Don't forget to turn your clocks back an hour before going to bed tonight.  Most of the U.S. will return to Standard Time on Sunday November 6, 2011 at 2:00 a.m. At first, it's difficult to adjust to those time changes!  At least for this time change, we will be EARLY instead of LATE and      Sunday's sundown will be early too!   Now is a good time to change the batteries in your Smoke Alarms and Carbon Monoxide CO Detectors.  Stay safe and enjoy that extra hour of sleep tonight! ********************************************************************************************** Mary Douglas, your Mountain Broker-Associate and REALTOR® United Country Ponderosa Realty, Red Feather Lakes, CO www.marydouglas-redfeatherlakes.net 800-531-2195 “A Day in the Mountains will always soothe your city so... 11/05/2011

Nature’s Drugstore & Cowboy Toilet Paper It started out with a few photos of these curious plants; I thought they were pretty, especially with the fall colored scenery behind them.    A few days later, at the Glacier View Meadows office, I learned the plant’s name:  Common Mullein (Verbascum Thapsus) -sometimes called the Great Mullein because they grow up to 6 feet tall. ! At the GVM office there was a small handout stating some concern that this Common Mullein is cropping up more frequently in our meadows and on our hillsides.   Just one Mullein plant can produce 300,000 to-500,000 seeds and those seeds can survive 50-80 years in the soil before germinating!   !  A little more research on this unusual plant revealed that it has healing properties and is used as an herbal remedy for so... 10/25/2011

Some people might think that the small grass fire was a non-event.  After all, it was small.  It didn’t make the front page news and that’s something to be thankful for.   Monday night, lightning caused the small grass fire on the hill behind our house.   We watched the Glacier View and Livermore Fire Departments work to keep us all safe and even though we weren’t in any immediate danger, I was making a mental list of things to pack in case the winds picked up or the fire got out of hand.  We could only see our side of the ridge but the fire was on the other side too.  It was exciting to see the tanker from the Colorado State Forest Service circle, dive and drop the fire retardant on the area. The firefighters made it look easy and thankfully the fire was contained to just a little over... 09/15/2011

Last Saturday, Livermore residents in the Glacier View Meadows Subdivision had an opportunity to see and learn about the Northern Colorado Med-Evac Helicopter. The Northern Colorado Med-Evac service has been in operation since 2008. They fly 2 Bell 407 choppers within a 300 mile radius of Greeley, CO;  serving Northern Colorado, Southern Wyoming and Western Nebraska and fly over 1500 missions per year. The crew consists of a pilot, a registered nurse and a paramedic.  They can transport one critically ill or injured patient to the nearest appropriate facility in record time. Flying 160 miles per hour, the Med-Evac helicopter bridges the distance to the nearest hospital for our mountain residents and people in need of emergency medical services, reducing drive time of 45 minutes (to Poud... 08/03/2011

Here's a snapshot of the Livermore, CO Residential real estate market for the first half of 2011.  Homes are selling in Livermore and particularly in Glacier View Meadows for the first half of 2011.  Still,  if we keep up the same pace for the remainder of the year, we would have a 2 year supply of inventory.  They say what doesn't kill us just makes us stronger - we've been lifting weights all winter! 22 properties SOLD in the first half of 2011: Presently there are 100 Active Listings in Livermore - 7 sales are pending or in Active/Backup status. Average Days on the Market are 186, Average Cumulative Days on the Market 280. 61 active listings are in Glacier View Meadows 34 homes are situated on 35 acres or more Prices  in Livermore range from $81,190 to $1.75M Summertime and fall trad... 07/14/2011

Here's a snapshot of the Livermore CO vacant land real estate market for the first half of 2011.  Extreme patience is required for sellers in this particular area of the market - it's been a long winter's nap, Rip Van Winkle.  Average days on the market are 391, cumulative days on the market 459! There were only 8 vacant land sales during the 1st half of 2011.  At this rate Livermore has over 6 years of inventory. Currently there are 108 parcels of vacant land: 3 sales are in Active/Backup status, 1 sale Pending, 1 First Right of Refusal 51 residential lots are available in Glacier View Meadows, $9,450 - $87,500. 43  available properties are 35 acres or more. Certainly the 2nd half of 2011 will show much better numbers than the 1st half of the year.  Summertime and early fall are tradit... 07/14/2011

I can "bearly" see what is in that tree! My friend Jan took these photos of a mama bear and her cubs in Glacier View Meadows last week and promised to call me if the bears come back to her neighbor's house, so that I can see them too. The beautiful cinnamon colored sow seems to be a good mom - she sent her cubs up into the tree.  I'm not sure if that was to protect them or if she put them in "time-out"!    "Black Bears" are not always black - they can be honey colored, blond, brown or black.  A black bear can live up to 20 years in the wild.  They can run in bursts up to 35 mph and can run uphill or downhill very quickly.  As you can see they're very good climbers!  Black bears are strong swimmers, too. info: Colorado Division of Wildlife  ***********************************************... 07/06/2011

