Page 18 - Sentinel February 2018

WILD SIDE Continued from page 16
they are diurnal and need to hear prey beneath the snow, not
your yapping.
A Very Sad Tale of a Whale
I am on my soapbox, again. This story is very difficult to pro-
cess. Blue Planet II showed a video of a mama pilot carrying
her dead baby on top of her for days. Clearly, she had emotion-
ally bonded to her young one. Blue Planet claimed that a plas-
tic bag – yup, like most of us haul home from stores every day
– had been swallowed by the calf and had suffocated it. Other
scientists called the cause of death “FAKE NEWS.” There.
I said it. It was not known for sure if it was a plastic bag or
chemical waste poisoning, but both are human caused.

I have been to remote beaches of places like Hawaii and Costa
Rica only to see the water in inlets thick with plastic of all
kinds, along with shoes, snorkeling equipment, beer cans...you
name it. But what stands out the most are those plastic bags DOUGLAS COUNTY ACQUIRES
from stores. As many jurisdictions have done, it is time for
Colorado to ban them. Furthermore, they are not biodegrad- 2,038-ACRE SANDSTONE RANCH
able. The best thing to do is to recycle them, so that they can be FOR PRESERVATION AS OPEN SPACE
made into – you guessed it – more plastic stuff and junk.
You can google the Internet to find the video of the whales. It One of the largest and most historic properties in Colorado, lo-
is almost surreal. And sad. cated along the foothills between Denver and Colorado Springs,
next to Perry Park Ranch, is now protected by Douglas County’s
Short Takes December 2017 purchase of the property. The historic Ranch
Ah, February...the month that the bluebirds begin returning. will be protected as an Open Space property for non-motorized,
The male goldfinches don their waist coats of brilliant yellow. public recreation access.
The house finches drag out their babe-magnet red feathers.
Following the development, adoption and implementation of
Again, as in 2014, as I sit here typing this, it is January and a Master Plan, Sandstone Ranch will be open to the public for
67 degrees! And it looks like the finches are trying on their non-motorized use only. The Master Plan is expected to exam-
spring duds even earlier. I have even heard redwing blackbirds ine: continuation of the ranching operations; development of a
rehearsing for the real mating deal. AND, our aspens are bud- plan for compatible public recreation and educational opportuni-
ding. ties; protection of identified cultural resources and maintenance
of historic structures; a forest management plan, in conjunction
And guess who came for dinner? At the time we were foster- with the Colorado State Forest Service; and the comprehensive
ing seven Golden Retriever mix puppies, and friends came to interpretation of the natural resources, range management, his-
get their puppy fix and eat some chili. As we were opening tory, as well as protection of the natural resources associated
the door to greet one couple, a Northern Shrike had obviously with the property.
invited himself, too, but couldn’t get through the door. Had he
known that we weren’t serving rodents, lizards, small birds,
and snakes, he would have not tried so hard. This is our first
sighting of these stunning birds, even with Colorado being part CLASSIFIED AD SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS
of their winter range.
Email ads to ppsentinel@comcast.net (you will receive
an acceptance receipt.) Charges and submission in-
Santa gave Hubby Dave a trail camera, activated by motion. structions will be advised via e mail after typesetting.
His first score was a bunny! But then it got better with a bobcat OR
captured in photos. Stay tuned, folks, for more exciting hap- Mail to 10230 Prairie Meadow Circle #101, Parker, CO
penings. 80134. Charges and submission instruction will be
***** advised via telephone after typesetting.
That’s all for this month. Gotta run. With all the warm weather,
our pond is green. Algae. We can’t see the fish. Aha! But nei- Please include physical billing address. We reserve the
ther can the snakes. J But time for some good ol’ algaecide. right to edit or refuse any submitted advertising.
CLASSIFIED AD DEADLINE IS THE
How to Contact Me: Email is best at susan@larskpurconsulting.
com. Alternatively, call my cell phone at 303-725-6868 or send 20TH OF THE MONTH
a short write-up to 2255 Quartz Mountain Drive.
Page 18 - February 2018 Perry Park Sentinel