COLORADO COLLEEN: On Top of Grouse Mountain, Ready to Ski

On top of Grouse Mountain at Beaver Creek, Colorado, on Day 24 of this season.

The enchanted view from my front porch

during a spring snow storm earlier this week.

The day brought rain, snow, sleet, hail, thunder, lightning

and a wee bit of sunshine: Springtime in the Rockies.

HAPPY SAINT PATRICK'S DAY, 2010: Bluestocking's Green-Thumbs Up & Literary Links

My name is Colleen, and yes, I am of Irish descent on my dear old da's side. In honor of the Emerald Isle and my ancestors, I posted more than a trinity of entries on my Denver Flower and Gardening page for Examiner.com. Just click on the blue to go from Bluestocking to green-thumb. My Examiner'com page was 4th most popular in Denver yesterday. (Number 1 was Denver Zombie Examiner.)

The image above, photographed by James Baca, shows Celtic design detail from a stained-glass window in Old Saint Patrick's in downtown Chicago. James and I are work partners, and we've been on assignment many times over 21 years. When we first met, we covered the Irish for the big St. Patrick's Day issue of the Denver Catholic Register. Tonight, James and I got to celebrate together, unexpectedly. I even cooked dinner for the two of us--a first.

Today, I hope you got a taste of Irish culture, whether corned beef and cabbage or some Irish music or an Irish film or Irish literature, or perhaps goods from Irelands: Aran sweaters or Belleek china.

The culture has a lot to offer other than drinking--tho' I did sip a couple of Harps with James to celebrate Saint Patrick, to toast his recently departed mother, and to wash down the salmon I broiled. Served the fish in a style atypical of Ireland. Tossed a salad of greens, tangelos, walnuts, dried cranberries, cilantro in citrus grapeseed oil and balsamic vinagrette and for the salmon made a salsa with fresh mango, cilantro, lime juice, sea salt, pickled jalapeno and freshly snipped chives--the first from the secret garden. Sauteed some snow peas until a green as the Emerald Isle. Felt great to nurture my dear friend and star twin. (We share the same birthday.) Great to be with friends in high times and low. Losing a mother is a terribly difficult turnstile to walk through, and I'm glad my friend is on the other side of a difficult transition.

The Irish wake celebrates death, as well as the life of the person who has passed.

On the Friday Jones Publishing webpage and the Friday Jones Publishing Fan Page on Facebook you'll find lot of posts and links related to Ireland/the Irish/Saint Patrick's Day/Irish arts and culture, and Nora Kelley, the main character of my soon-to-be-released novel titled GLASS HALO.

"May the wind be always at your back."

Going Green: Preparing for Saint Patrick's Day

About to celebrate its one-year anniversary, my Bluestocking Blog is preparing for the wearin' o' the green. Here is a trinity of posts to prompt the spirit of Saint Patrick's Day:

• Irish arts and culture quiz: 17 questions

• All about shamrocks

• Nuala O'Faolain: In memory of the Dublin writer

Image depicts oxalis, which stand in for shamrocks during this celebratory season. For more about this pleasant plant, visit my Examiner.com page: Denver Flower & Gardening Examiner.

THE ARTS: March Comes in Like a Lion

This is one of the lions flanking the front of the Art Institute of Chicago. Last summer, after the museum closed, I captured this shot on my iPhone. I love the inky blue sky and the fact that the people visible beneath the lion's belly lend scale to this photo. Happy March!

SUPPORT THE ARTS;

THE ARTS SUPPORT YOU.