Bed & Breakfast in Estes Park

The miniature roses were a birthday gift from our guests, Gene and Marilyn of New York. Two fun, interesting and gracious guests that were with us for six nights. The pretty pink rose bush has been on my table now for a week receiving morning sunlight on our breakfast table. This antique milk pitcher has held many 3 inch flower pots. I place the pot in a plastic sandwich bag to protect the glass from calcification damage.

Gene and Marilyn from New York.

Gene, Marilyn, Chris and Mike met here for the first time and left as friends. Opening ones mind and heart makes a bed and breakfast stay more than a place to eat and sleep. We are a very social bed and breakfast encouraging conversation between guests. On occasion our schedule doesn’t allow us to spend time with our guests, but over all we’re generally an element of a guest’s time here.

Cute and practical hats and sunglasses are a must here. The UV rays are strong at 7500 feet in elevation which causes damage to skin and eyes. Click this photo for an informative site called Sun Safe Colorado.

Chris…what can I say, she’s fun, expressive and totally in the right profession as a children’s non-fiction book author and writer’s conference coordinator.

Mike, of Mike and Chris are both local Colorado folk.

See why I call her sweet-pea. Maggie will save her steps by peeking around a corner. She was hiding her tennis ball when I called for her to come to breakfast.

Bringing home outdoor plants from the nursery to prepare for our first wedding of the new season.

My first thoughts this morning should have been: what I will make for breakfast, and my to-do list for the wedding we’re having tomorrow. Rather, I struggled to remember what it was I felt sad about the night before. It was 5:30 AM and my mind was in an emotional fog and I couldn’t remember why.

Snap dragons do great in Estes Park. I have been planting them around this tree for seven years with success. One or two get pulled up by elk, but they survive and the elk get a sore tummy. I’m convinced planting the same plants in the same spot each year conditions the elk’s eating behavior.

My heart sunk when it came back to me that my little old lady Maggie was laying at the foot of my bed sick. She wont be pawing my bed posts to wake me. I went to her and prayed she was alive. She lifted her head to let me rub under her chin, and stretched out her back legs. It was all normal, she was behaving like she normally did when I beat her to the wake up call.

The tag is for the snap dragons near the rear of the photo. The flowers in the foreground are Verbena. I LOVE this family of flower. I plant them in my window boxes at he top of my porch. Wind, rain, cold temperatures. They are heat tolerant thriving summer and into early fall with full Southern exposure. The flowers last for weeks but when the flower expires dead head them for new growth.

Magg’s head gets tired at times.

I think for a few minutes Maggie too forgot she had lost her ability to jump up at will. Maggie is a sight-hound so making eye contact is Magg’s M.O. Her bright brown eyes turn people’s hearts to soft gel. It was while looking into her eyes that I saw a slight flash. She was fully awake now and she now remembered.

She can eat alone but it’s hard on her neck.

Over the years many of our guests have kissed Maggie’s head, rubbed her ears, sent her Christmas cards and even gifts. She has friends all over the United States and world. Including; Germany, Holland, and Thailand.

We had a guest that was terrified of dogs. She had not touched one since she had been bitten in the face as a little girl. Maggie’s soft knowing eyes opened that lady’s heart up–healing an old wound. Our guest, from Thailand, held Maggie crying when she told us her story and triumph over a fear that paralyzed her at times.

Thank you from Maggie, and Eric and I, for sending your thoughts and well wishes.

Lissa, Eric, Me (Caprissa) and Paul. Maggie is the cute one in the center–getting hands on healing and love this morning, the day after her first seizure.

Here is an account of Tuesday’s events. It’s 8:20 Am, 10 minutes more and my B&B guests will be smiling up at me as I place a fresh bowl of fruit in front of them. The fruit is swimming in vanilla yogurt and granola. Just as I am checking the oven, my guest’s yell from the breakfast room. “Caprissa, Caprissa has your dog had seizures before?” ”

Should I call Eric”, says Lissa. I’m saying, “No he’s serving breakfast at the other B&B.”

It’s a family emergency what would you do? I’ll tell you what I did. I spent 60 seconds, or more minutes, panicking. My kind guest Lissa, held me by the shoulders as I gasped for air, tears streaming down my cheeks. My mind raced, ‘It’s a heart attack…what do I do…how do I stop it’. I scoop Maggie up, lay her on our down-filled 1886 sofa, which she sleeps on when we’re not watching, and ask my guests to hold her still. I search for the phone book, throw it down deciding to drive Maggie straight to the animal emergency hospital. A place I’ve taken her before to get her teeth brushed, rabies shots. Or, the time I called in in advance during a holiday. Maggie’s tooth was knocked out and wouldn’t quit bleeding. The place Maggie hates to visit.

