From the "it's a bummer, but that's progress" department, I've gotten to watch the sad transformation of one of the rare woodsy areas in Boulder turned into generic, crappy housing. Near my house is a soccer field complex that is good for runs and I've been taking laps there since 2000. When I first ran there, the fields were without boundaries and a sizeable patch of woods bordered the west side. Part of the allure of the run was catching a glimpse of the fox, coyote and other critters who lives in the little eco-system. THEN they put up a hideous black chain link fence around the whole field, which made one feel most unwelcome, despite the fact they are public fields. THEN the ultimate blow, a development company bought the woods, flattened it and quickly put up 300 ugly, cheaply made homes that start at $300,000. So gone are my sylvan friends, replaced by behemoth SUVs and yuppies.
Doesn't even come close to a fair exchange, does it?
I wonder when the time will come when we decide to reverse engineer our land--probably never. Imagine a parking lot being transformed into a small parcel of woods (they've actually done this in Toronto).
Anyhow, in the positive world of animals-- I got to see an alpine marten (pictured here) on my mountain excursion last weekend. They are very cool critters and I was so inspired by the hearty guys that I am writing an upcoming story in the Boulder Weekly about them next week! Long live mountain critters!
