Living and Learning

Living and Learning

EDIBLE ASPEN

Beneath the visage of Mount Lamborn rising in the distance, Tom and Lynn Gillespie’s farm on the edge of Paonia spreads out in all directions. It’s a 212-acre operation, home to East Frisian sheep, heritage turkeys, chickens, hogs, beef cattle and a lone dairy cow. The Gillespie’s call it the Living Farm, and it’s hard to come up with a more fitting name. (more…)

Skiing the Trees

Skiing the Trees

Matt Cudmore, founder of Meier Skis, shapes a ski at his shop. David Frey photo.

ASPEN PUBLIC RADIO

If you’re a skier, you’ve probably heard of brands like K2 and Salomon. But what about Meier Skis? The one-man operation, which handcrafts custom skis from local wood, is part of a boom of boutique ski makers that’s making its mark on the industry.

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Salida, Colo., Illuminates the Holidays

Salida, Colo., Illuminates the Holidays

AMERICAN PROFILE

Steve Borbas sits inside of a small shack at the top of Tenderfoot Mountain, waiting for a radio signal to flip the switch and light up a Christmas tradition that he and other volunteers have prepared for weeks and maintained for decades in Salida, Colo. (pop. 5,236).

On the Friday evening after Thanksgiving Day, a crowd of spectators has gathered below in downtown Salida to watch the city’s annual Christmas parade, capped off with a visit by Santa Claus and the lighting of Tenderfoot Mountain for the holidays.

“Ho ho ho!” Santa belts out before waving his arm to lead the crowd in counting, “One, two, three!”

As if by magic, the mountain suddenly glows with red, orange and white lights outlining a 750-foot-tall Christmas tree above the town. (more…)

Planning a Future Forest

Planning a Future Forest

Red trees, the telltale sign of beetle kill, rise amid the snow in Eagle County, Colorado. David Frey photo.

ASPEN PUBLIC RADIO

Many trees on the White River National Forest are dying. Bark beetles are killing lodgepole pines. Aspens are experiencing what biologists call sudden aspen decline. So the Forest Service is trying to actively manage for the future forest. It’s part of a national priority called “forest resiliency.” But some critics wonder if humans should be trying to play Mother Nature. (more…)