2007 March

Our favorite conductor Jeffrey Kahane has a substitute again, who announces only that Jeffrey is ill. We miss him, and worry that it must be serious. Not only because we’ve been looking forward to his scheduled performances of Beethoven’s piano concertos for a year, but also having witnessing him become a singular human vessel for the music he loves I’m saddened to think that the world might lose him.

The introductory pieces only heighten the feeling, they seem pleasant and pretty but without life. That impression comes to an abrupt halt when Johannes Moser takes the stage with his cello. Something about him makes me pay attention. I’ve never heard this Elgar cello concerto, and it has some electricity to it. Moser creates more and more charge as he plays. I might consider him a showboat with his pronounced expressions and gestures, but he seems to be putting so much energy and precision into the music that my critical mind is silenced. Several times he makes eye contact while he plays, which makes my already quick pulse jump again. It’s a feeling near to panic, like he’s shooting the music directly into my bloodstream. When piece ends we instantly rise to our feet and demand an encore. I expect something short and showy, but instead Moser soothes us with a lyrical, assuring J.S. Bach piece. I’m impressed, so much so that I coast through the entire Mendelssohn symphony that follows in a reverie, letting the movements come in like the tide to wash the concerto away, eddies and echoes receding.

The program:

• Fantasia on Greensleeves, Ralph Vaughan Williams
• The Walk to the Paradise Garden, Frederic Delius
• Cello Concerto in E minor, Opus 85, Edward Elgar
• Symphony No. 3 in A minor, Opus 56, “Scottish”, Felix Mendelssohn

Ann made a special request this year for angel’s food cake with strawberries. She even provided the strawberries, but alas, my cake was less than angelic. The strawberries alone saved it from a fate as dense and dry as a Mojave arroyo. Luckily my Dad, keeping his reputation as a resplendent birthday maker, came through again with fun wrapped gifts and cards. The party was rounded out with Sarah, myself, and the two family dogs Jezze and Jasmine. Ann’s actual birthday is next Friday, and will involve some driving…

Near Evergreen, CO

There’s been snow recently but it’s a nice day and we’d like to do a little hiking with my dad and Jezze. The lower trailhead for the Maxwell Falls trail is below 8000 feet, but looks pretty snowy when we get there. It’s on a north-facing slope, but we try it out and find the snow isn’t deep enough to be much of a problem. The trail provides a nice tour of this pocket of Arapaho National Forest, topping a ridge before dropping into Maxwell Creek and the falls. It’s not a huge waterfall, but not insignificant either. It rumbles pleasantly while we eat our lunch on the rocks above, spilling beneath a snow-covered hillside. We decide to explore a bit further, and find the Cliff Loop is a perfect extension to the hike.

Any movie that can pull off being blood-chilling and heartwarming at the same time is sweet sweetness in my blog.

Certified Fresh

Colorado State University committed in print today to convert the entire Fort Collins campus where I work to 100% wind energy. Things like this are why I feel good and even excited to work here, and why I’ve stuck with this job for so long (for me).

Rays of golden light caught my attention and lured me outside with the camera, despite my sore body. This is a pre-spring sunset. None of the green was around a week ago. Evening clouds have only started showing up, along with long rain storms that summon thousands of earthworms from the ground. A couple of days earlier I saw an Osprey here. Geese appear to be incubating their eggs. It won’t be easy for any of us if the snow comes back now.

Near Eldorado Springs, CO

Kate makes the excellent call to scrap our Vedauwoo plans and head to Eldorado Canyon. The Vedauwoo web cam showed mostly blowing snow at 8 am, but Eldorado Canyon State Park is sunny and lovely. Sean comes along, Mark & Kate, and their friends JD and Rachael. The day is mostly sun and bliss, interspersed with a few early season trad gruntfests at an area called Cirque of the Cracks. The most exciting parts of the day, although we only know it the second time, are the crossings of South Boulder Creek. Unbeknownst to me when I shot this video, there is a twenty-some-foot waterfall just out of view downstream.

On the way back I spotted the falls, and we almost scrambled down to the bridge, but made a much more tense reverse crossing safely.

I’m not sure what it was, probably being wedged in a 5.7 offwidth looking for protection for half an hour, but the next day I feel as sore as I ever have. Walkin’ like an old man, albeit one with a smile on his face.

More from Sean and Kate…

I’ve addressed a few problems with the 1.0 release of the WordPress Geo Mashup Plugin. Note that the version of WordPress required has gone up.

• Support for PHP 5.2.0. Consequences:
  • WordPress 2.0 or higher is required.
  • The Location editor has moved down in the post advanced editing area.
• Fixed the ‘customizeGeoMashup is undefined’ javascript error.
• Fixed a problem with GeoMashup::show_on_map_link() when using a static front page.

I can’t believe it took me 11 years to get to this one. Steve Buscemi illustrates the vagaries of life with flair from the perspective of a wayward barfly. Great characters.

Referred by Ted

Near Fort Collins, CO

Coyote Ridge Trail starts somewhat unceremoniously just south of the Fort Collins landfill, crosses the prairie, and climbs up the hogback formations that run along the front range here. I like hiking in the prairie. The breeze rustling the dry grass, prairie dogs chirping, and killdeer calling all characterize the land where I was born, causing me to hearken to my own existence. Getting this experience in a four-mile out-and-back hike is a bargain.