Autumn is a beautiful season.  Oh, I know about the rain, sometimes snow, too.  Yes, there’s wind, mud, bare trees, what else?  And fall is still my favorite season.  The air is fresh (most places), the temperature is invigorating, the sun is inviting, what more do you want?  So my simple challenge to you is:  Kick yourself out the door.  Get outside, even if you may not feel like it.  You’ll be glad you did.

Once you get out there, where do you head?  If it’s hiking, check out the 3500+ hikes that are detailed at Find a Hike, on backpacker.com. Most of the hikes at this site are GPS-enabled, to view online, beam to your printer or wireless, or add to your online profile.

But wait!  Don’t head out without some decent gear to keep you safe and dry.  There are all kinds of gear checklists at backpacker, too. Just be sure to notice the gear lists in the top box, and don’t get tricked by the shopping lists below them.

Maps?  Need more maps?  The website for each US National Forest has trail maps.

Ok, one more thing:  Try keeping a little bag always loaded with flashlights, batteries, toilet paper, trowel, first aid kit, and water filter.  This way you can make a quick getaway when the hiking bug bites.  You’ll have some of the minimal preparations already done.

This photo is one I took at the top of Old La Veta Pass, Colorado, a couple of months ago.  And by the way, next time you have a good hike, I’d like to hear about it.  Thanks!

Old La Veta Pass is great for hiking

Winter is on its way.  In fact, here in Colorado, it seems to have arrived early, with days of freezing rain, or snow, or cold fog.  So it’s time to start thinking about winter preparations for your home.  It’s important to get your house ready for winter, and you may already have the good habit of doing that.  Here are a few more online tips for taking care of your home, and providing a little help to the neighborhood birds, too.

Drain your water heater:  Watch a video on flushing out built-up sediment in your water heater.

Another video shows parents and children how to build a bird feeder together.

And an article about wood fires and taking care of your chimney.

Thanks to This Old House for timely and useful information that is worth passing on to others.

“The Code of the West was first chronicled by the famous western writer, Zane Grey. The men and women who came to this part of the country during the westward expansion of the United States were bound by an unwritten code of conduct. The values of integrity and self-reliance guided their decisions, actions and interactions.”

The Code of the West has opened many peoples’ eyes to the realities of living in the rural West.  The Code helps people to make informed and realistic decisions about living Out West. The body of this document and most of the original wording was taken from a work by John Clarke, a Commissioner for Larimer County, Colorado.

“It is important for you to know that life in the country is different from life in the city. County governments are not able to provide the same level of service that municipal governments provide. To that end, we are providing you with the following information to help you make an educated and informed decision when choosing to purchase rural land . . .”

READ THE CODE OF THE WEST

First of all, a jeepney is a public transport vehicle in the Philippines.  Jeepneys provide affordable rides to wherever you’re going.  And jeepneys can be beautiful!  The owners decorate each one individually, and the artwork is impressive.

Beyond that, The Jeepney is Asia’s first street magazine.  Street magazines provide meaningful jobs for folks who are unemployed, sometimes homeless.  And The Jeepney magazine is very educational.  You will see how peoples’ lives are affected by lack of clean water, or by homelessness, or by war.  Check out The Jeepney magazine online. You’ll be glad you did.

Sometimes you run across an article that says it just right.  I’ve made comments about the effects of the recession before.  But Jeff Rundles has done such a great summary, that I’m just going to pass it on to you.  His conclusions seem pretty accurate.  And somehow, the attitude comes through that it’s ok, that the new reset economy will be an improvement.

Read Lather. Rinse . . . .

If you live anywhere in Colorado, you won’t want to miss the annual Mennonite Relief Sale.  It’s a one-of-a-kind event, a great combination of good food, beautiful quilts, lively auction, talented musicians, all for a good cause.  The proceeds go to support Mennonite Central Committee, which is heavily involved in relief efforts and peacemaking around the world.

This year’s 2009 Relief Sale will be held in Rocky Ford, CO, on October 16-17.  Get the details at the Relief Sale’s website. I hope to see you there!

It’s been about five days now since the big flood in Manila.  Here in the United States, not much was heard about the flood after the first reports on Saturday.  But I’ve been trying to keep up with the news.  The Philippine newspapers tell of damage that will take months, if not years, to overcome.  And personal reports from friends in Manila tell stories of many families losing everything.

