Opinion

CSU Extension believes every person from every walk of life can experience their healthiest, happiest, most productive life if they continually engage in lifelong learning. At SLV Area Extension, everything we do is designed to foster healthy youth and families; prosperous farms, ranches, and businesses; and strong, resilient, proud communities. We offer a myriad of educational opportunities to SLV citizens, where they live, work, and socialize. 

Considering the poor snowfall this year I thought it would be appropriate to revisit a question I’ve answered hundreds of times throughout my career. Each Spring people ask me “what do you think fire season will be like this year?” I always answer with the same reply: “You can never tell until the year is over.” In my mind however, this really begs the next two questions, what are my local firefighting agencies doing to prepare for the coming wildfires and what should I do to prepare? 

Once again, we are staring down another celebrated Holiday of sorts or at least a day to remember especially for all you men out there. Ol’ Dutch is not sure how us men got saddled with this day, but we surely are, and you best not forget it if you are smart. As with anything, Valentine’s Day has an origin not quite what one would expect, and I had to look it up. I knew of course that there was a Saint Valentine and thought that was the end of the story or shall I say the beginning. But it turns out that the day actually was a pagan holiday called Lupercalia.  

The folks who ideologically oppose public land are exploiting the housing crisis to argue that a fix for America’s housing problem is to sell off the public estate, writes Ben Long. There may be a screaming need for more housing, says Long, but targeting public lands isn't the answer: We need public lands for flood control, wildlife, hunting and recreation, and most of the acreage is also in the wrong place to build housing.

Long-time readers know that I'm building a house using mostly my own hands with long-suffering help from Miss Trixie. For the first time in my life, though, I hired someone else to do things like spray foam and roofing. This is highly unusual for Ol’ Dutch and his family as we always taken pride in doing it ourselves when it came to anything, except nuclear bombs. 

This past week I've really been missing my Dad, Fast Freddy, who passed away earlier this fall. He was 93 and ready for his reward. Those of us left behind when our loved ones die, never are quite ready for them to go. I was reminded of him as Ol’ Dutch was on the hunt for some new leather gloves for use on the farm. I like to use deerskin gloves as they seem to outlast good old cowhide ten to one. And when I am working on barbed wire fences, leather is the material of choice to avoid getting poked. 

First of all, let's stop the rumors before they get started. No, me and Miss Trixie are not married. And no, I am not married to someone else. And it’s not Trixie with the broken coccyx (pronounced cock-seek) so you all can rest easy and she can sit without pain. If you hang with me on here, though, Ol’ Dutch will spin you a yarn worthy of even the most sour puss amongst you. 

Writer Karen Mockler was thrilled when her city of Tucson, Ariz., announced it was starting a pilot program to deal with hard-to-recycle plastics, turning it into building blocks. Then things got complicated as the plastic waste piled up, and Dow Chemical and Hefty bags got involved. Burning the plastic turned into the new solution, and Mockler now concludes: "Instead of recycling plastic, we need to focus on phasing out its use — everywhere we can.

Anyone alive who has ever been to a venue where a microphone is needed has heard someone testing out the equipment prior to starting. It happens at concerts, auctions, ball games, school functions, city council meetings and churches so we all have been exposed to the process of testing. I am not sure why people generally say, “testing 1, 2, 3” and not something worthwhile hearing but I guess it's just the way it is. 

SAN LUIS VALLEY — Colorado State University Extension believes every person from every walk of life can experience their healthiest, happiest, most productive life if they continually engage in lifelong learning.  

Having been raised in church and especially having a father who was a pastor, I thought that I had a pretty good idea what a heathen was. To make sure, though, I actually Googled it to discover the official Internet meaning. Of course, the word is usually used in a disparaging way when talking about someone. In general, it means someone who is irreligious, uncivilized or uncultured. 

Northern Lights, silence, calm and the brilliant stars of dark nights — these are just a few of the benefits of winter darkness in Alaska, writes Tim Lydon. And now, researchers have found that just as climate change increases the heat and length of summer, dark winters are vital for the health of trees, wildlife and even us.

I am writing this a tad ahead of the actual New Year to meet the deadline for the papers that carry my column. It is always a difficult writing so far ahead, especially around the Holidays. By the time you read this the New Year will be in full swing and hopefully it will be one of great promise for each of you and our Nation too. 

It is hard to believe the beautiful winter weather we’ve been having lately. The unseasonably warm days do give way to colder nights, but I know well that these temperatures could be much lower than they have been. Probably should be.  

The death of a famous grizzly and the possibility of Lake Powell facing dead pool, wolves and a 460-foot tower proposed for Bears Ears National Monument — they were just some of the opinion columns sent out by Writers on the Range this year. The common denominator: Every writer cared passionately about the West — its wildlife, its public lands, and the people who live in this unique region.

Last year, I resolved to write a column in mid-December that reflects on the connectivity of land, water, and people as an annual holiday tradition. I believe that these three elements of our lives are truly embedded in our DNA and are worth reflecting on each year and counted as part of the blessings that we celebrate around the holidays. 

There’s a small wooden cabin at the top of Northwest Peak, a few miles from Montana’s borders with Idaho and Canada, and Chuck Manning, 79, believes lookouts like this one deserve a second chance at being useful. 

CSU Extension believes that every person from every walk of life can experience their healthiest, happiest, most productive life if they continually engage in lifelong learning. At SLV Area Extension, everything we do is designed to foster healthy youth and families, prosperous farms, ranches, and businesses, and strong, resilient, proud communities. We offer a myriad of educational opportunities to SLV citizens, where they live, work, and socialize. 

In response to my apologies for a messy house, Patt Morgan-Lloyd would always say: "I didn't come to see your house. I couldn't care less. I came to see you." On the phone, she'd first ask, "How are the kitties?"   

As most of you know, Miss Trixie and I are in the final throes of building a house. And when I say “building a house” I don’t mean we are having someone build us one, but we did most of the work ourselves. This has been a real test of our relationship but living in an RV for 12 years together probably cemented us together in some kind of JB Weld bond that cannot seem to be broken no matter how sick that may actually be.

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