School's out for the summer and so are the bears; and some of them are breaking into parked cars in between Livermore and Red Feather Lakes, Colorado.  The bears don't want to take the car for a joy ride nor do they want the GPS, loose change or the cell phone that we left in there.  They're hungry and somewhere along the line they learned that cars sometimes contain tasty snacks. According to the Coloradoan News, 4 vehicle break-ins were reported to the DOW and 9 have been reported to the Glacier Meadows Homeowners Association. It was unclear if some of those reports were duplicates of the same incident but that could be between 9 to13 break-ins just in the last 2 weeks! We're reminded to not leave food or anything that smells like food (air fresheners, food wrappers, perfume even lip ... 06/22/2011

My husband is always coming up with off-the-walls-songs and then he asks me, "Who did that song?"     I know the answer only about 50% of the time. This morning it was "Life is Hard" by Timbuk3. Well yes, sometimes life is hard: "you can't get to heaven on roller skates and you can't take a taxi cab to Timbuktu...." BUT, You may be able to buy a home with no down payment and no mortgage insurance through the USDA Many people don't know about USDA loans.  USDA loans do not require any down payment, or mortgage insurance. If you have good credit and your household income meets certain guidelines you may be able to purchase a principal residence in a rural area (Glacier View Meadows, for instance)  with no money down. The USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) is "Committed to the ... 06/11/2011

Drummer on the roof in Glacier View Meadows In Northern Colorado we don't have the "Woody Woodpecker" type of woodpeckers; instead we have the Northern Flicker. A Northern Flicker has claimed this part of Glacier View Meadows as his territory and has been drumming on our stove pipe early every morning for about a week. Apparently woodpeckers don't have a mating call in their vocabulary, so they use their drumming to attract a mate and/or claim their territory.     His hard beak hits the metal pipe in a rapid beat then we hear his unique cackle call followed by another round of drumming. This guy is one heck of a drummer. I was thinking about naming him Ringo, but then Ginger Baker was much better.  Michael Shrieve doesn't seem like a very good name for the bird and I have to admit I've ... 06/04/2011

Your new Colorado Home could be this new listing at 439 Maroon Bells Circle in Livermore, CO.  The road it sits on is named for peaks located across the Continental Divide in the Elk Mountains, near Aspen Colorado: as you see here > These strikingly beautiful, bell shaped and deep red colored peaks are one of the most photographed sites in North America. The Maroon Bells are bewitching but hiking to the summit can be deadly; a bronze marker titled the Deadly Bells warns climbers of the difficulty and danger of Maroon Peak (elevation 14,156 feet) and North Maroon standing at 14,014 feet above sea level. The Bells hold a special place in my heart.  On a day hike in the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness area I learned about wine and the difficulty of hiking stumbling down a mountain trail -... 05/15/2011

Here's a snapshot of the activity in the Livermore, Co Real Estate Market in March 2011. ADOM- Average Days on the Market CDOM- Cumulative Days on the Market It's still a Buyer's Market in Livermore, CO. There is a wide variety of choices at every price point too! Let me know how I can help you with selling or buying in Livermore, CO today. Statistics from MLS are deemed accurate but not guaranteed. *************************************************************************************************** Mary Douglas, your Mountain Broker-Associate and REALTOR® United Country Ponderosa Realty, Red Feather Lakes, CO www.marydouglas-redfeatherlakes.net 800-531-2195 "A Day in the Mountains will always soothe your city soul" I specialize in the Red Feather Lakes area, Crystal Lakes and Glacier Vie... 04/05/2011

I was looking out the window today and a saw this beautiful Red-Tailed Hawk perched high on the tree top. I ran to get the camera, certain that he would fly away before I returned.  Quickly and as quietly as possible I removed the window screen....And he began to turn   He looked right at me!     "YOU TALKIN TO ME?!!! ( you crazy blogger)" Red tailed hawks are North America's most common hawk.  I see them often but have never been able to catch one with the camera. Meet DeNiro, my first Red Tailed Hawk.   DeNiro and I both love Glacier View Meadows Subdivision near Red Feather Lakes, but I especially like living here because I got to meet him today and he was magnificient. ************************************************************************************ Mary Douglas, your Mountain Br... 03/24/2011

