March marks the one year anniversary of the Postcards from Palisade Podcast! Listen to find out what’s ahead for year two, to celebrate past guests’ favorite things about Palisade, and to hear the debut of the podcast’s new intro music, created by a local Palisadian!
Music: Riverbend by Geoff Roper.
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Transcript:
Welcome to Postcards From Palisade, where we hear from the people who are shaping our slice of western Colorado. I’m Lisa McNamara.
It’s hard to believe, but March marks the one year anniversary of the Postcards from Palisade podcast!
A year and a half ago I had an idea to make a podcast about Palisade, my new hometown; to learn all about the place by talking with fellow Palisade residents and sharing what I heard. I hoped it would help me grow my own community and, as a side benefit, help others expand their communities too.
It took me more than six months to get up the courage to actually get started. Six months of fighting that silly little voice in my head that was telling me I didn’t have the right equipment, or enough connections, or a decent recording spot, or the right to even think I could do something like this. But then one day I woke up and decided to go for it. I haven’t looked back since.
And now it’s been a whole year! So I just wanted to take a moment to pause and say: thank you so much for listening! I’m so glad that you all are along for the adventure. While this has been a ton of fun for me, I’m not sure I would have kept up with it if I didn’t hear that it’s been fun for you too.
When I hear things from you, like that my podcast with Christine inspired someone who hadn’t gone to yoga in years to try a class again, or that you learned something you didn’t know, or a business owner had someone mention they came in because of what they heard on an episode, or that those of you who are not physically in Palisade, but whose hearts are here, appreciate the updates on what’s happening in town (the essence of what a postcard is, right).
…well this is why I’m here! If I get to connect people while having a good excuse to be nosy and ask all the questions that are running through my head at all times, I’m calling that a win.
On this occasion, I thought it would be fun to listen back to past guests’ favorite things about Palisade. Here are a few of my favorites:
Danny Tebbenkamp of Paddleboard Adventure Company, from episode 2:
DT: it’s fun to like, go to certain place and see people you know from certain walks of life, around town and be able to just strike up a conversation. They say, as you’re shopping or out and about, don’t plan to – what you think might be a 20 minute stop to the grocery store is probably going to be like, 45 to an hour. Because you’re going to talk to people. So, that’s just a mindset that – back in Steamboat years ago, that’s kind of what it was, and I miss that. Steamboat’s just such a hustle bustle and busy – you see people, but everyone’s in such a rush now. Here everyone’s still like in the slow pace, anywhere you go you’re going to run into somebody that you know or kinda know, but they’re so friendly that they’re going to talk to you – like hey, aren’t you that guy…or how do I know you? So I just love the community aspect of just the closeness, kind of we’re all in it together.
Cassidee Shull of CAVE, from episode 3:
CS: It’s very friendly and it’s very tight knit. We just had an amazing event happen I think last weekend that was called Sing up the Sun that was kind of an homage or welcome to the equinox, and it was all just put on by a community member that just wanted to see a new event happen this time of year, which is a but slower for us. We’ve not yet hit spring, or, I’m sorry, early spring, like summer festivals. Farmer’s market’s not up yet. Our honeybee festival’s not here yet. And to see – I think the first one was last year but to watch that event take off and it’s all community-led and volunteer driven, and people came out with poems and dancing and costumes and puppets and I was like – this is amazing! And it’s all just a small community put-together.
Nelly Garcia Olmos of La Plaza, from episode 4:
NG: I am in love with the valley. Every time people ask me, would you go live somewhere, I say, no. And it’s – I come from Mexico City. A huge city. LM: Huge city! NG: Huge city! And when people tell me, you don’t want to go back to a huge city, I say, no! I’ve been here for such a long time. And it really took me long. To be able to say: this is my home. This is my home, too. It took me a long time. To feel welcome. To feel part of the community. And I don’t want that to happen to other people. That’s what I do. That’s the reason why I do everything I do. I don’t want the same feeling to go to our new people, because I know what my family and I went through. And I think that’s why – I think it’s so hard to think of another change again. To say, oh, now I’m going to go to another place. It’s not like language – when you learn a second language, you are able to learn many more. It doesn’t work like that! It’s different. But also, I miss the mountains. Every time I get to travel, even though I’ve been to such beautiful places, I miss the mountains, you know. Those beautiful skies. When the sun is going down, and you see the orange, and you see the teal in the sky, and the white, and all those beautiful colors – you don’t see that any other place.
