Delta coaches Luis Meza, center, and Clayton Curtis congratulate 152-pound senior Hunter Brasfield after an upset win sent him into the 4A Region 4 semifinals.
Hotchkiss senior Joe Boyle controls Ruben Chagoya of Basalt to win a 3A Region 1 title. He is one of 7 Hotchkiss state qualifiers.
Hotchkiss and Paonia boys will square off this week on the basketball courts. Both are 6-4 in league play.
Delta senior Brooke Taylor scores two of her 12 points against Summit after grabbing an offensive rebound.
Paonia 195-pounder Tyler “TK” Kendall sets Rangely’s Drew Collins up for a pin.
Paonia freshman Bo Pipher sets TJ Richard of North Park up for a pin in Saturday’s regional semifinal round. He is one of 13 Paonia wrestlers headed to state!
Surrounded by coaches and his dad, Conner Beard signs Letter of Intent to play football for the University of Nebraska Kearney.
Hotchkiss' Jacobe Galley signed a Letter of Intent to play football and study engineering at Colorado Mesa University.
Hotchkiss senior Cody Bartlett signed his National Letter of Intent to run cross-country for Hawaii Pacific University.
Photo by Tamie Meck Delta’s 3200m relay team placed fourth at last weekend’s 4A state track meet in Lakewood. Its time, 9:32.92, set a new DHS record. Team members are; left to right, Clarissa Whiting (Sr), Mykayla Music (Fr), Skylyn Webb (Sr) and Cleo Whiting…
Photo by Rich Meck Hotchkiss distance runners, and sisters, Natalie Anderson (left-center) and Mae Anderson start the 3200m run together on the opening day of the state track meet. They were fourth and fifth in the 3200 and fourth and sixth, respectively, in…
Photo by Tamie Meck Andy Pipher and son Bo meet Bo’s opponent during the Parade of Champions at the 2013 state wrestling tournament. Pipher was recently named 2013 Colorado Coach of the Year by the National Wrestling Coaches Association (NWCA).Paonia…
Just about a year ago, I wrote a column on mistletoe.
In my mind's eye, I was walking through an oak woodland in Wisconsin. That autumn there were mushrooms on the trees, as well as clumps of mistletoe. So, in this column I'll again change the season to winter and the time to long ago.
The sky is clear without a cloud. I'm alone and can hear only my footfalls crunching on the ice-crusted snow. I'm cold. Ahead and to my right, I see something green! Impossible! All the trees are bare. It's wintertime! I feel a tremor of fear; this green thing must be magical. Cautiously, I move forward. Yes, it is a cluster of green foliage in the barren limbs of an oak...there are white berries, too. White fruit is a clue to poisonous. Magic!
And from such experiences arose the legends and myths about mistletoe. Supposedly mistletoe within a home would protect it from lightning or fire. And kissing? Probably an ancient Scandinavian legend, for it was improper to wage warfare in sight of the mistletoe and the plant was considered an aphrodisiac (from its association with Frigga, the goddess of love). And legends continue, as well as the kissing and its etiquette.
Of course, our mistletoe looks like what one would expect in an arid region. These mistletoes grow on juniper (cedar), spruce, fir and pine in our area and they're "host specific" with each tree having its own variety of mistletoe. The mistletoe appears as brownish clumps on our trees and, as parasites, they may actually kill their host. Commonly they're called "witches brooms." The Old English term mista = dung, and tan = twig, leads to misteltan which leads us to "mistletoe."
This photo was taken going down the Land's End Road late last summer. The botanical name is Phoradendron juniperinum. Greek phor means "thief" and dendron refers to trees. You can see the damage being done to this juniper: many branches are dead.
So as you drive through our juniper-cedar woodlands watch for our native mistletoe. It's easily seen — it's nearly everywhere.
Mistletoe