Ridgway—Across From the Park

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[May 2019 | San Juan Silver Stage | By Kathryn R. Burke]
Images, Kathryn R. Burke.

Hartwell Park is where the summer music happens, and the Ridgway Rendezvous on the second weekend in August. At dusk, you can also find free outdoor movies there all summer long. But these are just ‘happenings’, and you don’t have to wait for one to experience some summer excitement. Across the highway from Hartwell is a row of great shops where a lot is happening. And the best part is getting to know the folks you will meet there.

Step up the steps to the boardwalk. Start at the east end and visit Lupita’s Bizarre Bazaar. Susan Baker’s shop has been there the longest, and it has a long history of year-round visitors looking for the unique and unusual. She’s got everything in there from jewelry and clothing to furniture and kitchen gadgets. For kids, there are games and toys. Half the people in Western Colorado have one of her humorous magnets on their fridge. People come from miles around just to buy her clever greeting cards. Allow time to browse. You’ll need it.

A couple doors west is Ridgway Wrench. Nate Miller is the newest tenant on the boardwalk. He fixes, racesand rents bikes. “I’ve always been around bikes,” he said. “I grew up on Nantucket and started working in a shop there.” Since then, he has gone on to work in several other shops, and now, has his own here in Ridgway. His specialty is mountain bikes, but he works on everything from around-town road bikes to high-end tri-bikes. Nate also competes in single-speed world championships and Ridgway’s annual RAT Race. He invites you to join him. The race is June 8th—a 34-mile trail from town to CR 10, by Second Chance. Be warned, though. You’d better be ready. Nate won it two years in a row and he’s planning on winning it again this year.

Next stop is Art by the Park. This isn’t the first Ridgway gallery for owners, Suzzane Ulrich and her husband, Larry. When they first moved here from New York, they opened Sunrise Southwest, a gallery on the other side of the park, near True Grit. Suzanne has a flair for exhibiting southwestern art. Inside Art by the Park you will find paintings, clothing, jewelry, greeting cards, and art by regional and local artists.

Suzy Ulrich, Cafe Ridgway

Last stop, next door, is the ice cream shop, Café Ridgway Open year-round, it is run by Suzanne’s daughter, Suzy. She carries specialty ice creams in ‘small batches’, so they are always fresh, served in a bowl, sugar cone, or waffle cone. The shop offers an extensive menu of sundaes, shakes, Italian sodas, and floats. “You can do endless things with floats,” she says. Café Ridgway is open year-round, seven days a week, from mid-June into the fall (and shorter hours in winter).

Why did she open the shop, and how does she feel about it? “It’s delightful,” Suzy says. “I love being part of the community, seeing people come in, making them happy.”

Senior Pets for Senior People

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By Kathryn R. Burke.  [Montrose Daily Press, January 20, 2019] I am a senior and I have a senior cat. She is my roomie, my dinner companion, my BFF. She’s waiting at the window when I drive up to the house and is my enthusiastic ‘greeter’ when I walk in the door. And, she watches, with slumped shoulders and sad eyes, when I leave. She lies on my lap, purring, as we sit by the fire on a cold night or lounge on the couch watching movies. She sleeps next to me and keeps me company in my office. We play ‘hide and seek’ (albeit more slowly now, since we both have arthritis). She graces my FB and Instagram pages, and everybody who knows me, knows her, and always asks, “How is KitKat doing?”

Like for many of my senior friends, having a furry friend provides wonderful companionship. Yet, some who long for a pet may be afraid to get one lest they outlive it. That’s where fostering or adopting offers a perfect solution. You can age together. Senior canines and cats share calm camaraderie with us—a blessed gift as we age. They offer unconditional love and alleviate loneliness. Seniors become increasingly isolated from family, busy with their own lives, and friends, suffering from loss of mobility and slowly dying off. Adoptable senior pets have often lost family, too, and are lonely and need love just as much as we do.

Why pair a senior human with a senior pet? One main reason is energy levels. We’re not as zippy as we once were, and they aren’t either. Puppies and kittens are so cuddly and fun—and so busy! All that non-stop, wiggly energy. Trying to keep up with it is exhausting. And often destructive if you don’t.

Older pets have outgrown the need to chew up your underwear, pee on the bedspread, climb the curtains, or poop in the middle of the kitchen floor. They are already trained. They can still learn new tricks and routines, but with a greater attention span than a rambunctious puppy or kitten.

Senior pets are less likely to get underfoot, cause falls, or tear tender skin, a curse of the elderly. They tend to be mellow. Accustomed to being around people, they are less likely to hide or run off, and (usually) come when called. Their personalities are already established, so you know if you’re a match before you adopt one.

Spending time with your pet helps improve mental and physical health. Benefits include lower stress levels and blood pressure, reduced depression, and improved exercise—for you both. Pets open opportunities for interacting with others—take the dog for a neighborhood walk, and many people will stop to ask you about it. Post pictures on your FB page, like I do, and start conversations with other pet owners and make new friends.

For seniors not living at home, many residence facilities encourage pet ownership. Nursing homes allow pet visits. Facilities often have their own resident cat or dog companions. Some, including the hospital, host service animal visitations.

If you want to become a senior pet companion, where do you start? Senior Pets for Senior People FB page is dedicated to matching people who want to adopt or foster a senior pet. They also help to match shelters with rescue organizations. Many rescues have medical funding and just need a safe haven for these pets to live out their lives with love and compassion. Check in with Petfinder.com and search (by zipcode) for pets near you available for adoption.

Second Chance Animal Shelter in Ridgway has a robust re-homing program for lost or abandoned pets. Like Montrose Animal Shelter and Waggin’ Tails Delta Humane Society, they have fee-based adoption programs that include spaying and neutering. Local vets know of pets needing to be re-homed and can help match pet to person, finding ‘forever homes’ that suit both.

Senior pets for senior people—compassionate companionship that benefits both.

Kathryn R. Burke also writes and speaks on caregiving. More here, http://caregiver-journey.com/

Senior pet resources, SW Colorado
• https://www.facebook.com/SeniorPetsForSeniorPeople/
• https://www.petfinder.com
• https://www.facebook.com/Montrose-Animal-Shelter-254061984637107/
• https://adoptmountainpets.org/
• http://www.deltacountyhumanesociety.org/
• http://www.surfacecreekshelter.org/