Sunday, February 6th - Photo Of The Week... In a stretch of grass between "North Shore Park" and Loveland High School stands a sculpture of, "The Jester", which is featured as this weeks photo of the week... This photo is a silhouette of the sculpture blocking the sun... This and many other fine sculpture can be found both at "North Shore Park" and also at nearby "Benson Sculpture Park", located on 29th street across from Loveland High School... The sculpture park features interactive sculpture and is a wonderful place to spend some time with your children...

"The Jester" and the Sun - North Shore Park, Loveland

Thursday, February 3rd - German Shepard Spotted With Leg In Trap... It was reported at 7AM today that a German Shepard was seen on FDR 128 with it's rear leg caught is a trap, which was chained to a small log, all being dragged by the animal... The dog was spotted in the "S" curve area about one mile below the "T"... Residents attempted to capture the dog for treatment but were unable to do so... The dog appeared friendly and in good health but very frightened and in a lot of pain... The use of any type of leg trap is highly illegal... Anyone with information on the party responsible for the trap should contact the Larimer County Sheriff's Department... If you wish to remain anonymous, please "email us" and we will relay the information to the proper authorities... A report has also been made to area animal control...

Comet Machholz Still Visible In Evening Skies... The next couple of evenings will be a great opportunity to view "Comet Machholz" before it fades away... The Moon is out of the way making for dark skies... To find Comet Machholz (map) look to the north around 7:00pm for the constellation of Cassiopeia, which looks like an upside down letter "W"... Machholz is just to the right appearing as a fuzzy spot to the unaided eye with binoculars revealing the nucleus and tails... Comet Machholz is expected to fade beyond naked eye levels by the end of February and is not predicted to return to our part of the universe for another 11,000 years...

Photos of Comet Machholz taken Feb 2nd on Storm Mountain

Wednesday, February 2nd - County Considers Selling Big Thompson Properties... A work-session will be held by the Board of Larimer County Commissioners with County Parks and Open Lands Director Gary Buffington and County manager Frank Lancaster on a process for the county to divest itself of properties it owns in the Big Thompson Canyon... The work-session takes place on Thursday, February 10th, from 9:30-11:30a.m. in the Hearing Room, 1^st floor, Larimer County Courthouse Offices Building, 200 West Oak Street, Fort Collins... Larimer County acquired approximately 135 parcels of land in the big Thompson Canyon after the flood of 1976... The parcels range in size from less than a tenth of an acre to eight acres... County officials are considering selling the properties to free the County from maintenance costs... The February 10 work-session will focus on potential fair processes for selling the properties. The work-session will be broadcast live in the Internet at Larimer County's web site, the Virtual Courthouse, http://www.larimer.org/bcc/broadcast.cfm...

Punxsutawney Phil Says Six More Weeks Of Winter... This year when "Phil" the groundhog came out, he saw his shadow... The groundhog's full name is actually "Punxsutawney Phil, Seer of Seers, Sage of Sages, Prognosticator of Prognosticators and Weather Prophet Extraordinary." It was so proclaimed by the "Punxsutawney Groundhog Club" in 1887, the same year they declared Punxsutawney to be the weather capital of the world... German tradition holds that if the sun comes out on Candlemas, the precursor to Groundhog Day, the hedgehog (or badger) will see its shadow and six more weeks of winter will follow... When German settlers came to Pennsylvania they continued this tradition, using groundhogs instead of hedgehogs to predict the weather... This was the 119th year for the annual event which began in 1886... Below is the official 2005 forecast:

Natural disasters have been a terrible thing; tsunamis,
downpours, floods, landslides, heavy snowstorms, avalanches,
frigid temperatures, sleet and freezing rain.
They all cause much destruction, suffering and pain.

When it seems like too much with which to cope;
The coming of spring brings us new hope.
Changing seasons is a wonderful thing.

Now it's Groundhog Day and we think of spring.
Will Spring come early or will it come late?
It's time for me to prognosticate.

As I study the sun
It's all about fun.
But I'm sorry to say
I see my shadow today.
When my shadow I see,
Six more weeks of winter there will be!

Tuesday, February 1st - USFS To Host Two Public Fuels Reduction Meetings... The U.S. Forest Service (USFS) is encouraging community participation at public meetings to discuss the proposed treatments for the fuels reduction project in the Estes Valley area... The first meeting will be held at the Estes Park Volunteer Fire Department at 6 p.m. on February 2, 2005, and the second meeting will be at the Pinewood Springs Volunteer Fire Department at 6 p.m. on February 3... The Estes Park Volunteer Fire Department is located at 901 N. St. Vrain Ave. and the Pinewood Springs Volunteer Fire Department is located at 61 Kiowa... The project area includes communities north from Estes Park and south to Pinewood Springs... Meetings are being held at two locations in an effort to make it easier for individuals to attend... Both meetings will be similar, including a project overview, followed by a question and answer period... The two locations will provide a more effective way for USFS employees to address community-specific issues... To maximize the benefit from efforts done or continuing on Park Service and private land in the Estes Valley area, the USFS is considering treatment on approximately 8,000 acres of national forest land within the planning area... The goal of the project is to strategically treat national forest lands to reduce the potential impacts of wildfire to surrounding communities, watersheds and other resources, as well as change fire behavior in the Estes Valley... The public has the opportunity to comment on this project during the scoping period... Scoping started December 20 and comments are being accepted until February 4, 2005... For additional information, please contact either Dyce Gayton at 970-295-6761 or Reghan McDaniel at 970-295-6770... More information can also be found via the link provided below...

Storm Mountain Net Passes 1/4 Million Hit Mark... As of 6PM January 31st, 2005 Storm Mountain Net has received a total of 263,937 hits passing the quarter-million hit mark... With an average of 50+ visitors a day, the site has become an important source of community information both for local residents and others around the country... Our sincere thanks to all of you as this is your site and it is a pleasure for us to provide this service for our community... Below are a few of the emails we have received in regards to our site:

Monday, January 31st - 9:30AM Update... Snow has ended across our area and the Sun is now burning through the high clouds... Roads are reported as snow-packed with slush and icing in spots... FDR 128 is snow-packed with icing on the switchbacks and other ice prone areas... Hwy 34 to Estes Park is reported as having patches of snow and ice... Conditions are expected to improve as the morning Sun warms the road surfaces...

Snowy morning scene along Big Thompson River

5AM Weather Update... Snow has stopped in the Storm Mountain area with Jupiter and the Moon currently being visible through the high clouds... Overnight accumulations of 2 to 4 inches are being reported with little to no further snow expected... Roads in the area, including FDR 128, are snow-packed with slick slushy spots... Residents are advised to allow plenty of extra travel time... Chains, adequate snow-tires and 4WD are highly recommended for travel on FDR 128...

Winter Storm Warning Until 9AM... The National Weather Service in Denver has issued a Winter Storm Warning for the front range including the Drake, Glen Haven and Storm Mountain area effective until 9AM MST... QUICK HITTING SNOW STORM HITS THE FRONT RANGE... UPSLOPE WINDS BEHIND A COLD FRONT WILL PRODUCE A QUICK PERIOD OF HEAVY SNOW OVERNIGHT. SNOWFALL RATES OF 1 TO 3 INCHES PER HOUR CAN BE EXPECTED IN THE FOOTHILLS... THE SNOW WILL DIMINISH NEAR THE WYOMING BORDER IN THE EARLY MORNING HOURS, WHILE THE HEAVY SNOW WILL CONTINUE SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 70 UNTIL AT LEAST SUNRISE...

News posts from previous weeks are located in our "News Archive" which can be found by clicking the button below:

Storm Mountain Net