Lisa aka Moose Levy Kral of Dancing in My Head Photography, from episode 7:
LK: I love it. I really like it. It’s a very warm community. I mean, I’m a city girl, so I have great stories now. Our neighbors used to have pigs that got loose. Matt and I have chased loose pigs, like, three times, I think. And just like, these stories that I get to say, these words coming out of my mouth. Like, there were pigs rolling around on our pool cover once. And they were over 200 pounds. And they’re like, you know, during the season the pool cover collects rainwater and stuff. The pigs got out and I’m looking out this window and there’s just a pig rolling around and I’m like…and Matt’s, I call Matt and I’m like, I don’t know what to do! And luckily the pool covers can hold up a lot of weight. I mean, I’ve stood on it before, it’s like a water bed almost. But, I was like, Matt, what do I do, the pigs are on the pool! And there were two others, like, looking at it. So Matt comes out and I’m like, oh the photographer in me, I have to record this. So Matt goes out and he’s like, herding them away from the pool and I have it on video. Sorry, this is a podcast and you can’t see it, but it’s like, a really funny video. LM: I can visualize it…I mean when you’re chasing are you trying to like grab the pig, – or were you just trying to herd it? LK: They were so big. So, one time they got little babies. This was the third time that they got pigs. They thought they had secured the, but they were so tiny that the little pigs got out, and those were the only pigs you could actually pick up and carry. Of course I have pictures of that too. But the other ones, the ones on our pool cover, there was no picking those guys up. They ended up being over 250 pounds, so what we had to do, was like, everybody had to grab something. Like a stick, a rake, our pool skimmer, whatever it was, and you have to, like – you need at least four people to kind of corner them off and like kind of run them back to the pen. And luckily one time when they got out, some guy was just driving down the highway and he pulled over and his dog was a herder. Because the neighbors weren’t home and it was just me and Matt and we’re like, trying to get these giant pigs. And this guy comes out and like finally the neighbors get home or their friends come over and so the herder dog saved the day. So, wrangling pigs. That’s another thing I love about Palisade – I get to tell stories like that. Mom, I wrangled pigs today!
Christine Moore of Christine Moore Yoga, from episode 8:
CM: I love being in a small community. For instance, when I had covid, I had little gifts of food left at my door. I know all my neighbors. I feel this real welcoming presence in all of that that’s so different. I lived in a townhouse in Boulder, the last one I lived in, for 20 years and I didn’t know my neighbors the way I know them here. I like how accessible it is to hiking and different – you know, it’s just beautiful to be out in nature here. And so I love that about Palisade. And I feel like it keeps growing and changing, and it’s just fun to be in a small town.