Maggie and Me this morning in the back yard near our kitchen window. The guests were in side eating breakfast enjoying conversation and enjoying Eric’s “to-kill-a-mocking bird” dish.

The place was swamped, phones ringing, technicians zipping in and out. I stood still at the counter staring, patting Maggie. Suddenly: “CAN I PLEASE GET SOME HELP”. It was 15 minutes later when the doc was sending me home with pain pills. Says, “It’s just muscle pain, old age he reassures me”. He showed me her pink gum’s (this is good and proves it wasn’t a heart attack), her weak hind quarters. This proves she’s getting old.

Well, that was Tuesday. Wednesday after spending two hours at a fellow B&B owner’s home snapping photos of his newly decorated haven Eric and I pack Maggie in the car. It’s the final B&B association meeting of the season.

This is when IT happens. Last I’d seen Maggie she was napping in the cool mountain shade.

Now she’s jerking, head whaling around, eyes glazed and darting back and forth in her tiny fuzzy head.

I crawl into the back of our SUV, curl up with my sweet-pea and ask Eric to please hurry to the vet’s office. I wisper to her that I love her, that I’m sorry, that we’ll figure this out. And, the old stand by, it’s okay Maggie it’s going to be okay.

Fast forward…10 minutes. I’m racing into the hospital with Maggie in my arms. My eyes glazed now too, but with tears and panic. The same desk attendent sees me and quickly ques her associate to help me.

I call out load, “It’s a seizure, it’s a seizure, where’s Dr. Fish”?

Racing down the hall, I call out for the doctor. Calling out my warning my voice getting loader. I’m angry, and scared. I no longer feel Maggie’s 37.10 pounds in my arms. She’s stiff. Her legs are whaling around. I felt sure of ONE thing. Doc needed to see poor stiff Maggie. Her eyes glazed and darting. I wanted HIM TO SEE HER and FIX it right this time.

Maggie the afternoon after her grand seizure. Her ball at her side. She now walks with a gait to the left, head turned the same way. The way she use to turn her head when she was trying hard to understand me.

I’m not sure how much time passed but it happened fast. Maggie was being held down aggressivly by the tech that saw her the day before. Dr. Briant, Maggie’s favorite teeth cleaning person, quickly checked Maggie’s vitals. I was barking out orders.

“Dr. Fish I want you to see her” says I. “Did you see how she’s jerking around, can you look at her”? I ask him. He tells me, that Dr. Briant will tend to Maggie. He tells me to please let Dr. Briant check her vitals. I see in his eyes that he’s sorry. Maybe sorry for the mistake, or sorry for Maggie’s condition. Either way I’m no longer upset with him.

Maggie is on the table her head weaving back and forth and up and down. I think she’s lost her sight.

If you know anything on the topic we would love to hear from you. As you can see she is bright eyed and a little confused but otherwise she doesn’t seem to have pain. She still loves to hear her favorite words: ball, walk, supper, and laundry…The last word might be dog code for, “Carpe diem”.

We started the morning off at the gym. I fast-walked 20 minutes on the tread machine while Eric did a full work out with weights and other apparatuses of torture. The afternoon was spent cleaning the yard, washing windows and, an occasional Maggie distraction.

Royal Crown Cola

With temperatures in the mid 70s spraying Maggie was a pleasure.

Click for window washing solution

I raked pine needles and Maggie opportunity watched. We’ll add a canopy to this rustic gazebo mid-May, once the snowy weather is behind us. I’ll hang baskets of herbs around gazebo the first of June.

Temperatures were in the mid 50s here in Estes Park! So, we packed up Maggie and spent the afternoon playing at Lake Estes.  Several geese were bathing and snacking on ground-stuff.

Black Canyon makes a stunning back drop in Estes Park’s Northern horizon.

Ooops sorry, I got too close to this fella.

It’s beautiful this morning! Great way for our guests to remember Estes Park. They found a new home and are closing on the sale of old home in Long Island, New York over the next month.

I’m going now to cook up a Mexican breakfast of black beans, queso fresca with scrambled eggs, skillet potatoes cooked with scallions and tomato. I’ll put avocado on the side with sour cream. Yummy. I started the beans at 5:30 this morning, and baked homemade gluten-free bread last night.

We always ask our guest for their diet preference.

The top photo shows Maggie looking out the parlor window on April 6th. As you can see, April 7ths view out the parlor window shows about 3 inches of snow covering our guest’s car. This picture was taken just before breakfast. It will make our guest’s house shopping a little more eventful.