Articles from Vol. 25 No. 2 - February 1, 2025

Palmer Lake Historical Society, Jan. 16 – 2024 events recalled

January 31, 2025

By Marlene Brown

The Palmer Lake Historical Society (PLHS) held its Annual Potluck Supper and Membership Meeting on Jan. 16 at the Palmer Lake Town Hall. Members recapped their monthly meeting events and presentations for 2024 to include: The Monument Cemetery, Father’s Day Ice Cream Social, Life and Times of Gen. William J. Palmer, walking tours of historical sites in the area, and a field trip to The Trolley Museum in Colorado Springs.

PLHS is a 501C3 nonprofit that was formed in 1956, dedicated to the idea of education and preserving the history of the Palmer Divide. The Palmer Divide area includes Palmer Lake, Monument, Tri-Lakes, School District 38, the U.S. Air Force Academy and east to Table Rock, including Black Forest.

The Mission of PLHS is to preserve, protect, promote, and provide access to historical data, artifacts and other items of significance relating to the Palmer Divide area. See palmerdividehistory.org. Another purpose of the society is to maintain and ensure the continuance of the Lucretia Vaile Museum, located in the Palmer Lake Library building at 66 S. Valley Rd., across the street from Palmer Lake Town Hall. Open Wednesdays 1 to 4 p.m. and Saturdays 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Private tours available with reservation. Call the museum at (719)559-0837 for more information.

There are volunteer opportunities at the museum and sponsored events. Memberships are available online at palmerdividehistory.org or you can submit your application by mail at P.O. Box 662, Palmer Lake, CO 80133. Some of the benefits of becoming a member are: meet new people who share an interest in local history, emails regarding the monthly events, and invitations to members-only walking tours and field trips.

**Above:** Palmer Lake Historical Society 2025 board members are, from left: Diane Kokes, vice president; Patricia Atkins, secretary; Jennine Engle, president; and Doug Lang, treasurer. Photo by Marlene Brown.

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Meetings are usually held on the third Thursday of the month from 7 to 8:30 p.m. (doors open at 6:30 p.m.) at the Palmer Lake Town Hall, 28 Valley Crescent St. They are free and open to the public. The Feb. 20 program is a presentation by Nikki Stratton about her grandfather Donald Stratton, survivor of the USS Arizona during the attack on Pearl Harbor.

For more information about PLHS and future programs, go to palmerdividehistory.org

Marlene Brown can be reached at marlenebrown@ocn.me.

High Altitude Nature and Gardening (HANG) – Fermented February, cocoa mulch, and a chocolate “workout”

January 31, 2025

Fermented February
Carrot greens are tasty and free

By Janet Sellers

Cocoa mulch can be toxic to pets, especially dogs. It contains theobromine, a chemical found in chocolate that is poisonous to dogs and other animals. A commonly used mulch, organic cocoa mulch, contains nitrogen, phosphate, and potash and has a pH of 5.8, adding beneficial nutrients to the soil. Using cocoa hulls in the garden is an excellent way to increase soil vitality and is an attractive top cover for flower beds and vegetable patches. Because this mulch is a byproduct of the chocolate-making process, it gives off a chocolate aroma that usually lasts two to three weeks from the time of application.

Hot cocoa, on the other hand, helps create stem cells for humans. A study conducted at the University of California, San Francisco found that individuals who drank a chocolate beverage containing high levels of cocoa flavanols twice daily for a month had significantly higher stem cell counts in their blood compared to a control group, suggesting that consuming chocolate with high cocoa content can potentially increase stem cell levels in the body; this is often attributed to the antioxidant properties of flavanols present in cocoa. Eating dark chocolate may also help your body make new stem cells. Dark chocolate contains compounds called flavanols and proanthocyanidins that can stimulate stem cell production and movement.

The explanation? Cacao! The main ingredient in chocolate, cacao, contains bioactive compounds that may improve stem cell function, and here is some of the good stuff it offers. Flavanols: These compounds interact with cellular pathways, potentially stimulating stem cell production. Proanthocyanidins: These compounds cause stem cells to act more vigorously, similar to giving them a workout. Dark chocolate: Dark chocolate that contains at least 70% cacao is rich in polyphenols and magnesium. Stem cells: These cells are found in various places in the body, including bone marrow, under the skin, and lining of the intestines. They repair, replace, and regenerate worn out and dead cells.

Fermented February

Fermented February is a movement with many homesteaders and home gardeners. Fermented February is a social media campaign that encourages people to ferment foods and drinks in February to optimize good health. People share their recipes and fermentation tips on social media platforms like YouTube.

Homemade soda from pine needles? Yep. It’s citrusy, fresh, and filled with antioxidants for good health. I saw that people like to use the young “spruce tips” of blue spruce to infuse the flavor into the soda base, similar to how you would use other pine needles like white pine or fir needles. I have eaten the blue spruce tips in salads and they are yummy. Some homesteaders report they just collect spruce tips off the tree, wash and ferment in water with sugar for “wild fermentation” using what is on the pine needles already. They place the washed, dried and clipped (remove the papery fascicle) green needles in a flip-top bottle, fill with water, add some sugar (4 tablespoons to about a quart of the needle batch), shake, and leave to ferment, and in about two weeks it’s bubbly and ready to drink. Be sure to find a recipe of your choice. I found some online with a search, and I’ll try it out for Fermented February.

