# High Country Living > Growing Food, Seeking God & Enjoying Life High in the Colorado Rockies ## Posts - [Winter at the Ranch](https://highcountryliving.net/winter-at-the-ranch/): It’s winter now and along with it brings a welcome slower pace, a time to relax and reflect as we begin to plan the upcoming year. The photo above shows our one snow storm so far this year, 8″ of beautiful powder in early December. Other than that, it’s been a dry and warm December, with a couple of weeks in the 50’s each day and a couple in the low 60’s. While the warm weather has been nice for a couple of outdoor projects, we do need moisture and are hopeful for a snowy winter & spring ahead. It’s […] - [2025-A Banner Year](https://highcountryliving.net/2025-a-banner-year/): The 2025 garden was a great success. We’re calling it a “Banner” year! We grew some new things (sunchokes) and had great harvests from some of the old stand-bys such as onions & potatoes. We tried some corn again, since our 2017 failure, and won’t be doing that again. We unfortunately added whiteflies to our pest management routine. Read more about it here! - [Top Tips](https://highcountryliving.net/top-tips/): I got a question recently from someone planning to start a high elevation garden, wondering about some tips I might offer. That, along with a presentation I did for a local group last year, led me to believe a few “Top Tips” might be nice. Most of this information is scattered around the website, but here’s a spot with several tips all consolidated. Hopefully it’s helpful! TOP TIPS: Growing Vegetables at High Elevation (8,000′ or higher) - [2024 :: NEW SQUASH-PUMPKIN PATCH](https://highcountryliving.net/2024-squash-pumpkins/): Now that we have our freeze dryer to preserve more veggies, we’ve decided we can grow more food. We’ve made some changes to our garden plans to accommodate more of the things that can be freeze-dried. NEW in 2024, we started a separate area for pumpkins & winter squash. Typically we’ve grown our pumpkins & winter squash in our raised beds, but since these plants take up so much space, we decided to move them out to pasture… another area to allow for other veggies better suited to raised beds. With our new Kioti tractor, Tim dug down & leveled […] - [Christmas 2024](https://highcountryliving.net/christmas-2024/): It’s Christmastime, and here at the Bratten’s “Good News Ranch” we have a couple of new traditions we are enjoying to celebrate the good news of the coming of the Christ. First of all, we made this meaningful Christmas log decoration that holds seven plaques. These plaques each show quotes of Jesus, naming some of the reasons he came to earth. We are spending some time each evening for the seven days prior to Christmas to focus on Jesus’ words, light the candles, talk together, and rejoice in his coming. Jesus said: I came… to show you the Father. If […] - [JUST A QUICKIE](https://highcountryliving.net/just-a-quickie/): Squash Patch: New for 2024 As it may be obvious, this website hasn’t been updated in quite some time. I tend to do updates in the fall & winter, when I have new ideas or information, particularly regarding the vegetables I grow. Here’s a few highlights until I have time to do some more writing. SQUASH: This year we created a new bed outside our garden area, with in-ground beds (not raised beds) just for the winter squash & pumpkins. It’s fenced in from deer, bunnies & ducks, and seems quite successful. Soon I’ll be harvesting those, as we had […] - [MAY IN THE ROCKIES](https://highcountryliving.net/elementor-6070/): It’s the first part of May here in the Rockies, the weather is warming up, and it seems like time to get out planting! Note the key words, “seems like.” It sure does seem like it should be the right time, but it just isn’t. The weather is so unpredictable here this time of year, that although the forecast currently looks warm enough for the next 10 days, you just never know what may happen. Last year (2022) we received about 28” of snow between May 20-24, other years we’ve had snow in June, and it can happen any year, […] - [REMINISCING](https://highcountryliving.net/reminiscing/): We used to have a couple of blogs prior to this website, which were hosted on Blogger. One, “Golden Gaits Garden”, was started at our former home in Wellington (2009) when we began growing vegetables & raising ducks. It ended in 2017 when High Country Living went live. The other, “Mountain Gaitway”, began in 2014 after we purchased this property in Guffey and began planning our dream home. It primarily chronicled the building of our home & development of the property here. In the process of “de-Googling” ourselves, we’ve removed these blogs from Google’s Blogger and have incorporated them into […] - [HAMMING IT UP](https://highcountryliving.net/hamming-it-up/): To say we’ve been “hamming it up” doesn’t mean we’ve just been goofy. We’ve been hamming on the radio, adding to our collection of ham radio equipment, adding to our collection of amateur radio operator friends, adding to our collection of amateur radio knowledge & licenses, and adding to our collection of websites.  All this, along with all of our other projects including increasing our solar power, has kept us busy! HAMMING ON THE RADIO Laurie (KØLTH) has been having fun trying different frequencies & methods, responding to other hams calling “CQ” from all over the world: US & Canada, […] - [2021: WHAT A SUMMER!](https://highcountryliving.net/2021-what-a-summer/): The GARDEN SUMMER of 2021 was fabulous. Great weather, abundant harvests & no rodents made it a hit in my book. This year the pasture grasses stayed greener longer, the wildflowers flourished, and there were a good deal more ladybugs in the garden (and very few grubs). Maybe next year I’ll get to the point of knowing just what to start when, and how much of each thing at a time. There were a few too many of some things and not enough of others. I’m getting much better at that each year, and if I follow through on this […] - [A COUPLE OF HAMS](https://highcountryliving.net/a-couple-of-hams/): We have recently become Ham Radio Operators, working from our shack here at home. Now that we are off-grid, Tim got to thinking that hams can be very helpful with communications during emergency situations such as wildfires or winter storms. When there is no cell or landline phone capability, no internet and no power, hams can still operate with radio waves as long as they have power. WE’VE GOT POWER when all else fails, and now that we are hams we can communicate with the outside during these emergency situations. To see how hams can help in this way, here’s […] - [OFF-GRID](https://highcountryliving.net/off-grid/): THIS IS OUR NEW LOOK IN 2021! Tim was busy this winter putting in our solar power system, which has been a great addition to our home. The system now fully powers our house, so from now on out we are not dependent on the grid. After a few months of hard work the project is complete. Prior to starting the project, Tim estimated that we would need 15 kW of power per day. This system provides more than that, and plenty of power to extend through several cloudy days. We are quite pleased with the result. At some point […] - [2021 GARDEN & GREENHOUSE PLANNING](https://highcountryliving.net/2021-garden-greenhouse-planning/): It’s the end of February, and despite the winter cold, the garden is not far from my mind. The greenhouse has been keeping us supplied with veggies all winter, in addition to what was stored from the 2020 summer garden outdoors.  OUTDOOR GARDEN My GrowVeg Garden Planner is complete for summer 2021. Some changes are likely to be made, but the plans are in motion, the seeds have been ordered and arrived, the calendar reminders have been set. A few seedlings have already been started. I have been using this GrowVeg Garden Planner for many years both in my former […] - [DILEMMA: HIGH ALTITUDE OR HIGH ELEVATION?](https://highcountryliving.net/dilemma-high-altitude-or-high-elevation/): WHICH IS IT? There are many websites and publications that discuss things like gardening or cooking at high elevation or high altitude. Often it seems like the words “elevation” or “altitude” are used arbitrarily and interchangeably. It is certainly inconsistent, even on websites focused on a scientific approach. Since I want to be grammatically correct, I looked it up to be sure. ALTITUDE is generally used to indicate an OBJECT’s relation to sea level, such as an airplane, hot air balloon, or spaceship. ELEVATION is generally used to describe a PLACE on earth and its relation to sea level, such […] - [EVERY YEAR IS DIFFERENT](https://highcountryliving.net/every-year-is-different-2/): I’m learning that EVERY YEAR IS DIFFERENT, especially at high elevation. Gardens here present more challenges than those at lower elevation: variable and cold weather, short seasons, new pests & old ones, personal health issues, as well as other factors such as COVID-19 in 2020, which affected seed & garden supply shortages. Fortunately, I had ordered all my seeds prior to the shortages, and I generally have all the other supplies I need on hand. August 3, 2020 I’m learning to accept disappointing harvests with an attitude of knowing I’m fortunate to have whatever I’m able to harvest, and it’s […] - [2020 SUMMER NEMESES](https://highcountryliving.net/2020-summer-nemeses/): In the past we haven’t had many problems with pests. We thought our garden was pretty much pest-proof. We were pretty sure no deer, bunnies or squirrels could get in. This year we have experienced two new nemeses that kept us busy trying to get rid of them. First, mice. Then their larger cousin, the pack rat. Yeesh! What a year.  MICEEarly in May, we began to see evidence of chewing on some of the freshly transplanted seedlings, particularly things like the broccoli, cabbage & cauliflower planted in the beds around the perimeter. We’d always known mice would be able […] - [SNOW. SEPTEMBER 8.](https://highcountryliving.net/snow-september-8/): Snow in September Yes, it’s September. When I posted about a late snow in June, I had no idea that my very next post would be about an early snow in September, but here we are. This year, from our last snow to the first snow was 92 days. From the last day less than 32° to the first, it was 69 days. This was an unusually short summer, even here. In the previous 5 years (since I have been recording the weather) the days between last/first snow have ranged from 129-158 days (2020: 92); the days between last/first day […] - [SNOW IN JUNE ?!?!?!?](https://highcountryliving.net/snow-in-june/): If that’s a question, the answer is YES. It can snow in June here in the Rockies. On Tuesday morning, June 9, we woke up to 2-4″ of soggy snow. It was pretty windy overnight so the snow drifted to make it hard to measure exactly how much. On the average I’d say there was a good 2″. The overnight low temperature was 29.5°, and was below 32° for about 5 hours. What about the garden? We are well prepared for almost anything, including snow and below-freezing temperatures. We’d seen the forecast, so planned ahead and covered everything as much […] - [EARLY SPRING 2020](https://highcountryliving.net/early-spring-2020/): MAY 25, 2020 – BEGINNING TO “GREEN UP” I know most folks wouldn’t call this “early” spring, but here in the mountains it’s still early. Because our average last frost date is sometime around June 10-15, I need to be careful about what is planted outdoors prior to that time. In the past I have started a few beds of veggies around May 15, I’ve kept them covered through at least the end of May, with the ability to throw on some frost cloth up to the end of June. (In 2018 and 2019, the last day of 32° or […] - [LOCK DOWN!](https://highcountryliving.net/lock-down/): The CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC is out there, and here in Colorado we’ve been “locked down” with a stay-at-home order since March 26th. Even before that, we hadn’t been out much, just being careful without being asked…er…ordered. Our life here hasn’t really changed all that much. Instead of trips to town once or twice a week, we now go out once every two weeks or so and we wear masks in the stores we visit. At this time our county has 6 confirmed cases of coronavirus with no deaths. I think that there are 8 people per square mile in our county. […] - [ASPEN FURNITURE](https://highcountryliving.net/aspen-furniture/): CREDENZA DRESSER TV STAND END TABLE SMALL END TABLE CORNER TABLE Tim has just completed our 6th piece of beautiful aspen furniture. Click on a photo to see a larger gallery photo of each one! They’re gorgeous, and with all the extra drawer & cupboard space, we have room to spare! Pix are worth how many words??? - [WINTER PASTIMES](https://highcountryliving.net/winter-pastimes/): BRRRRR! IT’S COLD OUTSIDE! What do we do all winter long? Winter 2019-2020 has been colder, with fewer sunny days than the previous winters we have been here. It seems longer! Today is one of those gloomy, snowy days. The past few days have been warm enough to melt quite a bit of snow & create quite a bit of mud in the process. The driveway & paths around the house are quite muddy! Today the ducks are all snuggled together, bills under their wings for added warmth. The ducks’ paddock has been like this much of the winter, iced […] - [LIGHTING FOR EGG PRODUCTION](https://highcountryliving.net/eggs-lights/): FIRST EGGS FROM CURRENT DUCKS Our newest ducks have begun to lay! We received our first oval gift, 1/21/20, and the second came 4 days later. The ducks are now about 23-24 weeks old. These ducks are a week apart in age, and we have no way of knowing which ducks have layed the eggs, but we’re delighted that our lighting program has worked, and we are now getting those delicious eggs. LIGHTS FOR EGGSAs Tim says, we’re running a duck sweat shop here by using artificial lighting to increase egg production. Lighting is added to the ducks’ paddock and […] - [REVIEW: INSTANT POT ULTRA (FOR HIGH ELEVATION)](https://highcountryliving.net/review-instant-pot-ultra/): I recently got the INSTANT POT ULTRA (6-Quart) to use at my high elevation of 9,000 feet. Over the past 6 weeks or so I’ve experimented quite a bit with this and have found it to be a good choice for high elevation, but in different ways than advertised. “HIGH ALTITUDE ADJUSTMENT” The INSTANT POT ULTRA boasts a “High Altitude” feature. I’m glad I paid a little more to get this model, but not because of this feature. The high-altitude feature allows you to set your elevation in a system setting. The ULTRA description for this feature is misleading: it […] - [REVIEW: MUELLER ULTRA POT (FOR HIGH ELEVATION)](https://highcountryliving.net/review-mueller-ultra-pot/): When looking for an electric multicooker, I first purchased the Mueller Ultra Pot. I already had the Mueller Single Serve Coffee Maker, and I liked it, so their Ultra Pot seemed like it would be a good choice. It had great reviews on Amazon, it was less expensive than Costco’s Instant Pot model at the time, AND it included some accessories that the Instant Pot did not include; a steamer basket, a glass lid to use with the non-pressure functions, and an extra sealing ring. It also included a 2-year warranty. This multi-cooker would be a great choice for people […] - [CHANGES](https://highcountryliving.net/changes/): I’ve been playing around with a new look for this website. I’ve also been writing new articles and updating some old ones. Be sure to check out the changes! In addition to the specific pages listed below, please see the menu items on all the “GROWING FOOD” pages pertaining to the garden, and on the “DUCKS” pages pertaining to ducks.  - [GROWING ZONES & MOUNTAIN CLIMATES](https://highcountryliving.net/growing-zones/): I DO AS MUCH RESEARCH AS I CAN  before I plant the garden. I want to be successful! To do so I know I need to plant fruits and vegetables that will grow well in my climate. I also want to choose the specific varieties that should do the best. In my unique environment, this is very difficult! Many of the books we have read about vegetable gardening are based on the author’s personal experience in their own location. They often don’t seem to have a clue about what it’s like where I live. Many websites are written with lots […] - [THE 2016 SIX-PACK HAS RETIRED](https://highcountryliving.net/the-2016-six-pack-has-retired/): Our “Six-Pack” of ducks from 2016 is no longer with us. For various reasons, we have culled the flock one by one. Most of them were removed because they had stopped laying eggs, or laid only soft-shell eggs. We began raising our small, 2019 flock of ducklings while we still had two remaining “big ducks” from 2016, but in short time they were culled because they were just too crabby and no fun to have around. Coco (Chocolate Runner) spent most of her waking hours hunched up with her feathers ruffled, quacking-quacking-quacking. Most of the time she looked like the […] - [2019 FLOCK OF FIVE](https://highcountryliving.net/2019-flock-of-five/): The six ducks we’ve raised since August 2016 had dwindled down to two good layers, so we recently decided to get a flock of new ducklings to start raising while the two were still laying. As we awaited the arrival of the ducklings and began to raise them in the brooder, the two remaining layers became quite crabby and no fun to have around—perhaps they missed their friends or didn’t like being a flock of two. Since we had the new ducklings growing fast in the brooder, we decided to cull the remaining adults and start over. We just didn’t […] - [WHAT GROWS HERE & WHAT DOES NOT](https://highcountryliving.net/what-grows-here/): This will now be my 3rd year gardening at 9,000 feet. After some trial and error, I’ve chosen only to grow the things that will grow well in the outdoor garden, and use my limited greenhouse space in the summer for a few favorites while saving some room for early fall planting there. Some of the vegetables that grow very well have not been my favorites (kale, cabbage, kohlrabi, rutabagas) but since they do grow well here and are good for us I’m learning to like them more and cook them in new ways. Our last frost date in spring […] - [2018 GARDEN RECAP](https://highcountryliving.net/2018-garden-recap/): This year everything started with a lot of excitement and ended with a crash. Literally. The garden had been going well and kept me busy all summer until my participation came to a halt on August 23 when I fell from my horse. My injuries kept me out of the garden the remainder of the season. With a fractured left hip and right clavicle, I had surgery on the hip which kept me in a wheelchair for 11 ½ weeks before I could walk again. I couldn’t use crutches or a walker because of the injured clavicle, and because of […] - [ORGANIZATION, PLANNING & RECORD KEEPING](https://highcountryliving.net/organization-planning-record-keeping/): I’m kind of a nut when it comes to organization and planning, and it may border on overkill. Sometimes I think I may spend more time with this than I do in the garden. I do most of this organization work during the winter when I have the extra time on my hands. When garden time comes, all I need to do is minor updates & notes. My methods for organizing and planning are not specific to high-altitude gardening, but are extra helpful when planning a garden that only grows in a short season, or for making full use of […] - [GREENHOUSE CONSTRUCTION](https://highcountryliving.net/greenhouse-construction/): In the planning stages of building our house here we had always thought we would eventually build a greenhouse. At our former location in Wellington we had a small, non-heated greenhouse, which provided us with cold-tolerant things like spinach, kale, chard, lettuce and beet greens throughout most of the winter. It also provided a place to finish and harden the seedlings I had started under lights indoors. It was attached to the south side of our house, under our deck, so the north side of the greenhouse was protected by the house. (See photos of this one below.) It was […] - [LIVING OFF THE LAND](https://highcountryliving.net/living-off-the-land/):   Last night we had Venison Tenderloin for dinner, and boy was it good! One of the perks of living in the high country is being able to harvest food from our own land. In addition to the garden and ducks we keep for eggs, we are able to hunt game on our property. Recently, Tim was able to shoot a deer, which provides us with roughly 65 lbs of healthy venison to eat. This is all new to me. I do not come from a hunting background. I grew up in a suburb in Northern California—not a country girl […] - [2017 GARDEN IN REVIEW](https://highcountryliving.net/2017-garden-in-review/): The 2017 Garden Season has ended and winter is on its way.  The garden is in “hibernation” for the winter. Overall, we were very pleased with the garden in our first year of growing vegetables at this elevation. We were able to grow, eat and preserve many vegetables in this first year of gardening at this altitude. It was a lot of fun, a lot of hard work, and very satisfying. Some things did very well, others not so well, and everything we observed and learned will help us in planning for next year.     In general, almost everything […] - ["EVERY YEAR IS DIFFERENT"](https://highcountryliving.net/every-year-is-different/): Before we started our garden we had seen a roadside stand not far from here and stopped in. We chatted quite a bit with the owner/gardener. One of the things I remember her saying was that “every year is different” and you just have to go with what you get, appreciating what does well and not fretting about what didn’t. That’s true in any location, to be sure, but especially in our high altitude. This year was rainy and cool, unlike the past couple of summers we’ve experienced. The photo above was taken Sept. 21, 2017 the first day of […] - [LATE AUGUST PROGRESS: 2017](https://highcountryliving.net/late-august-progress/): It’s time to update the progress in the garden, which I have been putting off because: I’m too busy working in the garden to spend time writing, and choosing & editing photos. I’ve thought that what anyone wants to see is results. Results won’t fully be in until the end of the season. It’s a big project and somewhat overwhelming. But, I have several observations to share near the end of our first season of high-altitude gardening. Some things have gone well, others have not. I realize that even when I am a “seasoned” high-elevation gardener, every year will be […] - [APRIL 2017 GARDEN PREPARATION](https://highcountryliving.net/april-2017-garden-planning/): It’s springtime, and although there is certainly more snow to come, the garden process has begun! Tim is busy clearing the area where we will have our raised-bed fenced garden, and Laurie is busy planning and starting seedlings indoors, under grow lights. It’s a big, exciting year for us, and we look forward to planting, tending & harvesting!   FIRST THINGS FIRST For the past couple of months, I (Laurie) have been planning what to grow, where to put it, and when to start each plant. For the past few years I have been using the Garden Planner found on […] - [FINALLY - THE CUSTOM KITCHEN IS UNDERWAY](https://highcountryliving.net/the-custom-kitchen/): It’s been a while since we posted, but that doesn’t mean we’ve been slacking off. Routine things like trimming the horses hooves, making trips to get hay, taking care of the ducks, etc. keep us pretty busy. We also try to make sure we take a little time off once in a while to eat out or take a road trip to enjoy this country that we live in. We’re also getting to know some of our neighbors more and are enjoying occasional meals with them and helping them out with some of their projects. Laurie has even found a […] - [THE GARDEN SITE](https://highcountryliving.net/the-garden-site/): We’ve begun planning for our new garden, which should be well in place and ready to go in Spring and Summer 2017. We have been reading up on high-altitude gardening, looking for information about what to grow, where to grow it, when to start and how to do it. We want to know what to plan on and what to be prepared for. Conventional thought suggests that gardens should be on the south side of the house in full sun. That’s what all the books & websites will tell you, right? So, this is where it was going to be–beds primarily […] - [HIGH COUNTRY LIVING IS LIVE!](https://highcountryliving.net/high-country-living-is-live/): My new website, High Country Living.net is now live! There is still a lot to add to it, but I wanted to get it out there. High Country Living will focus on high-altitude gardening, raising ducks and recipes adjusted for high altitude. It will primarily be instructional, rather than blog-ish, but will also contain a blog featuring what’s new at the ranch. If you’re looking for information about living at high elevation, particularly in a rural area like ours, glean whatever you can from our experiences.   - [SOURDOUGH ENGLISH MUFFINS](https://highcountryliving.net/sourdough-english-muffins/): I’m not taking credit for creating these Sourdough English Muffins–I found the recipe on KingArthurFlour.com. I just wanted to pass along that they are delicious and quite easy to make. I added cranberries to mine. I used a 3.5″ round cutter, and they came out great. I omitted the yeast, which isn’t necessary because of high altitude. I fed the sourdough starter the night before, and it was quite active. I added cranberries while rolling out the dough. My cook stove has a grill on it, which was used on the lowest setting after a good preheat. I moved the […] - [SQUASH & EGGS :: A GREAT COMBO!](https://highcountryliving.net/squash-eggs/): We have lots of eggs from our ducks. I love butternut squash and onions, and grow as many of each as I can. How’m I going to use all these? Butternut S’Quiche! This is a savory butternut pie, perfect for dinner, especially in the fall when winter squash is readily available. It’s a great way to use leftover squash after cooking one that’s just too big to eat at once.  - [WINTER DUCKS](https://highcountryliving.net/winter-ducks/): Our ducks fare well even in the winters here at 9,000 feet. Our temperatures can range from roughly +60F to -20F. The other day it literally started out at -5F and reached +60F in the afternoon! Most often the sun is out at least a portion of the day, occasionally not. Sometimes it’s quite windy, other times not. Sometimes there is snow on the ground, other times not. No matter the weather, the ducks will usually spend most of the day outside, and often out foraging for whatever tidbits they might find. Only on the coldest days they might spend a […] - [GOLDIE'S NEW YARD](https://highcountryliving.net/goldies-new-yard/): As winter looms in the not too distant future, we have been thinking about a yard for Goldie where she would have protection from the elements when we have to go away. We also had started thinking about another shed at the end of the driveway and near the house. We came up with the idea of making the yard extend from the end of the deck and attaching to the shed where Goldie would have a sheltered area and a warm dog house. Here’s a pic showing Goldie heading out to her yard that extends off the left end […] - [GARDEN PLANNING FOR 2017](https://highcountryliving.net/garden-planning-for-2017/): We’ve begun planning for our new garden! Tim and I have been reading up on high-elevation gardening, to be aware of where to put the garden, how to lay it out, and what to be prepared for. We want to have a pretty good idea of the big picture soon, as I want to plant what I can before winter sets in, namely onions, garlic and asparagus. Our first thought was to put the garden on the south side of the house in full sun. That’s what all the books & websites will tell you, right? So, this is where […] - ["SIX-PACK" GROWS UP](https://highcountryliving.net/six-pack-grows-up/): The “baby” ducklings are now 9 weeks old, and all grown up! Nine Weeks Old We just have the six ducks now. We gave away the two remaining Golden Cascades. It just seemed easier to deal with feeding and caring for the six young’uns. When we took the six-pack out to the big pen with the big ducks, we had a partition up the middle of both the house and the pen, to keep them separate. Besides requiring different feed, we weren’t sure how the bigger ducks would treat the smaller ones. When we did put them together in the […] - [THE NORTH 20 FENCE](https://highcountryliving.net/the-north-20-fence/): Finally! After several weeks of really hard work, the north 20 acres are now fenced. We turned the horses out into their new pasture last Thursday and they are loving it. Having this much pasture (about 35 acres for the 3 horses) is going to save us a bunch of money on hay. And, it is such a pleasure to see the horses out in the wide open spaces living more like they were created to live. You can see some fall color in the Aspens.   - [BIG DUCKS, LITTLE DUCKS](https://highcountryliving.net/big-ducks-little-ducks/): The baby ducks have been moved out to the Duckagon with the big ducks. They are separated from the big ducks for a bit until they get a little bigger. After putting them into the Duckagon, Laurie had to “encourage” them to come out and explore. The big ducks and Goldie were very interested in these new additions. It’s amazing how fast they grow! - [DUCKLINGS HAVE ARRIVED](https://highcountryliving.net/ducklings-have-arrived/): Two days old, and pretty darn photogenic! Whitey (White Layer)   Blackie – Cayuga Fawn – Fawn & White Runner Cocoa – Chocolate Runner Harley – Welsh Harlequin   Quinn – Welsh Harlequin - [NEW DUCKLINGS COMING](https://highcountryliving.net/duck-update/): It’s been a long time since the last duck update. We now have just two of the Golden Cascades, Gertrude and Spot. After dealing with the prolapsed oviduct issues with Bess, then with Gertrude and Ellie May, we decided to remove Wily, our drake, from the flock in April. We weren’t sure we wanted to continue this breed, if the problems we’d had may be inherent with the breed. (Although, I wrote to Dave Holderread about these problems with 3 out of 4 of my ducks, and he had not heard of these problems with other Golden Cascades.) At any […] - [TWO YEARS LATER](https://highcountryliving.net/two-years-later/): This photo, taken this morning, is what the property looks like now, just 2 years after we bought the property. We have really enjoyed our home and property, and are still amazed that we live HERE! It’s been nice to “take it easy” a bit, and not feel so pressured to work on the house. We still have a lot of little things to do, but the major part of the work is behind us. We’ve had some visitors come enjoy the guest house (the RV), and feel like we know more people here in Guffey than we ever did […] - [THE RESULTS ARE IN!](https://highcountryliving.net/the-results-are-in/): Goldie’s DNA results are in! She is……..drumroll………… 50% German Shepherd (to Tim’s delight) 25% Boxer 12.5% American Staffordshire Terrier 12.5% American Bulldog (but “iffy” on this one, may be a mix) Now that we know, we can see the German Shepherd  in her, and also the Boxer (her face and ears). Tim is delighted about the GSD, as he has always loved his German Shepherds. She sure is a cutie! She has been a delight to have around. She has very few discipline problems and it has been fun to begin training her. She is amazingly calm for a puppy […] - [ALL THAT GLITTERS...IS GOLDIE!](https://highcountryliving.net/all-that-glitters-is-goldie/): For a while, we’ve been wanting to fill out our menagerie with a dog. I (Tim) have always had dogs around, while Laurie’s family was a cat family. We’ve been watching “Craigslist” as well as checking out animal shelters. Laurie spotted a 7-month old puppy at the Humane Society that peaked our interest. We went to see her and it was a perfect match! “Chantilly” had just come into the shelter and they don’t let them out until they are spayed. So, we had to go back the next evening after her surgery to pick her up. That worked out […] - [CO'D IN CO!](https://highcountryliving.net/cod-in-co/): WE DID IT!!!! We got our final inspection and received our CO (Certificate of Occupancy)! There is still lots of inside finish work to do, but we will be sleeping in our new Happy House from now on. Here’s a pic with our friendly neighborhood Park County Inspector (Kim Hall) handing us our final inspection approval: We moved the bed in:  and we have a functioning kitchen:  We have a functioning bathroom (with a real shower, as opposed to the dribbler in the RV!) (no photo) OK, so it’s not ready for Better Homes and Gardens, yet. But, it will […] - [GERTRUDE'S PROGRESS](https://highcountryliving.net/gertrudes-progress/): Gertrude’s problems with her prolapsed oviduct continue. We had her in “lock-up”, the darkened duck house, separated from the other ducks, for three days. She continued looking good, so I let her out to join her friends. After two days, the prolapse re-appeared, but not as bad. I ignored it for a couple of days, then put her back in the duck house, but not in the dark, just to keep her quiet and separate. I hoped that it would heal itself, but she kept laying eggs, and I think this aggravated the problem. Finally, I soaked her again in […] - [DUCKS CATCH MICE!](https://highcountryliving.net/ducks-catch-mice/): A couple of times, I’ve found a dead mouse in the ducks’ paddock, and it looked a bit chewed. The other day it was pretty fresh, and I know that KK (the cat) hadn’t been in there. It had to have been the ducks. I’ve googled it, and sure enough, ducks do catch (and eat!) mice. I didn’t know we were getting more mousers when we got the ducks. By the way, KK and the ducks get along quite well. I have no worries about leaving them out together. I think the ducks are too big and scary for KK […] - [WORKING ON THE BATHROOM](https://highcountryliving.net/working-on-the-bathroom/): We’re working on finishing the bathroom now. Actually, Laurie is doing most of the work at this point. She textured the walls and is now painting them. She looks like she’s having WAY too much fun! (Can’t find the photos for this post.) Laurie will be adding the grout to the tile next. At the same time, I’ll be putting down the floor and installing the vanity/sink and toilet. If all goes well, we’ll have a fully functional bathroom in a few days! We’re getting really close to getting our final inspection and CO (Certificate of Occupancy)! We’re shooting for […] - [LOOKING UP](https://highcountryliving.net/looking-up/): One of the very unique features about our round house (think “yurt” but not made out of canvas) is the peaked ceiling with the sky dome at the top. It really adds something unique to the feel of the house. It’s hard to describe until you experience it. I finally finished all the woodwork on the compression ring (on which the sky dome sits), all the tongue and groove pine and the finish trim between the ceiling segments 8′ down from the top. The rest of the ceiling trim has to wait until the wall trim is installed as the […] - [NO LIGHTS IN THE DUCK HOUSE](https://highcountryliving.net/no-lights-duck-house/): Since two of the ducks have suffered a prolapsed oviduct, we’ve done a lot more reading about this issue. One of the causes may have been that the young ducks were forced to commence laying at too young an age by adding artificial light to their daily routine. I will say that I didn’t begin adding the artificial light too soon, according to several references. Most resources recommend somewhere between 19-23 weeks of age, and I began lighting at 21 weeks, just a little more than the natural daylight at that time. However, after consideration, we have decided not to […] - [GERTRUDE - UPDATE](https://highcountryliving.net/gertrude-update/): Gertrude is doing well! Yesterday evening (the end of the first full day in “lock-up”) I discovered that Gertrude had laid an egg–the first in a few days. Again, this morning there was another egg on her side of the fence, and all body parts are still intact, nothing hanging out. We will keep her in lock-up a few days, and hopefully this problem will be resolved. The three remaining ducks have spent a lot of time hanging out just outside the side of the duck house where Gertrude is held. I guess they’re keeping her company. - [GERTRUDE](https://highcountryliving.net/gertrude/): After yesterday’s visit to the wolf sanctuary with Bess, we came home to deal with another duck. Gertrude has also begun to show signs of a prolapsed oviduct. Since I’ve only begun to notice this and it is not in such an advanced stage as Bess, we will attempt to treat this. After doing a lot of research, here’s what I did: First, I set Gertrude into a tub of lukewarm water with epsom salts and held her there for about 10 minutes in our shed, which was shielded from wind and the other ducks. Then, with Tim’s help, he […] - [BESS](https://highcountryliving.net/bess/): Sorry to say it, but we’ve had to let Bess go. She developed a prolapsed oviduct, and it would have required an expensive visit to a vet to repair her. It just wasn’t worth it to us to take the time or spend the money. Apparently it is somewhat common, we’ve just never experienced it before. I believe she was our first duck to lay eggs; the day we first had eggs, she had a wet, drippy rear end with something hanging out. This led me to believe she was the one to lay. Perhaps she had problems right from […] - [GUFFEY GARDEN?](https://highcountryliving.net/guffey-garden/): As January rolls on and we’ve been receiving seed catalogs and emails from favorite seed companies, I’m itchin’ to start a garden here at our new location near Guffey, CO. Our house is well along the way, and we hope to be able to move in by the end of February. However, the house won’t really be “done”. There will be continuing work to complete the interior, even after we’ve moved in. I’m afraid I won’t be able to do much of a garden this year, and am not yet looking at the catalogs. I do hope to begin with a […] - [FOUR EGGS! (ABOUT TIME!)](https://highcountryliving.net/4-eggs-about-time/): Finally, all four ducks are laying. We began getting two eggs a day on January 11. Since then, we had two eggs almost every day, waiting for the day a third duck would lay. Then, yesterday (1/26) there were four, and four again today. One of today’s eggs was a whopping 4.4 oz, a record size for these ducks. - [ALL DECKED OUT - PART II](https://highcountryliving.net/all-decked-out-part-ii/): A while back, I had a post called “All Decked Out”. This showed the completion of the deck. However, the railing was not up. So, here’s “All Decked Out” – Part II. We had a few days of nice weather, so I moved back outside and put up the railing on the deck. There are code requirements to meet, but we wanted the railing to be as minimally obstructive to our view as possible. We think we succeeded. Here’s a pic looking at the house from where the horse paddock is: This one shows an outside view looking across our […] - [SPOT FLIES!](https://highcountryliving.net/spot-flies/): Silly Spot. She seems to be my silliest duck. For the third time I know of, Spot has gotten herself onto the deck. She’s not terribly concerned, just looking at her buddies below. Her buddies are checking her out. She contemplates her departure.   And….there she goes. Flying like a real duck! She’s just gotta work on that landing. Not too graceful. Silly Spot! - [WHERE THE DEER & THE ANTELOPE...UH...INVADE?](https://highcountryliving.net/where-the-deer-and-the-antelope-uh-invade/): Life at the ranch isn’t all about building a house. We continue to be amazed at the scenery and wildlife. We see a LOT of deer. Occasionally, we see a few elk. Only one time have we seen one lone antelope walking down, of all places, Antelope Lane 🙂 . That is, until yesterday. They must have been planning this huge invasion! Laurie noticed the horses running in the pasture. When she looked out the window she discovered what they were all excited about: There must be over 50 antelope in this group! They are just outside the fenced portion […] - [ELECTRIFYING!](https://highcountryliving.net/electrifying/): We got everything done that needed to be done in preparation for finishing up the electric. The electrician came out a week ago and finished up all the electric. So, now we have lights, hot water, live outlets everywhere, outside motion detector flood lights, etc. Now we can work all night if we want to. Wait a minute! We’re retired…we’re not going to do that! Laurie and I are continuing to stain and put up the ceiling tongue and groove boards. It’s really looking nice. It is getting more and more to feel like a real house. I’ll start focusing […] - [MOVING RIGHT ALONG](https://highcountryliving.net/moving-right-along/):   Well no, we’re not actually “moving in” just yet. But we are continually making progress. It’s been an entire month since our last post, and during this time Tim has put up the drywall, and we’ve begun preparation to get it textured and painted soon. Here is (left to right) front door, kitchen (showing back side of counter, where the sink will be), hallway (utility room window at the end), bathroom door, and the edge of our closet. We’ve begun covering the ceiling with pine from a local sawmill. We like using local and/or “green” products as much as […] - [TRIPLE CLINK AND READY TO FINISH](https://highcountryliving.net/triple-clink-ready-finish/): We have developed a fun tradition with our dear friend Trisha (in North Carolina). Whether we’re together or apart, if we have some good news to share we celebrate with a toast. We call it a “clink” (think of glasses clinking together). Any drink will do, ice tea, water, wine, fruit juice. it’s all fun. And