![\"The](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.chasclifton.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/creek-at-64-gate2-FB.jpg?resize=546%2C409&ssl=1\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Last summer, when we had some flooding on Hardscrabble Creek, I sent a video to a friend in England, who replied that he had assumed that “Hardscrabble Creek” was a literary invention.<\/p>\n
Not so. I have a simple and literal mind, I will admit that.<\/p>\n
The green trees are ponderosa pine<\/a>. But are they the scopulorum <\/em>variety or b<\/em>rachyptera<\/i><\/a>? Since I consider myself a Southwesterner residing in the former imperial province of Nuevo M\u00e9xico, I vote for the latter. (This map<\/a> supports me.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Last summer, when we had some flooding on Hardscrabble Creek, I sent a video to a friend in England, who replied that he had assumed that “Hardscrabble Creek” was a literary invention. Not so. I have a simple and literal mind, I will admit that. The green trees are ponderosa pine. But are they the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[23,154],"class_list":["post-9005","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-colorado","tag-forestry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6xQTg-2lf","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4,"url":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/?p=4","url_meta":{"origin":9005,"position":0},"title":"By the banks of Hardscrabble Creek","author":"Chas S. Clifton","date":"March 7, 2003","format":false,"excerpt":"Since it has been several years since I have published any of the print versions of \"Letter from Hardscrabble Creek,\" I am creating this blog to talk about the process and progress of writing and also to comment on what I think are the best new books on contemporary Paganism\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"blogging\"","block_context":{"text":"blogging","link":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/?tag=blogging"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5843,"url":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/?p=5843","url_meta":{"origin":9005,"position":1},"title":"Yes, There Is a Hardscrabble Creek","author":"Chas S. Clifton","date":"July 15, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"In case you ever wonder about the name of the blog, yes, it's a real place. Here is a fading-light photo from my pocket camera of one of the beavers. We are happy to see them, both because beavers are cool and because their dams might be keeping more water\u2026","rel":"","context":"With 2 comments","block_context":{"text":"With 2 comments","link":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/?p=5843#comments"},"img":{"alt_text":"hardscrabble 7-13_sm","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.chasclifton.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/hardscrabble-7-13_sm.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":9050,"url":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/?p=9050","url_meta":{"origin":9005,"position":2},"title":"Now We Are Fifteen","author":"Chas S. Clifton","date":"March 7, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"This blog turns fifteen today, which means that it is an adolescent who thinks that it knows more than it does. Sounds about right. Hey, here's an idea. Check out the archives \u2014 see the button in the right-hand column. By the Banks of Hardscrabble Creek Since it has been\u2026","rel":"","context":"With 4 comments","block_context":{"text":"With 4 comments","link":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/?p=9050#comments"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2956,"url":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/?p=2956","url_meta":{"origin":9005,"position":3},"title":"Home Country: Remembering Gia-Fu Feng","author":"Chas S. Clifton","date":"July 30, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"The South Hardscrabble Creek area. Click image to see it full size with labels. There really is a Hardscrabble Creek, and this is part of its watershed. (View is to the southeast.) The label \"Stillpoint\" marks the site of a therapeutic community started in 1977 by Gia-Fu Feng, who taught\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Colorado\"","block_context":{"text":"Colorado","link":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/?tag=colorado"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.chasclifton.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/homecountry3.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.chasclifton.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/homecountry3.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.chasclifton.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/homecountry3.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.chasclifton.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/homecountry3.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2414,"url":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/?p=2414","url_meta":{"origin":9005,"position":4},"title":"Riddle Me This","author":"Chas S. Clifton","date":"February 27, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"I have two blogs, this one and Southern Rockies Nature Blog, and I switch between them as the mood and topic strike me. The Truth Laid Bear \"ecosystem\" ranking of the blogosphere is long dead, alas. So now Technorati seems to be the winner in blog-ranking systems. This blog, Letter\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"blogging\"","block_context":{"text":"blogging","link":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/?tag=blogging"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":937,"url":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/?p=937","url_meta":{"origin":9005,"position":5},"title":"A Splash of Fall Color","author":"Chas S. Clifton","date":"October 10, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Virginia creeper in autumn color, growing in the willows along Hardscrabble Creek.","rel":"","context":"In \"Colorado\"","block_context":{"text":"Colorado","link":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/?tag=colorado"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9005","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=9005"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9005\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9010,"href":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9005\/revisions\/9010"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9005"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=9005"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.chasclifton.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=9005"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}