Opinion

Loose Ends: Flowers still thrill

For some of us, the thrill of spotting the first wildflowers each summer never goes away. Newcomers are always surprised by our reaction to that good ol’ green stuff — plants, not money. We can’t get enough of it.
dollyviscardiMost non-natives move here with little thought to growing anything in the semi-arid climate. They seem to all assume the grass, flowering trees and plants will just thrive on their own. Growing up in an area with double-digit precipitation measurements tends to create this attitude. It is not until one attempts to grow a garden from seed late in the season that one begins to understand what living in the high country really means.
Pioneer women often wrote in their letters home or in their journals about the cheery effect the sight of the first blooms had on them. My great-great aunt kept track of the health of the plants she had grown, as often as she did her eight growing boys. Raised in the Far East by her missionary family, tropical plant life was all she knew before finding herself homesteading on a dry land farm outside of Delta.
Her monthly letters to the family remaining in Siam (now Thailand) chronicled her struggle to surround herself with the trees and flowers. If relatives came to visit, sometimes she would request seeds or saplings. The year after the family’s tragic loss of her husband, the main breadwinner in the family, she moved off the farm and up to a piece of property on top of a mesa. Surrounding the house with American elms brought to her by a relative with a nursery in the Midwest, she named each of the trees for a family member. Then she waited for them to grow and thrive, along with her children.
Her boys figured out an irrigation system. Although they moved away from the area years ago, a few of those elm trees are still standing.
Many of the plants pop up in the oddest places in the harsh climate of the high country, so when they do appear it is quite a triumph. While their growing season is short, each year the wildflowers put on a spectacular show. Aside from their beauty, these plants were found to have more practical uses, whether it be for healing or eating. However it is important that one become knowledgeable about the flowers that are poisonous, such as the Pasqueflower. According to the Wildflowers of Colorado Field Guide, “all parts contain poisonous compounds.”
Hiking up in the high country, one is reminded not to go to close to the edge of cliffs with the sight of the Alpine Forget-Me-Not. Another citation in the book previously mentioned notes that the pretty little flower was named for “the story of a suitor who reached too far over a cliff to obtain a flower for his love, fell, and cried out, ‘Forget me not!’” His predecessors, the Native Americans, discovered that the long fibers of the Western Blue Flax could be used for ropes or cords.
That would have come in handy, wouldn’t it?

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  • Jake Blazon at bat for the Meeker Cowboys. The MHS team brought home two wins against Olathe and lost two against the North Fork Miners. The location for this weekend’s games has not been announced due to weather and field conditions. Read the full story online at ht1885.com.
  • The 2024 Meeker High School boys basketball team held their awards banquet last week. Jace Mobley was named Player of the Western Slope League and all-conference, Ryan Sullivan all-conference, Jonathon Fitzgibbons all-conference, Ethan Quinn honorable mention all-conference, Jacob Simonsen honorable mention all conference. Mobley will play in All State games. Coach Klark Kindler was named Western Slope Coach of the Year. Left to right: Bryan Rosas, Simonsen, Quinn, Fitzgibbons, Mobley and Sullivan.
  • It's that time again! Another edition of great local news stories is 
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  • It’s getting late, do you know where your kids are? Read all the Rio Happenings for this week in print or online at ht1885.com.
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Rio Blanco County and the White River and Douglas Creek Conservation Districts are still asking for your help to identify additional hatch-outs of crickets so that control efforts can be put in place. The success of the program will highly depend upon local landowners and the public helping to locate crickets as soon as they hatch.  See last week’s paper for a list of ways to help or contact the County Weed & Pest District at 970-878-9670 or the Conservation District office at 970-878-9838 with any questions. Website: www.WhiteRiverCD.com
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Jake Blazon at bat for the Meeker Cowboys. The MHS team brought home two wins against Olathe and lost two against the North Fork Miners. The location for this weekend’s games has not been announced due to weather and field conditions. Read the full story online at ht1885.com.
Jake Blazon at bat for the Meeker Cowboys. The MHS team brought home two wins against Olathe and lost two against the North Fork Miners. The location for this weekend’s games has not been announced due to weather and field conditions. Read the full story online at ht1885.com.
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The 2024 Meeker High School boys basketball team held their awards banquet last week. Jace Mobley was named Player of the Western Slope League and all-conference, Ryan Sullivan all-conference, Jonathon Fitzgibbons all-conference, Ethan Quinn honorable mention all-conference, Jacob Simonsen honorable mention all conference. Mobley will play in All State games. Coach Klark Kindler was named Western Slope Coach of the Year. Left to right: Bryan Rosas, Simonsen, Quinn, Fitzgibbons, Mobley and Sullivan.
The 2024 Meeker High School boys basketball team held their awards banquet last week. Jace Mobley was named Player of the Western Slope League and all-conference, Ryan Sullivan all-conference, Jonathon Fitzgibbons all-conference, Ethan Quinn honorable mention all-conference, Jacob Simonsen honorable mention all conference. Mobley will play in All State games. Coach Klark Kindler was named Western Slope Coach of the Year. Left to right: Bryan Rosas, Simonsen, Quinn, Fitzgibbons, Mobley and Sullivan.
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It's that time again! Another edition of great local news stories is 
🐰 Hopping 🐰 your way this morning! Catch up on everything thats 🐣 hatching 🐣 in Rio Blanco County this week.
Need a copy? Signing up is fast and easy! Visit our website at ht1885.com/subscribe to get a copy sent to your door every week! 
We appreciate all your continued support!
It's that time again! Another edition of great local news stories is 🐰 Hopping 🐰 your way this morning! Catch up on everything thats 🐣 hatching 🐣 in Rio Blanco County this week. Need a copy? Signing up is fast and easy! Visit our website at ht1885.com/subscribe to get a copy sent to your door every week! We appreciate all your continued support!
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Rio Blanco County and the White River and Douglas Creek Conservation Districts are still asking for your help to identify additional hatch-outs of crickets so that control efforts can be put in place. The success of the program will highly depend upon local landowners and the public helping to locate crickets as soon as they hatch.  See last week’s paper for a list of ways to help or contact the County Weed & Pest District at 970-878-9670 or the Conservation District office at 970-878-9838 with any questions. Website: www.WhiteRiverCD.com
Mormon crickets have hatched near Rangely. They were all sighted on BLM land north of Hwy. 64 near the junction of CR 96 and CR 1, down a dirt road near the Moffat County line. The picture shown was taken yesterday by Mary Meinen from Rangely. She says the crickets are about the size of a ladybug (less than 1/2”). Some of them are actually yellow in color but most of them are darker. They are milling around and getting ready to start moving soon. Note: Photo is not to scale. Rio Blanco County and the White River and Douglas Creek Conservation Districts are still asking for your help to identify additional hatch-outs of crickets so that control efforts can be put in place. The success of the program will highly depend upon local landowners and the public helping to locate crickets as soon as they hatch. See last week’s paper for a list of ways to help or contact the County Weed & Pest District at 970-878-9670 or the Conservation District office at 970-878-9838 with any questions. Website: www.WhiteRiverCD.com
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