Now a second typhoon is on the way to hit the island of Luzon.  Typhoon Pepeng (Parma) will probably hit on Saturday, with winds up to 200 kph.  You can read about Pepeng (Parma) at the Philippine Inquirer newspaper.

The people in the community of Tanza, outside Manila, are among the poorest of the poor in the Philippines.  Many of them struggle to find enough to eat, and many cannot afford even basic medical care.  After a flood, the possibility of disease increases dramatically.  I’m working with a group to make donations for a clinic in Tanza, where a doctor would visit once or twice a month.  And our gifts will buy medicines for people who cannot afford them.  There’s a lot of good information about Tanza, the flood, and the Philippines at the Tanza Clinic website.  It’s just a simple site that I set up, to get the word out about the people, the workers, and the need in Tanza.  Come visit the site, and help if you can.  Thanks!

Have you noticed how different sources can put a different spin on the same news?  I try to get my news from a few different sources, including The Pueblo Chieftain, BBC World News, Business Week, LinkedIn, and others.  However, even with that variety, they have all been saying some similar things.  They are saying that the housing market is not recovering.  Housing prices have probably bottomed-out, but the number of actual sales is still weak.

I hear different reasons for this weakness.  Some say the lenders still won’t lend.  Others say that buyers won’t offer a fair price to the sellers.  Still others say that consumers are scared, and they won’t buy anything.  All of these factors, and others, are probably working together to slow down home sales across Colorado and America.

So what’s a person to do, especially someone who cares about real estate?  If you are in business, you have probably already tightened your belt and fine-tuned your marketing.  We will all be living with slimmer bank accounts, counting our dollars, euros, pesos or yen more carefully.  And we’re not just talking about short-term frugality.  The way of the future will be less debt, less extravagance, more green (environment, not dollars!) and more simple lifestyles.

That may sound like bad news, but it’s actually good news in the long run.  After this recession runs its course, the results will include less debt-stress, more economic flexibility, and (hopefully) more emphasis on people rather than things.  That doesn’t sound like bad news at all.  We’re in the midst of an economic correction that was long overdue.

So don’t let the “bad news” get you down.  Hang in there with your family, your work, your exercise, and your generous spirit.  Be willing to help others, even when there is no obvious payback to yourself.  Get together with some like-minded friends, and instead of complaining, do something positive to influence those around you.  You’ll be glad you did!

Well, first of all, I don’t think it’s so much about Drinks as it is about Green.  The idea is to begin discussing, contemplating and networking for the cause of sustainability.  So the point of this monthly get-together is definitely Green, for the purpose of creating positive Green changes in Pueblo.

To be honest, I wish I knew more about Green Drinks Pueblo Style.  I showed up for the July meeting at the end of a day when I had not been feeling well.  I had to leave fairly early.  But I did get to chat with some folks, and I came away impressed with their sincerity and enthusiasm.  Pueblo may not seem like much of a “Green” city, but with these folks’ energy it surely will become a more sustainable community.

There’s a Green Drinks Pueblo Style this coming Tuesday, September 29, 2009.  There are drink and dinner specials offered by the hosts at The Cock N Bull, 325 S. Union Avenue in Pueblo.  Tisha Casida will talk about supporting small businesses, our local economies in southern Colorado, and the opportunities that we have to build a sustainable economy by creating networks of people, businesses and information.  Then the last get-together for this year will be October 27, 2009.

Sound interesting?  It is!  You can contact Dena at (719) 369-9087, or pick up a copy of That’s Natural! magazine in Pueblo.  And there’s a website for Green Drinks, too.

No, you probably haven’t.  A little background, since I help to support the Philippine’s HWC team . . .  Homeless people get together with their sponsors to create a soccer team.  Teamwork, new skills, productive use of time, good exercise, positive role models, encouragement . . .  all these elements work together to help individuals turn their lives around.

The Philippine’s Homeless World Cup team is sponsored by The Jeepney.  Now the Jeepney is a topic for a whole blog post another time.  But thanks to the Jeepney, and several other sponsors, the Philippine’s HWC team just made a trip to Milan, Italy.  The Homeless World Cup tournament was held earlier in September, and there were so many exciting stories to tell.  What an adventure for those homeless folks from around the world!  What a life-changing experience for the Filipinos who participated.  The team came in 29th out of a field of 48 teams.

You can read a recent article in the Philippine Star newspaper.  And there’s plenty of inspiring stories at Homeless World Cup – Team Philippines – Facebook page.