if we’re not together a “virtual clink” over the phone is just as good. We called Trisha the other night to report a Triple Clink. We passed the electrical rough inspection, plumbing rough inspection and framing inspection all within a few days of each […] - [FIRST EGGS!](https://highcountryliving.net/first-eggs/): First eggs from Golden Cascades, 14 November 2015 There were TWO EGGS in the duck house this morning! This is a full month earlier than the first eggs we’d gotten from our previous ducks. One of the eggs (the larger of the two) was crushed, but the other was unbroken. They both had some blood on the outside, and the shells were not real hard. The smaller of the two was about the size of a medium to large chicken egg. I did not want to eat the egg, due to its messiness on the outside, but I cracked it […] - [IT'S "EX-SIDING"?](https://highcountryliving.net/its-ex-siding/): OK, ok, really bad phonetic pun, but I couldn’t resist. We have a little over half of the house sided now and we’re truly excited about how it looks. The siding is fiber-cement, and should be pretty much maintenance-free and fireproof. I did all sides of the house where it had a deck. I will have to put up the remaining siding from a ladder. First, we put on the house wrap: Here I am putting on the siding: This shows a view from the deck: Here’s a view from the pasture: We have to still put up railing around […] - [LIGHTS FOR EGGS](https://highcountryliving.net/lights-for-eggs/): The ducks are now 21 weeks old. I love the way their color camouflages them to protect them from predators. This is one of their favorite hangouts. Can you count all five? (Where’s Waldo?) On Monday (10/26) I put a timer on a light in the duck house. It’s coming on just before dawn right now, and each week I’ll increase the amount of light they get until they’ve got at least 14 hours of light per day. Hopefully they will think it’s becoming spring, and this will stimulate egg production. We’ve also gotten a thermostat to put on a […] - [ALL DECKED OUT](https://highcountryliving.net/all-decked-out/): We’ve had unbelievably nice weather so far. We just got our first snow on Oct. 22, 2015. It was only about 2 inches, and it melted off by the next day. That’s really late for our first snow of the year. By now, we have usually had several snows. I wonder if that means we’ll have a warm winter, or if we’re going to end up paying for that nice early winter with severe cold and snow storms. Time will tell. At any rate, we have taken advantage of the nice weather by continuing to work on the outside of […] - [DOWN TO 5 DUCKS](https://highcountryliving.net/five-ducks/): Golden Cascades, 17 Weeks Old, 4 Hens, 1 Drake Now we’ve got the final count. After discovering that we had two drakes (rather than just one, as planned) we have now donated one of the drakes to a nearby Wolf Sanctuary.  I’m sure the wolves there appreciate the donation. The photo above shows the ducks we plan to keep indefinitely. Hopefully, the drake will allow us to have a few baby ducklings in the spring. The last batch of ducks we had remained unnamed, other than the colored bands they had around their ankles (pink, green, blue, etc.)  This time […] - [WHY WE MOVED HERE](https://highcountryliving.net/why-we-moved-here/): There are several reasons that we moved here. First and foremost is our Father’s leading. But, there are plenty of other benefits for which we are grateful. One of the highlights of our year is to ride our horses in the mountains when the aspens are in full fall color. This year we trailered the horses to Kenosha Pass to take in the fall plumage, and took a friend along. Here are some pics. We hope you are as amazed as we are when we get to see God’s handiwork in such glorious splendor.  Previous Next - [MEGA POST](https://highcountryliving.net/mega-post/): This post includes a lot of topics. I’ll try to keep each one short so you don’t nod off… The Roof is Done Whew, the roof is finally done! All the metal flashing is up and we should be water-proof now. All the ups and downs on the ladder, putting on the harness (so I don’t fall off), fighting the wind that frequently tried to pull the metal out of my hands, etc. Lest you get the wrong idea, Laurie has been a tremendous help in all of this. She stays on the ground and does things like cut metal, […] - [DINNER & WATER IN THE HH](https://highcountryliving.net/dinner-and-water-in-the-hh/): Dinner and water? Sounds like an odd combination. But, things are continuing to move along in the Happy House (HH) and these are two things I wanted to share in this post. A few weeks ago, Laurie and I set up a card table and plastic chairs in the HH. A few times we took some cheese, crackers and wine out there and enjoyed the view while munching. The other day Kelly and Carol (who are building a house on a property across the road from us) came over to share dinner. We decided to eat in the HH; a […] - [THE DUCK STORY](https://highcountryliving.net/the-duck-story/): In addition to building the house, we took on 13 ducklings, which arrived June 4th. 13 Ducklings, June 5 They grew, and grew, and at 12 weeks, they really filled the pool! A few days ago we finally found time to “reduce the flock”. We sold two of the females, and butchered three drakes and two of the remaining females. As planned, we had six remaining ducks; presumably one drake and five hens, all the Golden Cascades. The only problem was this little stinker. “She” turned out to be a “he”. This one looks pretty much like the other hens, […] - [GETTING CLOSER TO THE VISION](https://highcountryliving.net/getting-closer-to-the-vision/): We went to Colorado Springs to pick up the windows and doors. We installed them and added the overhangs: Here is a pic looking out from the interior: What a view, eh? This one shows the skylight: When we headed off to bed it was 68 degrees inside the house. When we got up next morning it was 42 degrees outside, but still 60 degrees in the house. Not much heat loss overnight. And, we’re not even fully closed up yet! This is a good time to review what we had envisioned and where we’re currently at. Here is our […] - [INSTANT HOUSE](https://highcountryliving.net/instant-house/): After months of planning, reviewing drawings (correcting mistakes on the plan) and getting the SIPs panels made ahead of time the big day has arrived. All the pieces should fit together and in 3 days we should have what looks like a house. Here we go… The first floor panel is in place: The horses are clearly not impressed (or interested) as more floor panels are added:  With the floor done, wall panels start going up:  Now for the roof:  After several roof panels are in place, it’s time for the compression ring:  The last roof panel goes in:  Now for […] - [FOUNDATION COMPLETE](https://highcountryliving.net/foundation-done/): Whew! The foundation is finished and passed inspection with two whole days to spare before the SIPs crew gets here to put up the house 🙂 . Here’s a pic of the foundation: You can see the plastic around the outside of the foundation wall and the beams across the middle that will support the floor.  Next up: SIPs installation. - [HOUSE ON A TRAILER](https://highcountryliving.net/house-on-a-trailer/): On Tuesday, ‎August ‎4th, ‎the SIPs panels arrived. The floor, walls and roof of our house were all on a single trailer: The driver unloaded the panels and Tim directed where each set of panels was to be placed (around the house) in order to make them the most convenient to grab and put up in order:  Here you can see several piles of panels with the foundation wall just visible to the right of them:  You can see that the panels are kind of like an Oreo cookie; OSB on each side with foam in between. The floor is […] - [BASEMENT WALLS](https://highcountryliving.net/basement-walls/): The basement walls are framed and we’re starting to put plywood on the outside. Our friend, Trisha, helped!   Here’s a picture from farther back showing the barn, RV and background: The septic system was completed and approved.  We expect the SIPs panels to be delivered on Tuesday. We’re tentatively scheduled to put up the SIPs the following week. That means we will have the house under roof in about 2 weeks from now – WAHOO! - [A FIRM FOUNDATION](https://highcountryliving.net/a-firm-foundation/): Wahoo!! We passed the county inspection for the footers and got them poured! The building inspector and the excavation guy both commented on how much attention to detail we were applying. I guess they see a lot of less-than-good-quality instances that they have to deal with. Hey, we’re retired; we have the time to do it right 🙂 . After all, there is a fundamental principle that a firm foundation is the key to a well-built house. I enjoy contemplating spiritual parallels to the “everyday” events in our lives. If you’re interested, you can read my thoughts about the spiritual […] - [HAVING A "BLAST"](https://highcountryliving.net/having-a-blast/): Many people don’t realize how much work goes into a new property before you can even think about working on building the house. The septic system is being built, trenching is done to run water and electric lines to the house, barn and RV. And digging for the house foundation is finally done. Monstrous machines were brought in to dig up the dirt and crunch thru the rock. There were some rocky areas that even the machines couldn’t bust thru. They had to blast these areas with dynamite to break them up. Then, the monster machines again clawed at the […] - [GROWING DUCKLINGS](https://highcountryliving.net/growing-ducklings/): Life has been busy here, making plans and working on the property and house. Little by little, the duck’s house is complete, and heeeere it is…. The DUCKAGON It was made of materials left over from the barn. Our house is going to be round, or round-ish–it’ll actually be a tetra-decagon, with 14 sides. That’s how we came up with the idea of the duckagon, to match our round theme. The duckagon has only 8 sides, but it’ll be awfully cute next to the big house when it’s done! We actually put two doors in it, with the thought we […] - [IT'S OFFICIAL?](https://highcountryliving.net/its-official/): We’re continuing to make progress at the new Golden Gaits Ranch property. There’s a lot of grass in the fields that is just begging to be enjoyed by the horses. However, the property is not fenced. I (Tim) started working a bit on fencing in order to not let all that grass go to waste. Here’s a picture of the horses enjoying their newly expanded pasture: The fence is not truly “horse-proof” at this point. It’s just a single strand of electric wire. But, the horses respect the wire and have plenty to eat. However, we put them back in […] - [New Duck House & Paddock](https://highcountryliving.net/new-house-paddock/): The ducks continue to grow, and are a lot of fun to watch.  They’ve been in their new house and paddock area for about a week and a half now.  They’ve got a small kiddie pool, and we gradually increased their “pool time” each day, until we began giving them free choice pool time about 5 days ago. There are bricks around the side, and a big rock inside, to give them easy access in and out.  They are frequently in the pool. It’s been fun to watch them dive under water, even though it’s only about 6-8” deep, but […] - [Golden Cascade Ducklings: Videos](https://highcountryliving.net/ducklings-videos/): Videos have been deleted from youtube. Leaving this post here as a placeholder in case I find a better host. Here are a couple of videos of the ducklings’ first days: This one was taken June 5, the day after we got them: This was yesterday, June 11. Look how much bigger they are! The ducks are really growing. Tim is working fast on their new duckhouse for this location. It won’t be anything like the last one, but we think it will be great.  Just wait to see! - [SUMMER LIVING](https://highcountryliving.net/summer-living/): Most mornings lately have been sunny, warm and beautiful. Yesterday I went for an early walk, and loved seeing the morning sun shine through these fresh aspens near our property. The quiet is so restful, with only the sounds of birds singing. Very often there are times when nothing motorized can be heard! (Click on photos to view larger size.) I went on to our “south hill” and enjoyed this view of our recently completed barn and home site. Plans for the house are in full swing, as Tim gets estimates from electricians, plumbers, etc. Excavation for the house and […] - [GOLDEN CASCADE DUCKLINGS @ ONE WEEK](https://highcountryliving.net/ducks-one-week/): Here’s a shot of the ducklings the day after we got them (above). The ducks are now one week old. All is going well, and the chores have now become habit. In addition to providing food & water, each day I clean out their brooder box. This procedure is a lot like what we did with our first ducks, and we are using the same car-top carrier box as before. There are videos of the 2011 brooder box & cleaning routine HERE. The little guy front and center in this photo is my favorite, at this point. He (at least […] - [RETIRED? WHAT'S THAT?](https://highcountryliving.net/retired-whats-that/): Last Friday (29May2015) was my (Tim’s) last official day of working (and getting paid for it). They call it retirement. I’m starting to wonder where that word came from. “re-tired” – does that mean tired all over again? That’s how I’m starting to feel. Working on the barn, putting up fence, working with the horses, plowing my way thru a 700 page code book (acting as my own general contractor, I have to understand all the code requirements), getting permits, meeting with subcontractors to get estimates, building a duck brooder, making plans to build a duck house, helping a neighbor […] - [DUCKLINGS ARE HERE!](https://highcountryliving.net/ducks-are-here/): Our new batch of ducklings has arrived! They were hatched Tuesday, June 2 at Holderread Waterfowl Farm in Oregon, and