I’ve heard of Never on Sunday, but I’d never heard of Never at Centennial. I was curious. Was this going to be a true confession about canoodling in cars, or a warning about local skinny dipping spots? The post on Reddit started with the words “Never at Centennial Lake.” Earlier this summer, I saw several beavers swimming in Lake Elkhorn in Owen Brown. On Friday, I saw a large beaver swimming in Centennial Lake. Interesting since there doesn’t seem to be much Beaver damage to trees around Centennial Lake, which is normally one of the telltale signs of a resident Beaver population. It wasn’t what I was expecting. It was a delightful conversation about HoCoLocal beavers. And muskrats*. What’s the difference, you ask? Beaver, from Wikipedia Muskrat, also from Wikipedia If you are a nature lover and/or curious about local creatures in our community, this one’s for you. Have you had any interesting run ins with local wildlife recently? Let me know. ...
I’m thinking this morning about my hotel adventures last summer while our bedroom was being rebuilt. Do I hold a grudge? Possibly. We started out at the Doubletree (Twin Knolls) because it was quite near our house. We reasoned that the location would make it easier to meet with contractors, deal with mail and packages, etc. It started out well enough. The room was comfortable and they had cookies. Soon we realized we were getting something we didn’t want and it was a serious problem. The Doubletree pumps chemical air fresheners throughout the hotel. In the lobby. In the dining spaces. In all the hallways and public spaces. Possibly in the elevators. I was allergic. It triggered my asthma every time I left our room. I reached out online to Doubletree Corporate to ascertain whether our hotel was required to pump chemical fragrances. They said the usual corporate things and told me to contact the front desk. The man at the front desk said they couldn't possibly turn them...