moon wanes, so does our presence here. After breakfast and last minute adjustments to our various cargoes, Kate and I will go to Armstrong Kennels to pick up our pack. Armstrong has been a wonderful place for our dogs. We’re remembered there as the customers who “once had five Irish Wolfhounds.”

I feel lighter today, untethered at last from the seemingly endless stream of things and tasks related to packing and getting ready to leave. Over several months now I’ve operated well outside my comfort zone, especially so since the closing on October 31st. There is something positive about working there, but too much for too long. I look forward to getting back to the computer, back to the writing, back to letting my mind wander.

Settling in on Black Mountain Drive will, of course, take time and will not be without its own challenges, yes. But. It will have the added joy of a new life, new eco-system, more time with family. We’re ready for all of that. The upside, the 8,800 feet upside.