shipped out that evening. After a postal service mishap in which the shipment was delayed, we found that they were sitting in Colorado Springs and would remain there overnight unless we picked them up there. Off we went, yesterday afternoon, to get them. They were all safe and sound in their shipping box! Per instructions, we gave them some water with a little honey in it prior to the trip home. We had their brooder area all ready for them, […] - [LOCAL CRITTERS](https://highcountryliving.net/local-critters/): Daily we see these beautiful, vibrant Mountain Bluebirds. It’s quite a delight to have them around. This photo is the male, the females are more brownish with just a little blue. We also have many of these Pinyon Jays around. They’re larger than the mountain bluebird, and not as vibrant blue. They have quite a loud, distinctive CAW–CAW that we hear over and over. Last, but not the least, we are over-run with these squirrels. They are called Wyoming or Richardson’s Ground Squirrels, and they are everywhere. They must have extensive tunnels underground; we see holes in the ground all […] - [CONSTRUCTION UPDATE](https://highcountryliving.net/construction-update/): We continue to make progress, little by little. The barn is getting closer to completion. The storage/workshop area is mostly done, with its SIPs walls and roof; the doors and window are in and the roof is mostly completed now with metal roofing to match the main barn. The lean-to is well on the way. We had someone come out to do a site inspection of the property in order to do the engineering necessary for our septic system. When the engineering is completed, we can submit that to the county for our septic permit. Then we can  move forward […] - [MOUNTAIN LIVING, MAY 2015](https://highcountryliving.net/mountain-living-may-2015/): Living in the mountains sure is different from the lowlands! We have been here almost 4 weeks now, and have had quite a taste of our new life here. We’ve had a couple of good-size spring snowstorms, which left roughly 10” of snow each time. Now we’re in the middle of the third since we arrived full time. At one point we were without power for about 4 hours, and another time it was out for about 34 hours. Today it was real glitchy, going off and on all morning. The internet has occasionally been down, which means we not […] - [NEIGHBORS](https://highcountryliving.net/neighbors/): Now that we’re here full time, many neighbors have been stopping by to say hello. If they don’t stop, they often drive by slowly, curiously looking at the property and waving. It’s been great to meet friendly folks and discover where they all came from and what brought them here. Many are retired; some are snowbirds, spending winters in warmer climates and summers here. Everyone seems to love the mountain lifestyle, getting away from cities and their escalating problems. Some have been here many years, others a short time; one is still building and not sure if or when they’ll […] - [WELCOME TO THE COLORADO MOUNTAINS!](https://highcountryliving.net/welcome-to-the-colorado-mountains/): There’s an expression around here: “If you don’t like the weather in Colorado, wait 15 minutes”. OK, things aren’t quite that extreme, but we certainly do get a variety of fast-changing weather. As if to underscore this point, here’s a pic from our “move in” day (Thursday, April 23) sitting on the swing in the evening enjoying a glass of wine: and here are some pics after a snowstorm 3 days later: Today, the temp will be back up in the 50’s and in 2 or 3 days the snow will all be gone. Of course, then we have to […] ## Pages - [Companions-List](https://highcountryliving.net/garden/what-grows/companions-list/): COMPANION PLANTING GUIDE Greenhouse tomatoes surrounded by marigolds, thyme & potted lavender.Photo 12/5/25. Outdoors 36F, Indoors 68F. “Companion planting” is pretty common for gardeners throughout the world. It’s the concept of pairing plants in our gardens that complement one another, OR separating plants that are NOT good garden companions. Why bother with companion planning? Some plants are said to improve the flavor of another when planted in close proximity. We might want to plant something nearby that will repel certain pests away from a desired plant. We might want to plant an unnecessary “trap” plant a bit of a distance […] - [WHITEFLIES IN THE MOUNTAINS](https://highcountryliving.net/garden/whiteflies-in-the-mountains/): WHITEFLIES DO THEY LIVE IN THE MOUNTAINS? We don’t have very many bugs here in the mountains: no mosquitoes, no squash bugs, no tomato hornworms, no Colorado potato beetles, no cucumber beetles and very few cabbage worms. (Jealous?) But after 9 years gardening here, the whiteflies found us in 2024-2025. Shortly after we constructed our greenhouse I was telling a local friend about it. She told me she’d abandoned her greenhouse because the whiteflies were so bad. I’ve been keeping my eye out ever since, and felt fortunate that I hadn’t seen them. I don’t know why it took them […] - [SUNCHOKES](https://highcountryliving.net/garden/what-grows/sunchokes/): SUNCHOKES aka: jerusalem artichoke Two names for the same thing, I prefer the name “Sunchokes” which compliments the beautiful sunflower-like blooms that appear late in the season and differentiates better between these and globe artichokes. I’ve heard about these for quite some time, but had never eaten them. After learning that they would likely grow well here quite easily, I wanted to eat some first, before growing! I finally found some at the market, brought them home, sauteed them, and they were delicious. On to the garden plan for 2025. It was a little hard to find them to purchase […] - [2025 BANNER YEAR](https://highcountryliving.net/garden/2025-banner-year/): 2025 :: a banner year It’s November 2025. Time to relax and do some writing after a “BANNER” summer of outdoor gardening in 2025. Some of the veggies I’ve always grown did better than ever, one new experiment did wonderfully, another not so great, but that’s what experimenting is all about, right? Here’s a few highlights of a few differences this year. CLICK ON THE TITLES OR PHOTOS TO READ MORE! ONIONS & SHALLOTS This year our onions grew the best ever. 83 pounds of beautiful onions were harvested in September. The main thing I did differently for them is […] - [Top Tips for Growing at High Elevation](https://highcountryliving.net/garden/top-tips/): TOP TIPS for GROWING VEGETABLES AT HIGH ELEVATION 8,000′ or higher Many folks with good gardening knowledge from lower elevations move to a high elevation area and suddenly discover there’s more to growing food than they thought! When we first moved to 9,000’ and were looking for information about growing food at high elevation, we were surprised to find that there wasn’t much available. When searching for “high elevation” or “high altitude” gardening (or cooking), I came across information geared for places at 5,000 feet. Heck, to me that’s NOT high elevation, and very different from our area. Here are […] - [Are We Preppers?](https://highcountryliving.net/be-prepared/are-we-preppers/): ARE WE PREPPERS? You might be wondering if we are “preppers”. The answer depends on how you define “prepper”. We think that using labels to describe people are not very helpful and actually can be harmful. When you label a person, you put them in a “box” and you think you know all about them. The label that you assign to a person leads you to define that person as friend or foe; someone you want to be around or avoid. This isn’t at all helpful. Rather than labeling people, we need to get to know them and form opinions […] - [BE PREPARED](https://highcountryliving.net/be-prepared/): BE PREPARED! Tim and I have made an effort to be more prepared for whatever might happen: power outages & propane shortages, a pandemic, supply-chain shortages, civil unrest, or any other big event that might cause an inability to get food & supplies. Our communication needs are well taken care of with ham radio. ELECTRICITYWe are off-grid, utilizing solar power for our electrical needs. Unless there is some sort of major EMP directly overhead, we shouldn’t lose power. We have a generator as back-up if necessary. We can get around the property & neighborhood in our solar-powered golf cart, too. […] - [Handy Links](https://highcountryliving.net/handy-links/): HANDY GARDEN LINKS A FEW THINGS MENTIONED THROUGHOUT THIS SITE: Companion Planting: https://highcountryliving.net/garden/what-grows/companions-list/“Cold Closet”: https://highcountryliving.net/cold-storage-closet/Soil Blocks: https://highcountryliving.net/garden/starting-seedlings-indoors/Soil Block Planting Mix Recipe : https://highcountryliving.net/garden/soil-block-recipe/ GARDEN MAPPING & JOURNALS: GrowVeg: https://www.growveg.com/ FAVORITE SEEDS & GARDEN SUPPLIES: Territorial Seed: https://territorialseed.com/Fedco Seeds: https://www.fedcoseeds.com/True Leaf Market: https://trueleafmarket.com/Botanical Interests: https://www.botanicalinterests.com/Peaceful Valley: https://www.groworganic.com/Dixondale Onions (Transplants): https://dixondalefarms.com/Shade Cloth: https://shadeclothstore.com/  We use the 70% black knit shade cloth. We haven’t tried any other.Soil Block Makers: https://www.johnnyseeds.com/tools-supplies/seed-starting-supplies/soil-blocking/ https://www.groworganic.com/collections/soil-blockers (also on Amazon) GROWING ZONES & FROST DATES: Find your USDA Growing Zone: https://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/USDA Growing Zone + Other Info: https://www.plantmaps.com/index.phpFind your first/last frost dates: https://morningchores.com/frost-dates/ - [Garden Timeline](https://highcountryliving.net/garden/garden-timeline/): HIGH ELEVATION GARDEN TIMELINE click here to download this timeline FEBRUARY-MARCH (First-Time Garden) Choose your location & garden size Make it expandable for future needs Choose a well-protected spot with at least 8 hours of sun per day Plan what to grow Order seeds Create a calendar of starting dates Get supplies you’ll need seedling supplies, soil block makers fertilizers, amendments fencing supplies (check thrift stores) raised bed supplies (check thrift stores) Map out your garden Make a sketch Number your beds for reference Optional: growveg.com Start making compost & vermicompost Start seedlings as needed onions, leeks, shallots APRIL (First […] - [R2 Workshop](https://highcountryliving.net/r2-workshop/): WESTCLIFFE R2 WORKSHOP “GROWING FOOD AT HIGH ELEVATION” Laurie & Tim presented this workshop for the Westcliffe R2 group on February 10, 2024, at our home. Due to the snow, some were unable to make it. We will work with Linda to schedule another workshop if anyone would like to come. We gave a tour of our garden, heated greenhouse & presented our best methods and some tips & tricks for high elevation gardening based on our experiences here at 9,000 feet. LINKS TO WORKSHOP MATERIALS Workshop Slideset: Growing Food at High ElevationHandy Links (seed sites, garden supplies, etc.): Handy Garden […] - [COLD STORAGE CLOSET](https://highcountryliving.net/cold-storage-closet/): “COLD CLOSET” STORAGE When we first got our garden going here at 9,000’ we thought about how we would store our veggies for the longest term possible. We thought a good old-fashioned root cellar might be in our future and began to think about how we might dig it into a hill. That seemed like a lot of work, and we weren’t sure we’d want to deal with some of the problems that type of root cellar can have. As we researched root cellars and similar kinds of cold storage, we decided to work with what we’ve got: a walk-in […] - [blogposts](https://highcountryliving.net/blogposts/): blog posts - [GLOBAL FONT WORKSHEET](https://highcountryliving.net/global-font-worksheet/): PREVIOUS HEADING GLOBAL HEADING LS – XL PREVIOUS SUB HEADING – LARGE GLOBAL SUB HEADING – LARGE Previous Body. This is going to be main body. It has been Raleway 14 but should I consider something else? I dunno, I still like it. I think I’ll stick with it and not snooze. Global Font Body. This is going to be main body. It has been Raleway 14 but should I consider something else? I dunno, I still like it. I think I’ll stick with it and not snooze. One more time. Global Font Body. This is going to be main […] - [CONTACT 3](https://highcountryliving.net/contact-3/): CONTACT US Fill out the form below to CONTACT US at High County Living. Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.Name *FirstLastEmail *Comment or Message Submit - [HAM RADIO](https://highcountryliving.net/ham-radio/): HAM RADIO We both became HAM RADIO OPERATORS in 2021 and both reached the Amateur Extra status the same year, the highest level for ham operators.  We’ve been hamming on the radio, adding to our collection of ham radio equipment, adding to our collection of amateur radio operator friends, adding to our collection of amateur radio knowledge & licenses, and adding to our collection of websites.  