News - February 14, 2007

Well, this has been a day of good news and bad news. The bad news is that I got myself to the doctor's office today and found out that my "bug" has gone into pneumonia. I'm started on an antibiotic, but I'll probably be home for the rest of the week. I think of how much work is going to be piling up before I get back and it's scary, but I guess there's no way around it.

The good news is that my youngest daughter's boyfriend gave her a diamond ring and an "on his knees" proposal for Valentine's Day and she said "yes". She sounded so happy when she called us and I am so happy for her.

The picture I'm posting today is of her when she was a baby. She has always called this one "Daddy's little girl."

For Talj - February 13, 2007

Well, I'm home today, although I having been trying to keep caught up on phone calls and have managed to participate in a couple of meetings by phone.

The photo today is an old one, but is one of my favorites. I got this bear for my youngest son before he was born, and once he got here, I realized he was actually smaller than the bear. It seemed only natural to take this picture of him on the bear's lap. His bear still watches over his room - even after all these years.

More Snow - February 12, 2007

I'm home early today because I can't seem to shake this bug. The cough is getting worse and I feel awful. In between snoozes this afternoon, I've tried to comment on blogs and got this shot in between snow showers. My oldest son took his comprehensive exams for his Master's Degree today. I'm anxious to talk to him to see how he did.

Avocados - February 11, 2007

I thought I was going to use this for the Fruits and Veggies challenge, but then I decided to go with something totally, entirely different. I don't do still life very well. I have a very difficult time getting the lighting the way I like it. This isn't what I wanted.... but....here it is.

I added a bit of a texture to this because I liked the way that looked.

Victory and Agony - February 10, 2007

Coach consoling and teaching wrestler who has just lost match. He's telling him he wrestled with a lot of heart and that he's proud of him.


Bear hugs and congratulations. This wrestler finally made it! He is a senior and this has been his goal for two years. He just missed out last year and this was his last chance.

Coach knows how much this means to this young man, and he is very happy for him.

Consoling wrestler who just lost his berth at State Tournament. He tried his best. He actually did very well and he will have two more years to earn his spot.


Well, Regionals are over and our local team had two young men qualify to go on to State. To qualify, one has to rank in the top four of all the contestants. We had four who ranked in the top 4; however there is another rule which did us in for two contestants: if you are the 4th ranked person and have not wrestled the person who ranked 5th, the 5th ranked person can challenge you for a wrestle-back and if they win, they take your spot at State. Both our 112-pound and our 171- pound wrestler lost their places in wrestle-backs. It was heart-breaking. They worked so hard and struggled so hard to earn that berth. The 171-pound wrestler is a senior, so he will not have another chance to try it again.

The coach is an extremely emotive man, who genuinely feels their anguish when they lose and celebrates their joy when they win. There will be an end-of-season banquet in a few weeks during which the coach will award letters or numerals to the wrestlers and he will say very nice things about each and every wrestler. He will talk about their courage and about their character, and there will be smiles and tears because each one is very special in his own way.

I'm both glad and sad I won't be going to this year's banquet. I've been to eight now - four with each of my sons, and I remember the words even now, and they still can make me cry.

My oldest son struggled in wrestling. I had no clue why he chose to stay with this sport. He wasn't very good when he was younger, he had to cut a lot of weight, and he seemed to have little chance of making varsity during his younger years. What he did have was a desire to learn, and a drive to excel which he hadn't really shown in many other areas of his life. He got better and better. He made the varsity team his junior year. He wasn't the best on the team, but he never, ever gave up in a match. He beat a state ranked opponent (by pin) his junior year, and was one of only two or three matches that young man lost.

His senior year, he came into his own. He was wrestling very well, and won all of his matches before Christmas - most of them by pinfall and was charging forward toward his personal goal of placing at State. However, right after New Year's, he caught the flu and was sick. He wrestled a home match sick - against my wishes - and was being slammed around like a fish out of water. It was like he had no strength at all. I had a hard time watching. All of a sudden, he seemed to dig deep inside and he grabbed the other kid by the head and flipped him and pinned him. When the referee raised his arm to signal victory, his knees buckled and the ref and coach had to help him off the mat. He had literally given every ounce he had to give. How many people can say they have ever given everything for anything?

A few days later he was wrestling for the championship of the South Tournament and was picked up and slammed to the mat. We heard an indescribable sound from across the gym, and my husband turned to me and said, "I think he broke his arm." I couldn't believe it. It wasn't fair - not after he had overcome so much and was so close to achieving his goal.

We raced over to him and he was on his back cradling his arm and crying - not entirely from pain, but from frustration, and I can hear him still... "Tape it up coach, I can go back in. Tape it up, I'm fine. Don't forfeit. Tape it up!"

Of course we did not. The coach kept telling him he needed to go to the hospital. They helped us get him to the car and the coach, with tears in his eyes, kept promising him we'd do everything we could.

