by Nisargo Troy Just last week I began to feel it, the shift. It snuck up on me and seemingly all of a sudden I woke to cool mountain air drifting into my room. I had almost given up hope that this time would ever come. The slight breeze of the early morning even warranted a light jacket, and I felt the impulse to close the windows left open throughout the night to help bring in the cooler air after the heat of the day before. Soon we will close our windows instead in order to preserve the warmth inside. Summer is slowly coming to an end, but as we know there are plenty of warm days still ahead of us! We had experienced weeks and weeks of heat throughout which we had moaned and groaned, so much hotter than normal. Loose dresses, shirts, shorts and fans, anything that allows some airflow, most of us spent our days indoors, where it stayed cool thanks to our well insulated homes. But in the early mornings, when the air was still lovely and cool at our elevation, people could be seen on the trails, on the tennis court or on the pastures for irrigation. How lucky we are to live where it cools down considerably at night! Thanks to a very snowy winter and plenty of early rains bringing a lot of moisture to southwest Colorado, plants and trees have been flourishing and the neighborhood has been graced by gardens rich with a multitude of colors. Everything seems to have shot up in height at a great rate and fruit trees are heavy with their sweet gifts. One of our newest members, Mary Ellen, has been capturing the abundant beauty in the gardens around Heartwood. It has been hard to pick just a few from her gorgeous photos! Our greenhouse is providing a multitude of vegetables year around and and continues to flourish with the help of many members on the team. Fruit was and will be abundant this year around the cluster as well. Many events throughout the summer are worth noting. Dance parties in the common house, an outdoor movie night, family picnics on the village green, tea parties on front porches as well as kiddie pool events. Of course there was a 4th of July parade followed with games. Many members ventured into the high country to hike, camp or just hang out by a stream or lake for the day in the cooler air. Once a month though, despite the heat, members continued to go out during work parties to take care of structures that needed fixing, fields that needed mowing, tools that needed mending or beds that needed weeding, usually being awarded by a hearty lunch as well as the satisfaction of having contributed to the ongoing work it takes to run our small village. We added a very successful “Taco Tuesday” to our existing shared meals schedule. Every participant brings an item to share that fits with the theme and their own dishes so that no clean up crew is required. It has been a big success! Now we have the opportunity to share meals as a community three times per week: Taco Tuesdays, a community meal prepared by two cooks on Wednesdays and a general potluck on Fridays. These events are always well attended. This year we are celebrating several big birthdays in our community. Three members are turning 80 years old and are celebrating in style, inviting the entire community plus friends and family, offering food, music and good company. Throughout the year we regularly welcome visitors who come to check out Heartwood as their possible next home. We have young families, individuals and couples staying for a night or a week in one of our guest rooms, tour the premises, participate in one of the shared meal times and chat with members while they are here. If you might be interested in visiting Heartwood, check out our Plan a Visit webpage. It is a rare occurrence but currently we do have two room rentals available and a short term rental for next May. Details are listed below. But most visitors are interested in buying a house which currently we do not have available. The last lucky move-ins arrived in July. Welcome Sasha, David and their cats Jake, Butch and Zorro! But good news is on the rise for those waiting. Recently we were able to celebrate a big milestone in the development of Heartwood Phase Two, the long planned and much awaited addition of 14 more homes. After overcoming many obstacles and jumping through many hoops, the preliminary plat application with La Plata County has been finally accepted for consideration and the next phase of the process of expanding our community is on the way! To celebrate this step Mac Thomson, as the developer of the project, was presented with a golden hoop in honor of the astounding number of “hoops” he had to jump through to get the project to this point. As the temperatures are dropping and summer is slowly shifting to fall I again feel blessed to live in a place with so much beauty, friendship and grace. In community,
Nisargo Comments are closed.
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The Heartwood Happenings newsletter offers glimpses into everyday life here at Heartwood. To have Heartwood newsletters delivered right to your inbox, click on the GET IN TOUCH button at the bottom of this page. Archives
September 2024
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