Today, while taking Matilda the Welsh Pembroke Corgi for her morning walk, I decided to climb a hill. It's only a construction hill, build about two years ago by digging a big hole in the ground nearby for a drainage pond. I think the builders had hoped to put some kind of retail store there, but then - well, everybody knows what happened in late 2008.
Anyway, the hill is dotted with mice holes, which Matilda loves to poke her nose in, so that was fun for her, and we did some exploring. Atop the hill is a great view of our area. Looking southwest, we saw this. That is the drainage pond down at the bottom right.
(Click on all photos for a larger image)
Looking due west, toward Boulder, this is the view:
Here is the view to the northwest:
Turning around to the east, it's a completely different story:
Up at the top of the hill, Matilda found something. I just finished reading Homer Hickam's latest book, The Dinosaur Hunter, so I was sort of halfway hoping I had stumbled on an artifact from "deep time." Alas, while it may have come from semi-deep time (the last few hundred years or so), it was not a dinosaur bone. It probably got dug up from the drainage pond, and re-deposited on the top of the hill on which Matilda and I were standing. I'm pretty sure it's a cattle jaw bone, although it could be from a horse. This was, and mostly still is, ranching territory, but as you can see from the photos, our immediate area is suburb territory.
The bone is rapidly disintegrating, and is very flaky. Most of the cavities are filled with dirt, and parts of the jaw have fallen off, as well as some of the teeth. I collect stuff like this, so I brought it on home. Where I'll put it, I don't know. Perhaps I can turn it into a Christmas tree decoration . . . or not.In any case, Matilda and I had fun. We'll be back tomorrow with more exciting tales of discovery. Until then, Happy Trails!
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3 comments:
Strangely enough, I best like the view to the east! The 'organized' lines in the ground, the monochromatic palet, and I love the stark look of 'winter trees'. Of course the mountains are pretty, but the 'suburbs' sort of ruin those views.
That was me...Lynda ~
Lynda, I like the view to the east the best, too. But that's because of better editing on my part. From my vantage point on the hill, I couldn't see the suburban sprawl on the other side of those trees. There's an interstate highway just over there, and a big shopping center with a Costco, and a Daveco - the self-advertised "biggest liquor store in the United States." What is interesting about the views to the west, is that those mountains are 16 miles away. And clear as a bell.
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