House Addition

These are some sketches of a proposed master bedroom addition to my parent's house. My mom drew the plans of what she wanted, and I created this 3-D drawing of the interior to help her visualize it.

This is a sketch of a plan showing the access to the new master suite via the sunroom, which is the current screened porch renovated to be a year round space. This arrangement allows for better privacy for the master suite, and makes the laundry and bath accessible to the rest of the house without going through the bedroom. The closet is separated from the bath and laundry, allowing for better circulation and function and all of the plumbing is now much more compact.

-- Update: Computer model underway --

Exterior from the north-east:

Northern Colorado Safari

Since our anniversary falls on Labor Day weekend, we have established a tradition to go somewhere every year. This year, lucky (or is it itchy?) number seven, we trekked to the beautiful mountain ranch country of Northern Colorado. Heading out, we had an idea of where we wanted to go, but kept the plans loose as we like to be spontaneous. We left Denver on 1-25 at noon on Saturday and headed north to Ft Collins where we turned west on Hwy 14. Our goal was to get out and see what we could see! Highway 14 is a scenic bypass through the Rocky Mountains along the Poudre River where there are only a handful of tiny forgotten towns in this relatively unpopulated area of the country. We drove and drove, past all signs of civilzation out into the wilderness, 60 miles north and west of the nearest town of Walden, CO and set up camp near a remote mountain lake.

Where the land meets the sky

The area we were in was known for its wildlife, namely moose, elk and bears. While we didn't see any bears, we did get to see two moose, which we jokingly called "meese"! It was fascinating to see such large animals living in the wild. Where do they live? What do they eat?

A female and youth moose in the Colorado forest

Along with spotting these "meese" along the side of the road, over the course of the weekend we saw 2 antelope, a trumpeter swans, an eagle, and a family of ducks, hence the weekend came to be known as our Northern Colorado Safari.

The middle of nowhere, or the middle of everywhere, depending on your prespective

There is just something about the mountains that renews the spirit, reminds me of how big and wonderful the world is and how blessed I am to witness it.

 Lodgepole pine reaching for the cosmos

So I got to thinking, which is what I do, about how people, animals and plants occupy a landscape and how it changes over time. This area of Colorado is in the region that is suffering from a pine beetle infestation and many of the pine trees have been killed. As the forest changes and renews itself, what will take the place of the dead pine trees? How can we capitalize on the vast amount of wood that the pine beetle kill is providing? In an increasingly overpopulated world, will this area that is so remote, yet so resourceful, become populated with towns and cities?

Pine beetle kill in the forest