T'dad Talk

T'dad Talk - September 21, 2020

September 21, 2020 Cameron Wayne
T'dad Talk
T'dad Talk - September 21, 2020
Show Notes Transcript

Today in the news, now is the time to get a good look at those fall colors around southern Colorado and in the state, orchardists find a Colorado heritage apple thought to be extinct. In the world, about 200 "irreplaceable" books worth more than $3.2 million were recovered by authorities in Romania last week, stick around to hear what some of the titles were.

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Sunny starting us out today with a slight chance of showers as we move into the afternoon with highs in the mid 80s. Tonight, we’ll drop to lows in the lower 50s.

For Tuesday, Sunny again with another slight chance of scattered showers after noon and highs in the lower 80s.

Now, here’s the news.

As daily high temperatures begin to drop and the nights become increasingly brisk, the signs of fall are beginning to add up. The aspens are also beginning to show off their colors with Colorado State Forest Service experts predicting those peak colors for southern Colorado could be up to a week early due to the ongoing drought throughout the state.

For those looking to capture the colors either by means of photography or just plain sight, our area offers quite a few opportunities to jump on before the leaves begin to fall. One of the best of those opportunities is traveling the Scenic Highway of Legends (or State Highway 12), starting in Trinidad and going through Stonewall, Cuchara, La Vita, and coming out in Walsenburg. From there, it’s a quick jump back on I-25 to head back to Trinidad.

A great stop along the way to catch the beauty of fall in the iconic Colorado mountains is at Cuchara Mountain Park, just up the road from the Dog Bar and Grill toward Trinidad on the right. The park is open for public strolls and some of the old cross-country ski paths make passable hiking trails to catch some pretty majestic views. 

The park will also be hosting a disk-golf tournament this Saturday, September 26 for the more active fall enthusiasts. For more info, visit their webpage, TheCucharaMountainPark.org.

In the state, growers will tell you Colorado is not the easiest place to grow fruit. The high altitude and extreme temperature fluctuations in spring and fall cause problems for farmers trying to grow apples, peaches, pears, cherries and plums in the Centennial State.

But, despite the thin air, late frosts, lack of rain and abundance of grasshoppers, fruit orchards have long adorned the valleys across the state.

When many people were coming in to go after gold in the Pike's Peak gold rush in the late 1800s, other people realized those miners and those folks would need to be fed Jude Schuenemeyer of Montezuma Orchard Restoration Project explained. People thought they were insane for thinking that you could even grow fruit here.

Jude and his wife, Addie created Montezuma Orchard Restoration Project after they purchased a nursery in 2001. Their mission: to create and preserve a genetic bank of Colorado heritage apples and reintroduce those varieties into current orchards.

One of those fruits the Schuenemeyers hoped to preserve: the Colorado Orange apple.

When industrial farming took root in the US at the turn of the 20th century, the appetite for fewer apple varieties, grown in more favorable climates, increased and orchards that grew a wide range of different apples slowly disappeared.

The couple has documented over 400 varieties of apples historically grown in Colorado, 50 percent of which are now considered lost. The Colorado Orange was one of these.

A nearly 20-year journey scouring the state, trying to find a small piece of Colorado history and prove it still existed, had finally paid off.

Happening in the world, about 200 "irreplaceable" books worth more than $3.2 million, stolen from a warehouse in London, have been found buried under the floor of a house in rural Romania, BBC reported last Friday.

The works include first editions of Galileo and Isaac Newton.

Thieves took the books in January 2017 after cutting holes in the roof of a warehouse in Feltham then lowering themselves in on ropes, dodging sensors.

The men were identified as being part of a Romanian organized crime gang.

The gang is responsible for a series of high-value warehouse burglaries across the UK, London's Metropolitan police said in a statement.

The find follows raids on 45 addresses across the UK, Romania and Italy in June 2019, investigators say. Thirteen people have been charged, 12 of whom have already pleaded guilty.

The hoard includes rare versions of Dante and sketches by the Spanish painter Francisco de Goya, as well as the titles by Galileo and Isaac Newton dating back to the 16th and 17th Centuries.

The works were being stored in a warehouse ahead of being transported to a specialist book auction in Las Vegas, in the US, when they were stolen.

Not too much happening this week, but Mount Carmel is still offering their online, virtual health and wellness classes on their website, MountCarmelCenter.org. Jump on to check out what they’ve got coming up. 

Additionally, if you know of any upcoming events we should be aware of, please feel free to reach out to us here at the Chronicle News so we can make sure to spread the word!

As always, for a deeper look into today’s stories, visit The Chronicle-News website TheChronicle-News.com and support your local journalism with a subscription!

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This is Cameron Wayne, have a great day!