Wendy Videlock, Western Slope Poet Laureate, from episode 13:
WV: yeah Palisade is interesting um so the way I describe Palisade is well obviously we’re ag but we’re also very art which is a really interesting mix um so whatever Palisade does they want to do it well so if they’re going to do a peach they’re going to make the best damn peach you’ve ever had if they’re going to grow marijuana they’re going to grow the best pot if they’re going to make art they’re going to make good art and so Palisade has an interest in excellence and and this to me is pretty awesome
Laura Black of Mesa Park Fruit Co, from episode 14:
LB: it’s special and there’s like a camaraderie of with the local residents that is it’s just something cool and and I think when you’re farming I read this quote a while ago and it was something to the effect of like like a small town a small farming town like rides these these waves together right the highs and the lows because it’s very rare that like we’ll freeze and our neighbor doesn’t right so like we we’re all in this together to some extent it was actually it was really crazy earlier this year it was April end of April 25th 26 27th something like that when we had those freezes and and we have a wind machine over at my um dad’s property and so Brandon was up like running that and then the sprinklers were going in the cherry orchard and and I promise you C Road right there was busier at 3am and then it is during the day and it was even though no one was happy about being up doing what they were doing it was sort of like Brandon was like it was like this cool thing like we are all in this together we’re all out here like trying to do everything that we can to save our crop this year
Scott and Jessica Washkowiak of Field to Fork Organic Farm, from episode 15:
SW: the trains and the peaches JW: oh the trains everybody does really like the train actually SW: I I haven’t I up until this incident I really never had like ever was frightened by it or whatever JW: it’s kind of like this you know the part of American history SW: it’s just the quaintness of the community too I feel that like we’ll always kind of hear about our son and his day out in the in the general public and the big thing is is that over three quarters of all the ski resorts in the area are like two hours away JW: but that’s not in Palisade SW: no but but where Palisade lays is really cool JW: but also I think like the the best thing about Palisade as a farmer and a grower is the microclimate that we have here SW: yeah it’s ridiculous
And finally, from Hillary Eales of Mafia Princess Wine, from episode 18:
I love the community and I still do the people the farmers they’re there’s just this whole like culture around agriculture that I just think is amazing agricultural people no matter what they’re growing the culture is still the same and so coming here and like being part of this like farming community it was like instantly like home you know and I love that and I love like the cooperation between you know the majority of wineries want to help each other and are you know into that the ship rises with the tide you know all ships rise with the tide and like helping out everyone there’s there’s some outliers but of course that’s in any industry you know but it’s like I bought some fruit this year from Whitewater Hill we got some muscat because our Muscat like we already sold out of it because it was so popular and we don’t grow very much of it so they had some extra so I was like yeah I’ll take it and then Chloe their wine maker a day after we got the fruit she called or texted and she was like oh she called and she’s like hey like just want to make sure everything like went well you know the Talbott’s got you the fruit okay cuz they were the ones delivering it and processing and everything went good I was like well actually like we blew the bladder in our press while we were processing and she was like oh she’s like well just bring the fruit over here we’re going to finish up pressing our Moscato couple hours just bring the fruit over here and we’ll help you press it and I was like oh my gosh yes please like thank you went over she I mean it was her equipment so she had to but she helped press it helped clean everything stayed late I’m sure to help me out and then even the next week she like checked in and she was like hey were you able to get a replacement for your bladder for your press you know it’s just like that that community and even like we we still needed to bottle the last of our red and again like having issues getting glass and so I was like hey you guys have some extra bottles and they’re like oh yeah just like when you get your glass in replace it and picked up 60 cases of glass so I could bottle glass you know it’s it’s that kind of neighbor teamwork in one sense we’re competition but I always view it as like a friendly competition
LM: I’m looking forward to sharing another year of stories with you all. This is always a great season to start new things, and we have a bunch of new businesses to support in Palisade this year. New things to learn and new people to meet.
As spring rolls its warm blanket across the valley, as buds swell and burst and pollen tickles the nose, as bird chatter amongst themselves and the sun reminds us of more warmth to come, as the days get longer and traffic picks up and we start to look forward to (or dread) the events of the season: take this opportunity to do that thing you’ve been wanting to do.
So what else is next? You may have noticed that this episode didn’t start with any music. One of the things I’m looking forward to in the episodes to come is the new tune that will kick off each episode! I wanted to play it for you all by itself for its debut.
Local bike shop staple and musician Geoff Roper has created this amazing tune for the podcast. It’s inspired by the sounds of daily life in Palisade – so familiar to us all and part of the background of most episodes, since I record at people’s houses or businesses or in my own echoey rooms, instead of in a professional environment. Of course, when you ask a musician to make a song for you, nothing is going to be accidental. In this tune, the sounds are intentional, but they are instantly familiar. Enjoy.
(music)
Thanks, as always, for listening. Here’s to another year of community, stories, and fun. With love, from Palisade.