All this, along with all of our other projects including increasing our solar power, has kept us busy! If you’re reading this and you’re not a Ham Radio Operator, you might consider giving it […] - [GOOD NEWS](https://highcountryliving.net/good-news/): GOOD NEWS! Are you ready for some GOOD news??? Let’s admit it: this world is a mess. Despite all of our “advances”,  humans are still fundamentally broken and it should be obvious by now that we are not capable of “pulling ourselves up by our own bootstraps”. If you’re looking for something better here is some good news! There is a future world coming where there is peace and abundant life. In this “future world” no one is in need and everyone is loved. That “future world” is already taking root in the midst of this messed up world and you can […] - [INSTANT POT :: HIGH ELEVATION](https://highcountryliving.net/mountain-cooking/instant-pot-high-elevation/): INSTANT POT :: HIGH ELEVATION At high elevation there are a few special needs to keep in mind when using multicookers such as the Instant Pot. There are several important as well as subtle changes we need to make, and after living at various high elevations for the past 35+ years, I’d like to pass along some of the nuances of pressure cooking with an electric multicooker at high elevation. TIME ADJUSTMENTInstant Pot recipes are generally created for cooking at low elevation, somewhere between sea level and 2,000 feet. However, for high elevation we need to increase the suggested pressure […] - [AA](https://highcountryliving.net/aa/): Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo. Trying the new Custom Font Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo. Basket full of tomatoes Some more text and even more text Aspens at the edge New name is Goldie Previous Next - [GOLDEN GAITS GARDEN](https://highcountryliving.net/golden-gaits-garden/): GOLDEN GAITS GARDEN BLOG “Golden Gaits Garden” was the blog we kept from 2009 through 2017, from the time we began gardening & raising ducks in Wellington until the time High Country Living went live in 2017. This blog had been hosted on “Blogger”, but since we have left all association with Google, these pages have been integrated with High Country Living. Some of the photos & videos were lost in the transfer, but most have been found and re-entered. Have fun looking through the pages of “Golden Gaits Garden” when we first learning to garden & raise our first […] - [MOUNTAIN GAITWAY](https://highcountryliving.net/mountain-gaitway/): MOUNTAIN GAITWAY “Mountain Gaitway” was the blog we kept from 2014 through 2017, from the time we purchased and began developing this property until the time High Country Living went live in 2017. This blog had been hosted on “Blogger”, but since we have left all association with Google, these pages have been integrated with High Country Living. Most of the photos were lost in the transfer, but have been found and re-entered. Have fun looking through the pages of “Mountain Gaitway”. MOUNTAIN GAITWAY BLOG POST ARCHIVES - [SOIL BLOCK RECIPE](https://highcountryliving.net/garden/soil-block-recipe/): SOIL BLOCK MIX RECIPE CLICK TO DOWNLOAD .PDF 2” MINI or 4” MAXI BLOCKS Gather the following tools prior to your project: Large bushel-sized wheelbarrow or other container for mixing 1 “bucket” which measures 10-quarts and 5-quarts (half bucket) trowel or other mixing implement; (or hands, with or without gloves) sifting screen made with ¼” hardware cloth or minnow trap INGREDIENTS IMPORTANT: All ingredients should be screened to 1/4” before measuring and adding to the mix. 1 ½ buckets peat OR half peat/half coco peat 1 bucket compost, thoroughly decomposed (I always use purchased compost which is more consistent than […] - [GOLDEN CASCADES](https://highcountryliving.net/ducks/ducks-weve-raised/golden-cascades/): GOLDEN CASCADES 2015-2016 After moving to the mountains, one of our first projects besides building our house, was to add a flock of ducks to replace the ones we left behind in Wellington. After some research, we decided to raise Golden Cascade ducks. I wanted good layers, and wanted to help keep this rare breed going. The Golden Cascades were different, pretty, should be good egg producers, and a little meatier than the Welsh Harlequins we’d had before. Besides, “Golden Cascade” kind of fit with our “Golden Gaits Ranch” theme. We ordered 8 Golden Cascades, mainly for layers, and 4 […] - [WELSH HARLEQUIN & PEKIN DUCKS](https://highcountryliving.net/ducks/ducks-weve-raised/welsh-harlequin-pekin-ducks/): WELSH HARLEQUIN & PEKIN DUCKS Our first experience raising ducks began in 2011. That year, the first week of June we received our first shipment of Welsh Harlequin ducklings at our local post office. In addition to the WH ducklings, we were also sent one White Appleyard, a “bonus” duckling. As it turned out, one of the WH’s died in transit, so we had a total of ten. Tim made a great brooder box for them, made out of a shell for a car-top carrier we found at a local recycle place. We still have this box and have used […] - [WELLINGTON GARDEN](https://highcountryliving.net/garden/garden-history/wellington-garden/): “GOLDEN GAITS GARDEN” WELLINGTON, COLORADO We began our garden and duck-raising experiences at our first home together in Wellington, CO. We were married in 2008 and the garden began in 2009. Our first ducks arrived in 2011. At that time our garden and duck experiences were outlined in our blogspot blog, Golden Gaits Garden. That blog has been discontinued and the posts regarding the garden are now archived here. The information regarding ducks can be accessed in our Ducks pages. Note: Some (or all?) photos may be missing, or photo placement may be strange due to the import process. I’m […] - [SITEMAP](https://highcountryliving.net/sitemap/): SITEMAP - [MELON](https://highcountryliving.net/garden/what-grows/melon/): MELON Once or twice I attempted to grow cantaloupe or watermelon in our Wellington garden, and the melons never grew well enough to harvest. They should have. I believe it was warm enough there and that all conditions were right. I was just never successful. Knowing that melons like warm weather, I wasn’t sure if they would grow here but I wanted to try a variety that is a compact plant, suitable for my raised beds and for short seasons: MINNESOTA MIDGET (65-70 Days). I’d gotten a couple of these many years ago at a farmers market, and they were […] - [LEEKS](https://highcountryliving.net/garden/what-grows/leeks/): LEEKS KING SIEG ORGANIC LEEKS LEEKS like the cool weather of high elevation summers and do nicely here. Since they do not require time to bulb out, they can be started from seed in the ground or indoors for transplant. In the greenhouse, they are started either in soil blocks or directly in the greenhouse beds. If some are started indoors & others directly outside, they are available to gradually harvest from August through October. Those started directly in the ground may not be quite as large by the end of summer, but they are certainly edible. The leeks in the […] - [PARSNIPS](https://highcountryliving.net/garden/what-grows/parsnips/): PARSNIPS 2020 was our first year to grow parsnips here at 9,000 ft, and have been part of my garden ever since. If you’ve never tried them, you don’t know what you’re missing. They are DELICIOUS sauteed with a little butter. As with most root vegetables, they did very well here. Gladiator F1 (110 Days) seeds were sown in the ground May 15, and harvested October 24, 181 days after direct seeding. Some could have been harvested sooner, I’m sure, but I typically leave my root vegetables in the ground until I think it might freeze too much to dig […] - [2020 GARDEN SEASON](https://highcountryliving.net/garden/2020-garden-season/): 2020 OUTDOOR GARDEN SEASON WEATHER PESTS HARVESTS THE 2020 OUTDOOR GARDEN SEASON is now wrapped up. Snow and below zero temps began Sunday, October 25. All remaining plants were removed from the garden during the prior week, including carrots, potatoes, parsnips, leeks, brussels sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower & kale. Most beds have been covered with compost & hay mulch, so they can rest throughout the winter months. (Without enough compost to cover all beds, a few beds remain–waiting for compost & mulch later.) The greenhouse continues year-round, keeps me busy, and provides fresh produce that doesn’t store as well as many […] - [COMPANIONS](https://highcountryliving.net/garden/what-grows/companions/): COMPANION PLANTING SWEET ALYSSUM BEANS + CARROTS BEETS + PEAS CARROTS + PEAS PARSNIPS + PEAS MARIGOLDS There is a plethora of information about companion planting available from many garden resources. Companions can improve plant growth by providing nutrients, attracting beneficial insects, repelling pests, or acting as a trap plant (attracting bugs away from your favorite vegetables). It also provides beauty and variety throughout the garden. I use companion planting all around my garden. Some of my most common combinations are; peas & carrots, beets & beans, squash & marigolds. One of my favorite companions used all around the garden […] - [COMFREY](https://highcountryliving.net/garden/what-grows/comfrey/): COMFREY We grow COMFREY mainly to improve the soil and add to the compost. It grows well and quite fast and is a beautiful plant. Our comfrey was started in 2019 after receiving cuttings from Coe’s Comfrey. Because there was unused space in the greenhouse, the cuttings were started there the end of February. After some nice growth had begun, the plants were transplanted to one of the garden beds in May of that year and continued to grow well. As the years have progressed I’ve taken cuttings of the comfrey and have spread it throughout my fenced garden areas. […] - [KALE](https://highcountryliving.net/garden/what-grows/kale/): KALE NERO TOSCANA CASPER RAINBOW LACINATO Kale grows abundantly here, both outdoors and in the greenhouse. I usually grow one or two of these big, beautiful plants, and if we don’t eat it all, the ducks get plenty of snacks. Which is often. Admittedly, kale is not one of my favorite things to eat, despite all the raves about how good it is for us. We do occasionally grill it for a side dish, add it to soups, or sometimes to scalloped potatoes. KALE VARIETIES GROWNRainbow Lacinato (61 Days)  This is a big, beautiful plant with purple veins and dark […] - [KOHLRABI](https://highcountryliving.net/garden/what-grows/kohlrabi/): KOHLRABI Early White Vienna Kohlrabi Occasionally we grow kohlrabi in the outdoors or even in the greenhouse. The bulb portion of this odd-looking vegetable is eaten raw or cooked. It’s a bit sweet, and tastes similar to a tender broccoli stem. Shredded, it makes a nice slaw type of salad, or it is often diced and sautéed or added to soups. Kohlrabi grows very well in our climate. It likes the cool days and can withstand light frosts and below freezing temperatures, even a light snow. Kohlrabi greens can be eaten, but are a bit tough, and I usually give […] - [TODAY'S WEATHER](https://highcountryliving.net/todays-weather/): TODAY’S WEATHER powered by Ambient Weather OUR WEATHER STATION:GOLDEN GAITS RANCH(AT PIKE TRAILS RANCHES) WUNDERGROUND AMBIENT WEATHER - [DUCKS WE'VE RAISED](https://highcountryliving.net/ducks/ducks-weve-raised/): DUCKS WE’VE RAISED We have been raising ducks since the summer of 2011. As of Summer 2024, we are now keeping our 5th flock of ducks: five ducks, five different breeds. These ducks are now one year old. CURRENT FLOCK OF FIVE 2023-Present: Our current flock of five different ducklings, five different breeds were hatched August 2023. They are a wacky & fun bunch, and most of the time very calm. FIVE DUCKS :: FIVE BREEDS 2019-2023: Our current flock of five different ducklings, five different breeds were hatched August 1 & 8, 2019. They were a good flock, nice […] - [SWISS CHARD](https://highcountryliving.net/garden/what-grows/swiss-chard/): SWISS CHARD Swiss Chard likes the cool weather and grows well here, both outdoors and in the greenhouse. This photo was taken in the greenhouse. Swiss Chard is easy to grow! Occasionally I have had some damage from leaf miners, which go for everything in that family: chard, beets & spinach. I generally start my chard seeds in soil blocks to transplant, and they do great. Occasionally I have trouble with chard bolting before I really get a chance to enjoy it. But, it’s worth the effort when I get a good one that doesn’t bolt! “Red Rhubarb” Swiss Chard […] - [RUTABAGAS & TURNIPS](https://highcountryliving.net/garden/what-grows/rutabagas-turnips/): RUTABAGAS & TURNIPS As I was growing up, the kids in my family were REQUIRED to eat at least a couple of bites of rutabagas at Thanksgiving. Rutabagas had been a holiday tradition for my mother, who grew up in a small town in Minnesota with her German parents. Growing up in California, most of my friends had never heard of rutabagas and they weren’t real common, but Mom managed to find them and cook them for us.  Since Mom made us eat them, it became kind of a family joke, and all visitors at our table were required to […] - [WINTER SQUASH](https://highcountryliving.net/garden/what-grows/winter-squash/): WINTER SQUASH GROWN OUTDOORS & IN THE GREENHOUSE Small Wonder F1 on the Vine Celebration F1, Reno F1, Bush Delicata OP: Grown both Outdoors & In Celebration F1: Grown Vertically on a Post in the Greenhouse We both really like winter squashes of various types, and were pretty successful at our former location. However, in that lower location we were plagued by squash bugs and cucumber beetles, and the fight continued all summer. Sometimes losing plants completely. Here at 9,000 feet I have not seen either one of those vermin. Yahoo!! (Shhhhh!!! I don’t want them to find us!) I […] - [ZUCCHINI](https://highcountryliving.net/garden/what-grows/zucchini/): ZUCCHINI OUTDOORS & IN THE GREENHOUSE Golden Zucchini: growing outdoors under shade cloth Golden Zucchini Golden Zucchini: strung up to grow vertically in the greenhouse Zucchini grows great here! I’ve been growing zucchini both outdoors in the summer and in the greenhouse year-round since the garden began. Although one plant would normally be enough just for the two of us, I like the color combination of yellow and green zucchini together for many dishes. I especially like it grilled with red & orange sweet peppers and onions, but that’s another story for the recipe file. Although I am learning to […] - [GREENS](https://highcountryliving.net/garden/what-grows/greens/): GREENS Just about all types of greens grow very well in our cool climate. They’re grown outdoors all summer, in the greenhouse fall, winter & spring, and in the cold frame in late winter to very early spring. We’re able to grow things like lettuces, endive, arugula, spinach, mustards, chards & kale. The only thing I’ve been unsuccessful with is radicchio, which I’ve attempted to grow several times with no luck–it doesn’t get very big/full and rots in the middle. I’m not a big fan of mustards, but they tend to attract flea beetles away from the things I do […] - [RHUBARB](https://highcountryliving.net/garden/what-grows/rhubarb/): RHUBARB Our rhubarb was growing at our previous location. We brought one plant, divided it into four plants and transplanted them here December 2014. We had bought the property and brought our 5th Wheel RV here to vacation, plan & build our house. At that time I didn’t know exactly where our future garden would be, but wanted to get the rhubarb going, so it was planted in a sunny spot near our RV, shown at the left.  