He had what is called a "nightstick" fracture of his left forearm. It's an impact fracture which fissures the bone in all directions. He was lucky because nothing was displaced, and they were able to cast it fairly quickly. His friends brought his medal to the hospital, and tried to be as reassuring as possible, but we knew that wrestling was probably over for him.

He did get the cast off just before Regionals and did wrestle because the coach said he had earned his place on the team; but he had very little strength in that arm and wasn't able to place. However, the determination he showed then still shows up today and he knows that he does have the power to go after what he wants.

He will graduate in May with a Master's Degree in Counseling Psychology, and his goal is to go on for his Doctorate. I think he will make that and I think the lessons he learned in wrestling will help him to get there.

(As you might guess, he's one of my heroes)

Regionals - February 9, 2007

All the teams file into the arena at the beginning of the main round. I know this is a little blurry. I think I have some better ones, but haven't checked all the images. I wanted to give you an idea of how things were done.
Looking for a pin. The guy on the bottom is kicking hard to be free as our guy on top is holding on for dear life.

Almost pinned. He's got to get that shoulder a little closer to the mat. He did get it done.


VERY rough day... Things were, of course, extremely hectic at work. They always are when I'm a little under the weather. I guess that is a major component of Murphy's Laws. I spent my lunch hour picking up my press pass, making sure I had packed everything I needed in my camera bag, and putting air in my tires after noticing one tire on my car was a little low. That's another task I don't do so well when I'm not feeling good, so I ended up having to ask for a little help. I hate that!!

I got to the tournament in time for the quarter-finals and the first round consolations. We had some losses in the first round of matches, but, thankfully, the night finished with everyone still in the tournament and able to wrestle again tomorrow. There are 32 teams here, 16 each from 4a (larger) schools and 2a (smaller) schools. There are 14 weight categories for each team. All of the 4a schools have wrestlers in each weight category. The 2a schools sometimes have gaps because they are smaller and may not have enough people. I am guessing there are around 400 wrestlers here tonight - all with hopes and dreams of qualifying for the State Tournament next week at the Pepsi Center in Denver. (home to both the Denver Nuggets basketball team and the Colorado Avalanche hockey team) The atmosphere is quite intense.

I am quickly posting some of the images of the boys wrestling. I didn't stay for the entire round because I had to get back and get pictures downloaded and picked out and e-mailed to the paper for tomorrow morning's edition. I haven't even looked at the whole first card. Tomorrow or Sunday I will try to post others. The drive back was through thick, thick fog - fairly unusual for here. I tried to pick someone to follow since it was difficult to even see the road, but the last vehicle I was following turned off before I even left Pueblo. so I had to drive fairly slowly. It felt like I was driving in a dream. Fortunately it is only 30 miles, so I made it just fine, and got the pictures in. Here you go!

Foggy Day - February 8, 2007

First, I must apologize for the lateness of this post. I've had some sort of little bug that has wrought havoc with my system. Was off work all day today and fear that if I cough any harder, my head will fall off and roll down the hallway....

The day started with a beautiful sunrise, but none of the promised "icy fog". However, by the time I was ready to start off on my trip to Colorado Springs, the fog (albeit not "icy") had descended. This is what it looked like. Not much to see on the way to my appointment. It cleared about the time I got to the Springs (they are a bit higher in altitude), and actually I had good news from my appointment and don't have to go back for six months, but the cough was really wearing on me so I went back home and stayed in bed all day -- highly unusual behavior for me. I'm drinking lots of hot tea and taking my Zycam, so am hoping to get over this quickly. I have to work tomorrow and then drive to Pueblo for the wrestling regionals and send pictures off to the newspaper before midnight. The tournament goes all day Saturday too, and I can't let those guys down, so I have to get it together here, and get better.

The Walk - February 7, 2007

Helicopters.....

Big helicopter....

Muddy, muddy Chaco.....


Got the dogs out for a short walk. Bear went exploring and hid behind bushes. He blends in so well with the winter colors, that I sometimes lose track of him. I think he hides on purpose because when I call him, he pops out with a smile on his face, like "ha ha! made you worry!!". Chaco, on the other hand, either stays right with me or follows Bear as if she is somehow attached to him. It is muddy, and as you can see, Chaco thoroughly enjoyed getting as muddy as possible. A bath is certainly high on the priority list for this young lady's future.

We live very near to Ft. Carson, a large military training base, so we frequently see military helicopters or other aircraft out on maneuvers. Today there were three of them in a group, a large double-propeller one and two smaller ones flying fairly close to the ground. The noise they make is amazing. It's like a percussion instrument and produces a sound you can feel as well as hear. When the helicopters came over the hills, the dogs gathered in close. I couldn't quite tell if they intended to protect me, or wanted me to protect them. We stood there in a little group as the helicopters flew overhead and I tried to get a few pictures.

