If you have heard the drumming in the past month or seen the swooping flight of this brown and red woodpecker, you know it’s true: the Northern Flicker has returned to the Vail Valley! Northern..
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Topics: Curious Nature, Birding
When you look at the mountain landscapes around you, what do you see? Most everyone sees a view worth appreciating, but not everyone sees what the conservation-minded individual sees—a home and a..
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Topics: Curious Nature
It is almost May, which for many of us mountain dwellers means packing away the winter gear and time to get a mud-season break while we plan our summer adventures. For thousands of years, though, May..
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Topics: Curious Nature
Raccoons (Procyon lotor) have been a part of our livelihood and pop culture for a while – Meeko was Pocahontas’s faithful sidekick; Rocket Raccoon is one of the Guardians of the Galaxy; anyone who’s..
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Topics: Curious Nature
Some of my best memories from childhood are of sneaking into my mom’s garden to gorge myself on sweet peas. As I now watch my own children doing the same thing, I smile secretly to myself as it..
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Topics: Curious Nature
The oldest residents of Colorado, The Ute people, are Native Americans who roamed the mountains and vast areas of not only Colorado but also Utah, Wyoming, Eastern Nevada, Northern New Mexico and..
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Topics: Curious Nature
Look! Up in the sky! It’s a bird, it’s a plane, no, it’s a catkin! A what? Yes, the catkins are coming, but what are they? Think you’ve never seen a catkin? You’re probably wrong. That’s because they..
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Topics: Curious Nature
HONK HONK HONK! Is it a car? Is it a bus? Nope, it’s just the famous horn of the Canada Goose. This familiar loud honk may be considered just as annoying as that of any automobile, but it should in..
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Topics: Curious Nature, Birding
It’s that time of the year again—there are only a couple months left of snowfall for Colorado’s snowpack. Skiers and snowboarders are hoping for a few more key powder days, while whitewater..
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Topics: Curious Nature
There are many beautiful aspects of winter. Some love the blanket of white strewn across the mountains. Others enjoy recreation that celebrates the unique qualities of snow. I think the part I enjoy..
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Topics: Curious Nature, Birding
The year was 1973, and though unbeknownst to many, a tragedy had struck the White River National Forest. A Lynx was illegally trapped on Vail Ski Area. Now, while mildly tragic that this individual..
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Topics: Curious Nature
To me, winter is the accumulation of everything I love about the natural world frozen and put on display, crystalline and shimmering. Bird song seems more vibrant as it echoes off snow-covered cliff..
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Topics: Curious Nature, Family Activities, Kids Activities
