We are the host and hostess of the Pink House at Glen Eyrie in Colorado Springs. Many of you may have read last year’s blogs about our duties and activities here. These are still available and you can check last year’s October (and November) blogs. 
We have had a variety of activity this time. From an empty house, which allows us to be involved with other activities on the grounds, to a wedding on our front lawn. We have entertained visitors, who just came to check us out, – there are no formal tours of the Pink House, in contrast to the Castle. We did serve a Victorian Tea to a private party in out dining room.
We host many hummingbirds as well, who empty their feeder every other day!
The turkeys have been scarce the past few days, I think they are nesting or protecting their chicks in a safe place. The only Bighorn sheep we have seen were some young males, who transition the premises occasionally.
We did have about 300 boy-scouts here for a great camporee the weekend of May 15. They celebrated 100 years of the Boy-scouts of America and blessed us with a couple of days of trail maintenance at Glen Eyrie.
Although the weather was cool and rainy for their first day, all the tents could dry out on the last day when the sun shone brightly, but it was not too warm for them to continue working on the trails. There was a Civil War re-enactment as part of their camporee experience, and the sound of gun-fire echoed of the surrounding sandstone rock formations. All in all a very pleasant experience for the scouts as well as the other guests here.
Occasionally we have the chance to go for a hike on the property and at is always a thrill to enjoy the quiet nature around us. Blooming trees and scurrying squirrels, weathered bristle cone trees and busy birds, even vintage airplanes flying over, like the B-17 I got a picture of. 
This week there is a family reunion, which uses the whole house. We should be busy refreshing rooms and changing towels for the next three days. Then on the weekend there will be another wedding on the front lawn with a tea-brunch in our dining room.
Here we are again, at Glen Eyrie in Colorado Springs. I reviewed my posts from last year; (September 25, and a few in October) and found that not much has changed. The place is still very peaceful and wild-life abounds. Turkeys, deer, bighorn sheep, 
squirrels and rabbits,
just to name a few. There are snakes, a bob-cat, a bear, and they all claim this valley as their home. The animals tolerate the people, who visit here, pretty well. They do not act afraid, but do keep some distance from the people. The turkeys, deer and bighorns stay in groups usually.
We are Pink House managers for the month of October. This means we keep the guests in the three guest-rooms in clean towels and bedding. We have coffee and tea available and provide for the needs of our guests as may be needed. Many of our guests, just stay for bed and breakfast. The meals are provided in a central dining room, so we are not responsible for meal preparation. During conferences we often have guests who stay for a longer periods, and this makes our daytime schedule easier.
We schedule time off, when we can and take advantage of enjoying the beautiful surroundings. The weather has been fabulous the past week and we were able to repeat some of the hikes we did last year. We also visited Cheyenne Canyon State park and Helen Hunt Falls last Monday. Quite a view over the city and the Colorado plains, as we edged the mountains and traveled in the foothills of the Rockies.
On Wednesday morning on our way to breakfast I noticed a spilled garbage container. I joked, that it might have been a bear, who made the mess. To our surprise, this was true! We saw a well sized brown bear on the Castle lawn. As stated in one of our previous blogs, this is the home of much wild-life. Yet, the bear needed to be shooed away from the Castle area, because of the high density of people here; especially at breakfast time.
After breakfast, cleaning the rooms, and visiting with some of the guests, we hiked to Dorothy Falls. Although it only is about 3/4 mile form the Castle parking lot, it takes about an hour to get there.
The trail is rough and rocky, but the reward is great. The sun was out, the sky deep blue, 
the trees displayed their fall colors. An added benefit was, that we were ready for lunch, when we returned from the hike. A very nice morning walk to enjoy and appreciate the glory of creation.
We did have about 300 boy-scouts here for a great camporee the weekend of May 15. They celebrated 100 years of the Boy-scouts of America and blessed us with a couple of days of trail maintenance at Glen Eyrie.
Although the weather was cool and rainy for their first day, all the tents could dry out on the last day when the sun shone brightly, but it was not too warm for them to continue working on the trails. There was a Civil War re-enactment as part of their camporee experience, and the sound of gun-fire echoed of the surrounding sandstone rock formations. All in all a very pleasant experience for the scouts as well as the other guests here. 
Occasionally we have the chance to go for a hike on the property and at is always a thrill to enjoy the quiet nature around us. Blooming trees and scurrying squirrels, weathered bristle cone trees and busy birds, even vintage airplanes flying over, like the B-17 I got a picture of. 
This week there is a family reunion, which uses the whole house. We should be busy refreshing rooms and changing towels for the next three days. Then on the weekend there will be another wedding on the front lawn with a tea-brunch in our dining room.