Tomorrow I have to drive to Colorado Springs for a doctor's visit. I was hoping for good weather, but the forecast is for "icy fog" in the morning. I think I'll maybe take my camera along and see if I can get some shots. The road to the Springs goes through a lovely canyon and if there is indeed some icy fog, the trees should be covered with a layer of ice (and hopefully not the roads). Anyway, it is usually very pretty when that happens. We will see....

Lady Tigers - February 6, 2007

This was a tough game to cover. These young ladies played a very physical, hard fought game, but lost anyway. The score was 55-18. This is the second time they have faced the opposing team - called the "Mean Moose" from Alamosa. Alamosa is a very cold little town in the San Luis Valley of very southern Colorado - actually fairly close to the New Mexican border. Alamosa is usually the coldest, or nearly coldest place in Colorado in the winter. They are in the middle of an agricultural area, as are we, and they are home to a very nice college, Adam's State Teacher's College, and they are home to the Mean Moose, the nemesis of nearly all the local high school sports teams. The Mean Moose are imbued with nearly magical powers. The name is spoken in almost hushed tones - "Alamosa" - not quite "Voldemort", but very close. The San Luis Valley has a mystery all its own - some say it's one of the locations where the lines between this world and the next are not as distinct as elsewhere; some say the valley has been visited by UFO's for eons; some say.... well, maybe I better wait to discuss what some say at another time.....

Truth is, Alamosa produces some outstanding high school athletes and athletic teams. If they are a little cocky, they've earned that right. They always present a significant challenge. I mentioned this was the second time the ladies met this team this year. They have actually improved quite a bit. They lost the first game 88-14. An impressive gain when playing (shhhh)
Alamosa...

From My Heart to Yours - February 5, 2007

I thought I would try some hearts today.... Found a little patch of snow left (yes, I seem obsessed lately) and a little metallic red heart.... oh, the possibilities....

What do you think? I will try some more later this week. Tomorrow I have another basketball game to shoot for the paper. Sadly, my earlier wrestling duals pictures were not published. The newspapers computers malfunctioned and they lost them. The editor says that the malfunction has been remedied. They may run them later (I am re-sending them); however, tomorrow is basketball and they are sending me to the regional tournament this weekend. It will be nice to see how the kids do. I hope at least some of them qualify for state.

Thaw - February 4, 2007

The melting snow is leaving beautiful patterns around the plants.

The park was solid white after the last snowstorm, but most of the snow is melting in the warm sunshine. I really liked the clouds in this picture. This was once a landfill. The little trees are about five years old and were planted by a Boy Scout troup. My son helped plant them.

Water is running in the trough again. The water is for the horses people like to ride through the park and for the deer and elk (as well as other wildlife)

At last..... The temperature is above 50 degrees (F). It's like Springtime, especially considering the -10 degree temperatures and the windchills of -30. We have had Chinook winds, which create friction as they race down the mountainsides and produce warmers temperatures. The snow is melting. It's leaving mud and gunk all around, but that will dry off soon enough.

We took the puppies to Ecology Park to romp. The park is so named because a group of high school students wanted to reclaim the former city dump as a habitat for wildlife and people and so wrote grants and provided labor to do so. What was once an eyesore of garbage and cinders is now a thriving wildlife habitat with deer and elk, birds, squirrels, rabbits, coyotes and foxes. The park also serves as a living laboratory for high school students today. What a legacy!!

Tiger Duals - February 3, 2007

The kids were really up for this tournament. A "duals" tournament is a different format in that all of the members of one team wrestle members of another team just like a regular dual, except they wrestle one team after another - in this case three matches each. Four teams in all in the dual tournament. The local team won hands down. In the first match, all but one team member won - the vast majority by pins.

The season is almost over. This weekend is the huge Regional Tournament. Each wrestler must place in the top four (out of at least 16 teams) in order to advance to the State Tournament. It's a big deal to the kids. Since the local team is so young, I wonder how many will advance to State. As I hope I have conveyed here, they wrestle with great determination.

Basketball - February 2, 2007

Here we go - both girl's and boy's basketball. What a tight schedule. I haven't even looked at all the pictures I took because there wasn't time. I hope I made the paper's deadline o.k. It was rough!! Both teams fought hard, but I think the local team lost both games. I had to leave before the end of the boy's game. this is a fairly random sampling of pictures I took today.

Wrestling tomorrow. And hopefully, eventually, some sleep for me.

Frosty Morning - February 1, 2007

It's really, really cold out this morning. Thought you might like some different kinds of photos. I did some post-processing on a couple of these and added some glow. It actually got down to minus ten degrees (F). I'm afraid I'm rather challenged when converting to centigrade. I took these as the sun was rising. The thermometer says zero degrees, but it's on our porch - which is a bit sheltered. We are feeding the birds, but they seem to empty the feeders almost immediately. I guess they need the extra nourishment in these times.

Tomorrow is Groundhog Day and I am hoping for sunshine. Tomorrow I also have two basketball games to shoot for the paper. I hope I can do them justice.