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Southwest Life


Nicole Clark
Position: La Plata County Extension Office
Darrin Parmenter
Position: La Plata County Extension Office

What the future holds may improve your mental well-being

Choosing the topic of pumpkins or Halloween for this month’s “From The Extension Office” seems too predictable. It may be relevant, but predictable nonetheless. Now, where’s the excitement i...

When it comes to green chiles, can you take the heat?

Forgive me if I’ve said this before, but my dad likes to eat green chile that burns your face off. Or maybe that’s just how I like to remember the story. Or maybe he still like his chile hot...

Despite shorter days, colder weather, we can still be active

You know fall and winter are approaching when ... golden leaves emerge, you leave 10 minutes early to get ahead of the school bus, shadows lengthen, you’re shopping for firewood, it’s pumpki...

Thrips can wreak havoc on your plants

Just over a week ago, we hosted – alongside Manna soup kitchen – the 14th annual Tour de Farms. The tour was a leisurely bike ride through the neighborhoods of Durango, where we visited a sc...

Throw in late summer mushrooms for a healthful meal

Mother Nature, if you’re listening, this article is a friendly reminder that our summer monsoons could use a little boost. August is a wonderful time of year to find mushrooms in nature, but...

75 years of kids, critters and cowboys

Our La Plata County Fair will be here before you know it. Mark your calendars for Aug. 9 to 13 at the La Plata County Fairgrounds. Come out and enjoy some fair food, awesome projects, cute a...

2023 has turned into the year of the ‘pirouette’

Pivot (intransitive verb): To turn on or as if on a pivot; to adapt or improve by adjusting or modifying something. Side note: I would like to start a movement where the definition of a word...

Cooking for one: Simplify and satisfy

Where does inspiration come from? It’s a question I ponder every month in preparation for this column. When two different people presented the same idea, I couldn’t help but hear the calling...

Thanks to Mother Nature, gardening can be challenging

If the first six months of the year are any indication, 2023 will go down as the “Year of the Wacky Weather.” I honestly cannot remember a stranger start to a growing season, and to cap it a...

Keeping the diva of the garden happy

Lycopersicon esculentum. That is the Latin genus and species for the beloved diva of the garden, the tomato. To be more specific, the Latin is the binomial nomenclature, or a two-part na...

Honoring our top 4-H graduates

The month of May means we get to celebrate our graduating high school seniors and award the La Plata County 4-H Higher Education Scholarships. These scholarships are given out to our outstan...

New plants for the season

We all have our favorite things, right? Now that I just recently turned 51 (please send belated birthday presents to the CSU Extension office at the Fairgrounds), I find myself being drawn t...