This is our Thanksgiving week and it is hard to keep one’s mind on anything that might be of more importance at this moment in our lives!

So, in making that comment, let’s continue on with what is going on this week — Thanksgiving. The community celebrated their annual dinner last Sunday, hosted by the Rico Community Church, and held at the Town Hall. The turnout was very good, as expected. Seldom does our community have an opportunity to meet, sit down to a fine meal and just simply visit in a relaxed, happy time and catch up on each others’ lives and happenings. The hosts furnish the main fare on the menu and everyone else brings interesting side dishes and desserts. One dessert brought by Jolynn and “Company” was a plate of fine little Russian Tea Cakes. Beautiful. Something more that I need to mention — after a large dinner, somebody needs to clean up the scene, and our friends fold the chairs and get things in order in the blink of an eye. That is what makes it fun for all.

One of our favorite pastimes is looking for eagles as we head down river. During spawning season, we find them sitting in their usual favorite spot up in the trees along the Dolores, silently awaiting their next meal to swim by in the shallow water, the Kokanee headed up the river to spawn. Evidently, the word hasn’t quite reached the general population of our honorable bird because we spotted only three in attendance last Monday. Not only are the Kokanee spawning, but this is the season for the german brown trout to begin their trip up the river. There is a great difference between the Kokanee and trout, and their spawning situation — the salmon expire and the brown trout do not. Aren’t we glad! We can continue to fish for the really big browns because we know that they just lay around and grow real big over the years!

We visited with a hunter recently who was not fortunate enough to harvest her game this year, but made some observations that I found intriguing. While hunting a mile or so up Scotch creek south of Rico, she came upon some footprints, presumably coyote, and what looked like a pack of them following some elk tracks. With snow on the ground, these situations can be observed. Later, in another area, she observed what she thinks were mountain lion tracks (big!) following a game trail and, still later, what looked like the footprints of a mother bobcat and her litter of four or five scurrying around her in the snow. So, our hunter may not have fared well in her hunt, but Mother Nature made her time fulfilling, and perked up her interest in her surroundings in that big forest of ours.

We are grateful for what we have. Life is not all peaches and cream as they say, but basically speaking, we were born into freedom these many years ago and have not lived in fear as our neighbors do in the far east, in Africa, etc. We are blessed and we can never be thankful enough for our life of freedom and carefree living. Be grateful, dear citizens. Happy Thanksgiving to all!



Marlene Hazen has lived in Rico for two decades. An active member of the community, she participates in organizations such as the Rico Women’s Club and Rico Historical Society.