It was nice to give it a chance to get established. I had thought that the deer would not want to eat […] - [PEPPERS: SWEET & HOT](https://highcountryliving.net/garden/what-grows/peppers-sweet-hot/): PEPPERS: SWEET & HOT I would really like to grow peppers as nice as the ones in this photo from Territorial Seed. But, I have not yet been able to do that here in the mountains. OUTDOORS: The first year of our garden here at high elevation we attempted to grow a few sweet & hot peppers outdoors. I knew it would be a long-shot whether they’d grow or not in our cool weather, but thought I’d give it a try, keeping them well covered each night. A few sweet peppers grew, but were thin-skinned and did not ripen before first […] - [PEAS](https://highcountryliving.net/garden/what-grows/peas/): PEAS Canoe Peas Peas of all kinds are always a nice treat. They grow nicely in our climate and shelled peas freeze well for eating all winter long. I typically grow a couple of beds of shelling peas and just a few sugar peas for snacking (usually while I’m in the garden) or snow peas for stir frys. I normally blanch & freeze the shelled peas in vacuum-sealed bags for use during the winter, or I freeze-dry them for longer-term storage. Because of my unique garden arrangement with the tall raised beds topped with hoops for covering with shade cloth […] - [GARLIC](https://highcountryliving.net/garden/what-grows/garlic/): GARLIC GARLIC GARLIC & SHALLOTS GARLIC Garlic has often grown well here, but honestly some years more successfully than others. After trying a few different types & varieties, as well as location & method, my garlic-growing experiences have become more reliable. However, I’ve gotta say, just when I think I’ve gotten the right combination of winning techniques, I have a year with little-to-no garlic. Each year I plan ahead which bed(s) will be used for garlic the following year. I empty out these beds earlier in the summer to give them a chance to rest a bit and be replenished in […] - [CUCUMBER](https://highcountryliving.net/garden/what-grows/cucumber/): CUCUMBER Whenever I think of cucumbers, I remember years ago when I was a waitress. One day, when a couple at one of my tables was ordering, the gal asked, “Can I have the cumbercues left out of my sandwich?” She had a totally straight face. The man with her looked at me with his eyes popped out, I looked at him with mine popped out, and she didn’t notice. I brought her sandwich later, reminding her that there were no cumbercues. He and I both had a hard time not laughing. I’ve never forgotten, and often call these cumbercues […] - [CELERY](https://highcountryliving.net/garden/what-grows/celery/): CELERY Perhaps celery is best left to experienced gardeners in prime climates, but I have managed to get some celery that was edible enough for cooking in soups & casseroles. The celery I have grown does not always develop thick stems good for fresh eating, but the smaller celery stems are useful for chopping and cooking, for as long as it lasts in the refrigerator or root cellar, which is not long. I only grow 2-3 celery plants each year, because it doesn’t keep well and I just don’t use that much. I start the celery in soil blocks very […] - [CAULIFLOWER](https://highcountryliving.net/garden/what-grows/cauliflower/): CAULIFLOWER AND “SPROUTING CAULIFLOWER” Snow Crown F1, harvested from Greenhouse, 1/10/21 Cauliflower is an “interesting” vegetable to grow and as many gardeners will admit, and can be tricky. Edward C. Smith states in his book, “The Vegetable Gardener’s Bible”: Cauliflower has long had a reputation for being a vegetable prima donna. It is the easiest of the cabbage family to stress, and when it stresses, it acts like a two year old and bolts. Cauliflower can be set back by cool temperatures in spring, hot weather in summer, or dry conditions any time. And to top everything off, of the […] - [HERBS](https://highcountryliving.net/garden/what-grows/herbs/): HERBS Many HERBS, such as Basil, Thyme, Cilantro, Parsley, Dill, Oregano, Sage, and I’m sure many others can grow at high elevation. Some of the herbs that are perennials in other locations are grown here as annuals, as they don’t survive the harsh winters. BASIL Basil is transplanted outdoors AFTER the last frost, and must be harvested prior to the first frost, usually the beginning of September. Also grown in the greenhouse. Cilantro Cilantro does VERY well, both in the greenhouse and outdoors. Watch to make sure it doesn’t bolt, or there will be Cilantro “weeds” everywhere. Thyme Grown both […] - [BOK CHOY](https://highcountryliving.net/garden/what-grows/bok-choy/): BOK CHOY JOI CHOI (3/8/2020) Winter Greenhouse Bok Choy JOI CHOI (3/28/20) Winter Greenhouse Bok Choy JOI CHOI (3/28/20) Winter Greenhouse Bok Choy BOK CHOY grows very well here. It likes the cooler weather, and can be grown outdoors in the summer and in the greenhouse the rest of the year. I enjoy a nice stir-fry now and then or just sauteed and served alongside many entrees.  The photos above show the Joi Choi F1 Bok Choy grown in the greenhouse, started 1/27/20 and harvested 3/21/20.  BOK CHOY VARIETIES GROWN JOI CHOI F1 || 45 Days || DTH: 36 and 43 […] - [CARROTS](https://highcountryliving.net/garden/what-grows/carrots/): CARROTS CARROTS-NAPOLI F1 CARROTS are a great thing to grow here at our cool, high elevation, especially in our deep raised beds with rock-free, rich garden soil. Need I say more? A few varieties have been grown here. At this time my favorites, which produce the best carrots for storage and eating fresh are Napoli F1 and Mokum F1. I’ve tried a few different colored carrots: of these the Purplesnax F1 and Yellowstone OP have done the best. Red Samurai OP gave me a few nice carrots, but most of them bolted. I tried some open pollenated carrots in 2022 […] - [WHAT GROWS](https://highcountryliving.net/garden/what-grows/): WHAT WE GROW AT 9,000′ CABBAGE Winter Squash Potatoes Golden Zucchini Carrots Bush Beans Broccoli Tomatoes Our high-elevation garden was started in 2017 at 9,000 feet in the Colorado Rockies. With four years experience growing at this elevation, I certainly do not consider myself an expert, but in this time we’ve learned a lot. When we started our garden adventure at this location we searched for as much information we could find about high elevation gardening. We wanted to know what to expect, which vegetables & fruits would or would not grow here, how to work with the climate our […] - [CHOOSING THE GARDEN SITE](https://highcountryliving.net/garden/choosing-the-garden-site/): CHOOSING THE GARDEN SITE As we began to plan our garden, the first thing we needed to do was to decide where to put it. Conventional thought suggests that gardens should be placed with full southern exposure. We also thought that in our cooler climate the southern exposure would be especially important. Our first inclination, therefore, was to put the garden right in front of the house, at the south side where the greenhouse is currently located. Had we put the garden in that spot, water would have been readily available from the house, but we would have had to […] - [GROWING FOOD OUTDOORS](https://highcountryliving.net/garden/growing-food-outdoors/): GROWING FOOD OUTDOORS Before During Garden Golden Zucchini OUR OUTDOOR GARDEN was designed and built, literally from the ground up, in the Spring of 2017. It is roughly 40′ x 40′, and allows us to grow enough food to eat and preserve for the two of us, with some to share with friends. We knew we would need to protect our precious harvests from cold, frost, snow, intense sun, wind, deer, bunnies, and ground squirrels. We also like the concept of raised beds–not only to keep critters out and good soil in, but also to make gardening easier on our […] - [GROWING FOOD](https://highcountryliving.net/garden/): GROWING FOOD AT 9,000 FEET Our High Elevation Vegetable Garden, at just under 9,000 feet elevation*, was started in the Spring of 2017. While our focus here at HIGH COUNTRY LIVING will be growing food at HIGH ELEVATION, there will be a great deal of general gardening tips that can apply at any location.  OUR GARDEN HISTORY To start off and get an idea of where we’re coming from, please read a little of our gardening history. This photo shows our first garden in our former location. CHOOSING THE GARDEN SITE Our new garden was in the planning stages for […] - [HCL Home](https://highcountryliving.net/): HIGH COUNTRY LIVING This is the home site of “Good News Ranch” high in the Colorado Rockies. Our priority is to discover what it means to live out the Good News of the Kingdom of God and follow Him, and we’d like to share that within these pages. Our desire is to be good stewards of the beautiful property God has given us in the Rocky Mountains at 9,000 feet elevation, where we learn KINGDOM LIVING, which includes GROWING FOOD in our greenhouse & outdoor garden, RAISING DUCKS for eggs, learning HIGH ELEVATION COOKING, and DESIGNING & BUILDING everything we […] - [SUBSCRIBE](https://highcountryliving.net/subscribe/): SUBSCRIBE If you'd like to subscribe to receive updates to the blog, please provide your email address. - [CORN](https://highcountryliving.net/garden/what-grows/corn/): CORN @ HIGH ELEVATION 2025 UPDATE Below was my original post about my attempt (2017) to grow corn here at 9,000 feet. It did not do well, and I never tried it again. Until now. 2025: I have heard of other people growing corn successfully not too far from here, so this year I tried it one more time. Here were my reasons: Every year is different. It is possible that my first trial just wasn’t a good year for corn. This is my 9th year gardening here in the Rockies. I have a lot more experience under my belt, […] - [USING INSTANT POT AT HIGH ELEVATION](https://highcountryliving.net/mountain-cooking/using-instant-pot-at-high-elevation/): USING AN INSTANT POT AT HIGH ELEVATION I recently joined the Instant Pot or pressure/multi cooker craze, and have found a whole new world of recipes, reviews and self-proclaimed experts. I certainly don’t consider myself an expert, but after about a year of research and trial-and-error, I’ve got experience that may be helpful to the newbies. My Instant Pot Ultra was purchased in December 2019, and most of my experience is based on this model. There are a lot of different multi-cookers out there to choose from, and a lot of websites touting pros and cons. Most websites are NOT […] - [BEETS](https://highcountryliving.net/garden/what-grows/beets/): BEETS All root vegetables grow very well here. They all like the cooler temperatures and can be grown from early in the spring until late in the fall, after some freezing has occurred. Little by little my culinary skills are beginning to match my gardening skills with root vegetables, and beets are no exception. Roasted, sweet beets are delicious, and the cold leftovers are great on salads. For a quicker result, I’ve also been cooking them in my Instant Pot, and they do very well there also. For the largest beets, start them indoors in soil blocks around April 1-15 […] - [GARDENING WEATHER](https://highcountryliving.net/garden/gardening-weather/): GARDENING WEATHER We have a weather station here on our property, which we placed here late 2014 prior to our move to this location. Our weather is transmitted to Weather Underground and Ambient Weather as  Pike Trails Ranches. It currently comes up on Wunderground as “Guffey Station”; we’re hoping WU will fix this and put our local name on as it’s difficult to know which station you’re really looking at. My pet peeve with WU. I have been keeping detailed records of our weather since that time. I’m including our weather information for anyone who’d like to compare their own […] - [CABBAGE](https://highcountryliving.net/garden/what-grows/cabbage/): CABBAGE Cabbage was not one of my favorite vegetables prior to having this garden, but it is now becoming one of the things I plant most often. Because it grows so well here I have learned to prepare it and eat it in a variety of delicious ways, either raw, cooked or fermented. Some of our favorites are: corned beef and cabbage, creamed cabbage (with bacon!), grilled cabbage with a little olive oil & caraway, and Golabki (or “Cabbage Roll Casserole”) made with cabbage, hamburger, tomatoes, peppers, spices & cheese. I’ve been enjoying both green & red sauerkraut, adding some […] - [BROCCOLI](https://highcountryliving.net/garden/what-grows/broccoli/): BROCCOLI AND BROCCOLINI Ahhh, yum. Home-grown broccoli is the best! It’s been so long since I bought broccoli at the store, I almost forgot how good it is picked fresh from the garden. But recently my sister visited us, I picked a broccoli from the garden, brought it in and steamed it for dinner. She was amazed at the tenderness and the taste, and it was a good reminder to me of how fortunate we are to have this garden. Broccoli is one of those things that grows superbly here in our climate. It likes the cooler weather and grows […] - [POTATOES](https://highcountryliving.net/garden/what-grows/potatoes/): POTATOES If you like potatoes, you’ve come to the right place at high elevation! Potatoes are one of the things that grow very well here. They like our cooler days & nights, and our shorter seasons are still plenty long enough for potatoes.  