I'm "lichen" Glacier View Meadows, a mountain subdivision in Livermore, CO. and I hope you will like it too! The other day my husband I went for a walk around Batterson Lake, in Glacier View Meadows Subdivision.  I was shooting into the sun, so the lake photo looks like it was much later in the day than it really was. On our way back home we stopped to look at a gnarly mass of dead wood wrapped around a huge boulder, and then the lichen caught my eye. Lichen can easily be overlooked but I think they are amazing.  They can live anywhere.  You will find hundreds of species in every climate of the world. In nature, just like in real estate, I delight in paying attention to the tiniest detail.  "The eye often cannot see what the mind does not already know." http://lichen.com/biology.html **... 03/02/2011

12 new listings on 2 acreas or more in Larimer County (NW Colorado). Ranging in price from $126,000 to $757,000. A nice variety of properties with horse set ups and some not. Includes Estes Park and Lyons this week. Featured pick of the day is: 1515 Bald Mountain Dr. in Livermore. North of Fort Collins. It is priced at $757,000 and has a 40 x 40 shopo building with a barn with pipe corral and so much more http://www.sellsrealestate.com/p/30/646522?searchtypesent=5&aid=011701020&oid=011701007&temp=1107&aname=Nanci%2Bon%2BThe%2BGarnand%2BGroup&aimg=1&chome=&odoor=&agent_hasfeat=18&address=&mlsids%5B%5D=646522&x=27&y=7 If you're going to be moving to Northern Colorado in try a FREE Marketwatch Subscription and get updates of all the homes that come on the market in any price range and are... 01/27/2011

Many years ago, we were finished building our house and  we were ready to move in.  The only thing standing in the way between us and moving day was the State Electrical Inspector. He had been to the house once but wanted our electrician to correct something.  The day the Inspector was called back, was a big day- without his signature we could not move in. I was nervous about the inspection. I had been washing the windows that day.  Because the windows were SO clean and because I was SO nervous, I turned and walked right into the (closed) patio door!  BOOF! right in front of the Inspector! The only thing worse would have been if I'd knocked myself out cold or if we'd failed the inspection. It was so embarrassing! That's the only drawback to having clean windows that I can think of - a b... 12/16/2010

New cabin owners may be a little concerned about leaving their property unattended, especially for an extended period of time. This becomes less of a concern, once they feel more comfortable with the cabin's systems, have learned how to winterize it properly, get to know their neighbors and/or hire a service. Neighbors sometimes are the best resource to watch your home while you are away. A few weeks ago, a neighbor out for a walk in the Village, noticed water running from an unattended home.  He called our office because he didn't know how to reach the owner.  Our broker actually went over and was able to turn off the well pump and contact the owner.   It's a small community, that's how things work here. The Glacier View Meadows' office and Crystal Lakes' office know how to reach owner... 11/13/2010

According to a recent article in the Loveland Reporter Herald: "Sales of High-End Homes Picking Up"! This is exciting news. that headline got my attention!  Any improvement in any market is exciting, but this news is particularly interesting if you are a seller of a high-end (meaning over 400K) home. Presently we have 47 homes in this price range on the market in Red Feather Lakes and Livermore. All real estate is local; let's see if our Red Feather Lakes and Livermore markets are following that trend. . Clearly,  an increase in high-end sales hasn't hit our markets YET.  Only 4 homes over 400K have sold in 2010, two (2) of those were in the Glacier View Meadows Subdivision. It's not surprising that Glacier View Meadows, with easy access to Fort Collins may be one of the first to see an... 11/10/2010

Glacier View Meadows is a Subdivision located in Livermore, Colorado Statistics taken from MLS are deemed accurate, but not guaranteed. ****************************************************************************** Mary Douglas, your Mountain Broker-Associate and REALTOR® United Country Ponderosa Realty, Red Feather Lakes, CO www.marydouglas-redfeatherlakes.com 800-531-2195 "A Day in the Mountains will always soothe your city soul" I specialize in the Red Feather Lakes area, Crystal Lakes and Glacier View Meadows Subdivisions, if you are interested in buying or selling your mountain home, please give me a call, I'd like to help you. The information contained in Mary's blog is deemed reliable but is not guaranteed and the opinions and views expressed in these articles are solely those of... 10/04/2010

Statistics taken from MLS are deemed accurate, but not guaranteed. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Mary Douglas, your Mountain Broker-Associate and REALTOR® United Country Ponderosa Realty, Red Feather Lakes, CO www.marydouglas-redfeatherlakes.com 800-531-2195 "A Day in the Mountains will always soothe your city soul" I specialize in the Red Feather Lakes area, Crystal Lakes and Glacier View Meadows Subdivisions, if you are interested in buying or selling your mountain home, please give me a call, I'd like to help you. The information contained in Mary's blog is deemed reliable but is not guaranteed and the opinions and views expressed in these articles are solely those of the author. 10/04/2010