Carrot greens are tasty and free

We can eat carrot greens! Carrot greens are nutritious and contain lots of vitamin C, calcium, potassium, and phytonutrients. They also contain dietary fiber, which can help with digestion and blood sugar regulation. Carrot greens taste a little like parsley and carrots and are a little bitter. Cooking them softens the bitterness. Greens from younger carrots are milder than those from older carrots. Carrots are biennial—they take two years to grow from seed. Most carrots we buy are roots, and the tops can be planted for seed in its first year in our gardens.

We can get carrot greens by regrowing carrot tops from the grocery store. Favorites include: Pesto: Use carrot greens in a pesto with olive oil, walnuts, and parmesan cheese. You can use pesto as a pasta sauce or spread it on toast. Salads: Toss carrot greens with other salad greens. Soups: Stir carrot greens into soups. Smoothies or green juice: Blend carrot greens into smoothies or green juice. Veggie burgers: Add carrot greens to veggie burgers. Herbs: Use carrot greens in place of parsley or basil. Chimichurri: Make a chimichurri with carrot greens, oregano, cumin, paprika, red pepper flakes, garlic, white wine vinegar, and olive oil. Breakfast strata: Use carrot top pesto in a breakfast strata, which is like a savory bread pudding.

Janet Sellers is an avid “lazy gardener” letting Mother Nature lead the way to easy gardening. Send your garden tips to JanetSellers@OCN.me.

On the Trail (in memory of Tim Watkins) – Monument Hiking Group to Ice Cave Cliffs and Cap Rock

January 31, 2025

By Steve Pate

Lisa Loeber organized members of the Monument Hiking Group (MHG) to make a hike to Ice Cave Cliffs on Jan. 16 along the Ice Cave Creek trail connecting with the Swank Trail north to a ridge that connects with the Ice Cave Cliffs trail before the “polar vortex” extreme cold snap. Three of the group hiked to the Ice Cave Cliffs and climbed Cap Rock. Included here are some photos taken by Randy Phillips, an experienced local hiker, which give a sense of the beautiful scenery in our Tri-Lakes area.

Eight hardy souls made the trek, a bit over seven miles round trip with an elevation gain of about 8,000 feet. The photos show MHG members at various segments of the hike showing the terrain along Ice Cave Creek, a section of the Swank Trail, and some views from atop Ice Cave Cliffs and Cap Rock.

Steve Pate may be contacted at StevePate@OCN.me.

**Above:** Brian Caldwell leads the way and Kerry Paige brings up the rear ascending Ice Cave Creek Trail. All photos by Randy Phillips.

**Above:** A rest stop on the Ice Cave Creek Trail. Front to back, Terri Walters, Ned Kraushaar, Wendi Renee, Brian Caldwell, and Kerry Paige.

**Above:** Ned Kraushaar leads with Kerry Paige bringing up the rear on Swank Trail.

**Above:** The final climb to Cap Rock. Photo by Randy Phillips.

Art Matters: The arts as medicine; Palmer Lake Art Group plans new venues

January 31, 2025

The Arts as Medicine
Palmer Lake Art Group announcements and Tri-Lakes Center for the Arts closure

We all can enjoy the arts. Creativity and its expression are for everyone, from the visual arts to music, poetry, writing, jewelry, religious relics, and more. Media in myriad forms are constantly being created for human expression since humans began. Our area is fortunate to have many artists and art events represented throughout the year, and preparations for these are also year-round.

The Arts as Medicine

“Thinking of the arts as medicine, arts as healing is innate… In indigenous languages in the country, to my understanding, there is no specific word for art because we live it. How do we remove these institutional silos and recognize the interconnectedness? How do we reconnect what has been disconnected? We operate in these different capacities. We’re all part of a living, connected system. We can’t segment the spirit from the body, from the being, from the community.”—Justin Huenemann, the First Peoples Fund, caucus member, the White House Domestic Policy Council and National Endowment for the Arts (NEA).

An arts and cultural event, Healing, Bridging, Thriving: A Summit on Arts and Culture in our Communities held on Jan. 30, 2024, was co-hosted by the White House Domestic Policy Council and the National Endowment for the Arts. It offered innovative insights to explore artists’ and arts organizations’ contributions that benefit communities and “invigorate physical spaces, fuel democracy, and foster equitable outcomes.”

At the summit, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy said, “… music can, in a matter of seconds, make me feel better.” He spoke from the Constitution Center in Washington, D.C., adding, “I’ve prescribed a lot of medicines as a doctor over the years. There are few I’ve seen that have that kind of extraordinary, instantaneous effect”.

Palmer Lake Art Group announcements and Tri-Lakes Center for the Arts closure

Palmer Lake Art Group (PLAG) announced a new lineup for shows and exhibits throughout 2025. In its recent newsletter it announced that in light of the Tri-Lakes Center for the Arts sale and closing, the PLAG board has been busy networking with other artist groups and exhibit locations. Commitments have been made for expanded opportunities for the members to exhibit their work in well-established locations and community events. The PLAG flagship exhibit Winter Art Show is being held at the Garden of the Gods Visitor and Nature Center in Colorado Springs. The exhibit starts on Feb. 1, and the opening reception is Friday, Feb. 7 from 3:30 to 5 p.m. at the Visitor Center, 1805 N. 30th St., Colorado Springs.

Coming up in March, we will have some updates on our local arts venues and locations, so stay tuned!

Janet Sellers is an artist, writer, teacher, and speaker specializing in creative endeavors for health and communities through her indoor and outdoor murals, landscapes, and nature art, and offers local forest bathing hikes. Contact her at JanetSellers@ocn.me