We’ve often heard stories of homesteaders who came to the mountains of Colorado and grew potatoes. I used to wonder about that, since so much of the soil is rocky, but they must have gotten their draft horses and ploughs to till the soil and removed the rocks by hand. I’m glad we have those raised beds! […] - [BEANS](https://highcountryliving.net/garden/what-grows/beans/): BUSH BEANS I’m quite fond of bush green beans, and when we moved up in elevation I was hopeful I’d be able to grow them here. Most gardening books/resources suggest that beans need warmth to germinate and should be planted 1-2 weeks after last frost. They also suggest that beans do not transplant well, and should always be sown directly in the ground; therefore giving them a head start indoors didn’t seem feasible. My short season here is even shorter if seeds can’t go into the ground until after last frost, and the nights are still cool at that time […] - [ASPARAGUS](https://highcountryliving.net/garden/what-grows/asparagus/): ASPARAGUS Asparagus is always a delight in the spring. It’s the first thing to arrive and harvest in the outdoor garden, and after a few years at this elevation I have found that the asparagus needs just a little help staying warm in this cold climate. While I’m always able to harvest some for eating, it sometimes freezes, so the amount is always dependent on the weather.  We get a lot of warm spells throughout April with daytime highs in the 70’s, which encourages asparagus growth. However, some of the nighttime lows can reach as low as 0°F. The asparagus […] - [BERRIES](https://highcountryliving.net/garden/what-grows/berries/): BERRIES STRAWBERRIES :: RASPBERRIES :: BLUEBERRIES :: GOJI BERRIES RASPBERRY PLANTS HIGH ELEVATION GROWING TIP: BERRIES Be sure to do some research before planting berries in your area. Ask your neighbors/other gardeners whether they have had success growing berries, and which berries they’ve grown or attempted. Don’t count on the accuracy of “USDA Growing Zones”. They may not apply to high elevation areas. See “Climate & Growing Zones.” June 2020: After three years attempting to grow these berries in our garden, we’ve decided it isn’t worth trying to grow them at this elevation. Of all the berries, only the goji berry produced berries. […] - [ONIONS](https://highcountryliving.net/garden/what-grows/onions/): After trying several different methods of growing onions at high altitude the past four years, I think I've found the BEST! It takes a little extra effort, maybe a few extra $$, some TLC, but it CAN be done. - [TOMATOES](https://highcountryliving.net/garden/what-grows/tomatoes/): TOMATOES CLICK HERE :: FOR 2025 UPDATES Who doesn’t love homegrown tomatoes? I think most of us do, and I’d say they are my favorite thing to grow. Every time I buy a tomato from the grocery store I tell myself it wasn’t worth the bother or the money and tell myself never do that again. But, there always comes a time I don’t have a garden, there’s red tomatoes at the store, and I cave in and buy them anyway. Even if they are organic and have a nice color, they’ll usually end up having no flavor. The first […] - [CURRENT FLOCK](https://highcountryliving.net/ducks/ducks-weve-raised/2019-flock/): FIVE DUCKS :: FIVE BREEDS Our 2019 flock was purchased as ducklings August of that year. They  turned out to be an enjoyable group. Friendly, not too noisy and generally calm. These ducks have been a great group and good layers. January 2023 Update: We now have just two ducks: Apple & Ruby. One of the ducks died, later when the price of organic feed kept increasing, we decided to keep just the two calmest of the ducks. We decided to give the non-organic feed and grow more food for their diet in addition to harvesting duckweed from our nearby […] - [COLD FRAMES](https://highcountryliving.net/garden/cold-frames/): cold frames We now have these cold frames, a composter, and a posing puppy! It seems every year we try something new or different. This year it’s a cold frame! Tim had the idea that if we had a good cold frame outside, we could grow cold-tolerant greens outside rather than in the greenhouse, and reserve more space in the greenhouse for other things. So, off to the recycle stores we went, looking for windows, doors with windows in them, or whatever might spark our interest. We hit a jackpot! The Habitat For Humanity ReStore in Pueblo had 5 skylights […] - [RAISING DUCKLINGS](https://highcountryliving.net/ducks/raising-ducklings/):     RAISING DUCKLINGS This is my guide to raising ducklings, or at least the way we’ve done it. This is now our 4th time to raise ducklings, and we think we’ve got this down. Each time, we’ve done things just a little bit differently based on our living situation at the time and the time of year and weather.  The only consideration for ducklings that may be different at high altitude would be the weather. Any time prior to July may be too cool for small ducklings to be in an outdoor shed or other area–they should spend their […] - [DUCK HOUSING](https://highcountryliving.net/ducks/duck-housing/): DUCK HOUSING THE “DUCKAGON” & PADDOCK We set up our first duck compound here while we were building our house in 2015 for the first ducklings we raised at this location. Our house is a tetra-decagon—14 sides, a round shape like a yurt. So, we decided to make a mini yurt-ish house for the ducks, or what we call the “Duckagon”. It’s actually an octagon, with 8 sides, and comes complete with a skydome on top, just like our house. It has 2 doors that open to a ramp for them to walk down. The 2 doors give us the […] - [COVER CROPS](https://highcountryliving.net/garden/what-grows/cover-crops/): COVER CROPS GREENHOUSE COVER CROPS Below I’ll write about our outdoor cover crops, but since our greenhouse cover crops have been the most helpful, I will start here. I have had some great success with cover crops in the greenhouse, and I believe they have helped the soil. Since I use the greenhouse year-round, planting over and over again in the same small area, the soil really needs to be replenished between plantings. Usually, I’ll let a section rest a bit (a month or less), then add compost, vermi-compost and various nutrients & fertilizers to the area before planting. But […] - [SIX-PACK OF DUCKS](https://highcountryliving.net/ducks/ducks-weve-raised/six-pack-of-ducks-2016-2019/): the six-pack :: 2016-2019 Our “Six-Pack” of ducklings arrived in early August 2016. Many mail-order companies require a minimum of ten ducklings, but we didn’t want that many. We wanted only layers and no extra drakes we would have to butcher. We found that Metzer Farms will send a smaller order of ducklings (for an extra charge we were willing to pay). These six were a beautiful selection of ducks. Although we rarely knew which ducks were producing which eggs, we usually had 4-6 eggs per day during the first two lay seasons. One duck never molted the first year […] - [SEEKING GOD](https://highcountryliving.net/seeking-god/): The universe gives us ample evidence to presume it was created. If we are created beings it only makes sense to seek to know the Creator and to live according to the way He created us to live. This would be the only way find our purpose in life. To that end we have discovered some really Good News. Our journey in seeking God is by no means complete. However, we want to share with you what we have learned up until now.  The Way Things Ought to Be We all have a built-in sense of the way things ought to be. Clearly, […] - [ABOUT](https://highcountryliving.net/about-us/): about us We are Tim and Laurie, of Guffey, CO. We retired in 2015, moved to Guffey, planned and built our home, and are living our dream. We had previously lived just east of the Rockies in Northern Colorado on a small, 4-acre ranch we called “Golden Gaits Ranch.” (“Gaits” is not misspelled. It was named for our gaited horses.) Several years ago our passion became to live more simply. We began to let go of our former lifestyle and values. We learned to be more relaxed, to enjoy the simple things, and to live more frugally. Spiritually, we began […] - [SEED STARTING IN SOIL BLOCKS](https://highcountryliving.net/garden/starting-seedlings-indoors/): SEED STARTING WITH SOIL BLOCKS Starting seedlings indoors is my go-to process for almost everything that I grow in the garden and greenhouse. For the short season here in our high altitude location, this is especially important. It allows a head start on plants that need time to grow, and starting seeds in the warm, protected conditions indoors makes for healthier plants. There are many ways to start seedlings indoors: using soil blocks, divided seed starting trays, peat pots, plugs, newspaper pots, in trays, greenhouse beds, etc. They are usually started in greenhouses, spare rooms or basements under grow lights, […] - [PHOTOS](https://highcountryliving.net/photos/): HERE IS A SAMPLING OF PHOTOS TAKEN AROUND THE RANCH. (CLICK TO VIEW EACH GALLERY.) - [CRITTERS](https://highcountryliving.net/photos/critters/): IN ADDITION TO THE DUCKS, WE HAVE A FEW OTHER CRITTERS ON THE RANCH. CLICK ON THE THUMBNAILS TO VIEW FULL-SIZE PHOTOS. [Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”4″ gal_title=”Critters”]                               - [MOUNTAIN COOKING](https://highcountryliving.net/mountain-cooking/): MOUNTAIN COOKING One of the things I love to do is cook! Over the years I’ve created many of my own recipes or modified others which have become favorites at our house. I enjoy baking, too, and have a particular fondness for sourdough breads. I had a lot of fun helping to design our small-house sized kitchen, and I find it just perfect for our needs.  I in no way consider myself and expert, but I’ve lived in high elevations for roughly 30 years and enjoy cooking healthy meals from scratch. Although I still experience a few flops, I think […] - [DUCKS](https://highcountryliving.net/ducks/): DUCKS AT THE RANCH (RAISING DUCKS FOR EGGS) A couple of years after starting our garden in Wellington, we decided it might be time to add some chickens, for eggs and perhaps for their meat. As we began researching chickens we ran across some references to ducks in books and on websites. We began to think that ducks might be a good choice for us. There are several reasons we chose ducks: Ducks are generally healthier than chickens. Ducklings don’t catch the diseases chicks frequently do (such as coccidiosis), and therefore don’t require medicated feed, which is often found in […] - [GROWING FOOD IN THE GREENHOUSE](https://highcountryliving.net/garden/greenhouse/): GROWING FOOD IN THE GREENHOUSE   The greenhouse at Good News Ranch has kept us supplied with year-round vegetables since 2017.  During our winters the greenhouse provides us with lettuce, spinach, chard, bok choy, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage and zucchini. We enjoy fresh tomatoes year-round from the greenhouse. I’ve also occasionally harvested turnips, rutabagas, beets, daikon radish, kohlrabi, & Chinese cabbage. Herbs growing are thyme, rosemary, cilantro and basil. Summers provide us with tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and sometimes winter squash all in the greenhouse, while everything else is grown in the outdoor garden. Please see the blog post, “Garden Planning & […] - [RAISED BEDS](https://highcountryliving.net/garden/raised-beds/): RAISED BEDS Our raised garden beds are not necessarily crucial for “high-altitude” gardening, but are our choice. Our raised beds at 28″ high are like a dream come true! It is such a joy to go out and work in the garden with the beds at this height. I am only 5′ tall, so for me these beds are almost at waist height, and it is so much easier to work, plant, harvest, pull weeds, pick out bugs, etc. In 2018 I fractured my hip, and I could not have done all the work I did that next summer without […] - [GARDEN TIMING & SELECTION](https://highcountryliving.net/garden/garden-timing-and-selection/): GARDEN TIMING & SELECTION OF PLANT VARIETIES I’ve heard it said that successful high elevation gardening is “all about timing.” That’s important, but it’s also about careful selection of what will be grown.  Timing the planting is extremely important, and can make the difference between success or failure. Many of our plants are started as seedlings indoors under lights. I’m careful not to plant them too soon or too late. Too soon, and they will be too lanky or too large to be healthy and transplant well. Too late, and there may not be enough time for them to be […] - [MICRO BLOCK RECIPE](https://highcountryliving.net/garden/starting-seedlings-indoors/micro-block-recipe/): MICRO BLOCK RECIPE Use this recipe to make the 3/4″ Micro Blocks, such as THESE. 3/4″ Micro Block Recipe May 19, 2017 by Laurie Ingredients 1 gallon peat (50/50 peatmoss/cocopeat or cocopith/fiber) ¼ cup colloidal phosphate (soft rock phosphate) ¼ cup glacial rock dust ¼ cup greensand 1 quart well decomposed compost Instructions Screen the peat to 1/8 to 1/4" prior to measuring. Mix together the peat, phosphate, glacial rock dust and greensand. Add the compost and mix together thoroughly. To make the blocks: Use about 1 cup of this mix with about 1/4-1/3 cup water to make each 20-block section. […] - [GARDEN HISTORY](https://highcountryliving.net/garden/garden-history/): OUR GARDEN HISTORY We (Tim & Laurie) were married in 2008, and so begins this story. At that time, Laurie moved from Tahoma, California (at West Lake Tahoe) to Tim’s property in Wellington, CO. Laurie had done a little gardening in Tahoma, at 6,300 feet elevation, mostly flowers and landscaping. Tim had done minimal landscaping and garden work there. Together, we decided we’d like to begin growing vegetables and fruits for our own consumption. In Wellington, we had 4 acres, at about 5,250 feet elevation, Zone 5b. The property already included a large fenced-in area on the south side of […] [comment]: # (Generated by Hostinger Tools Plugin)