The Durango Telegraph - Feb. 5, 2026

durango

Keeping the peace Sagebrush hypocrisy Range rider program helps bridge wolf-rural divide

Where is all the outrage over federal tyranny now?

Fired up February

Musical options abound from Furtado to indie-folk

Newspaper POACHERS SUCK

Instead of stealing our hard work or robbing your neighbors of the joy of reading the Telegraph every week, here are a few things other than a brand new stack of Telegraphs you can use to start your fire (courtesy Explore.com):

1. Egg cartons and dryer lint (we’re sure belly button and pocket lint would work just as well)

2. Cotton balls and petroleum jelly (think of the fun you could have!)

3. Hand sanitizer (not just for COVID anymore)

4. Waxed paper and dryer lint (twist both ends of the paper to look like a doobie, we know you know how to do that)

5. Chips (the greasier the better, think Hot & Spicy Pringles, Spicy Nacho Doritos and, of course, Flaming Hot Cheetos.)

6. Duct tape (yet another use for duct tape. We’re not sure if this sounds 100% safe, but hey, if in a pinch ...)

8

Sagebrush silence

Outrage over federal ‘tyranny’ all but gone in some circles of West by Jonathan P. Thompson / Land Desk

11

Outside the lines

Latest from avant-garde Argentinian writer is not your typical fare by Jeffrey Mannix

5

Home on the range

How collaboration can have a dramatic effect on wolf depredation by Mitch Friedman / Writers on the Range

10

Fired up February

Missed out on Cover Night? Options abound, from Furtado to indie-folk by Stephen Sellers

Stephen Sellers, Jeffrey Mannix, Jesse Anderson, Lainie Maxson, Rob Brezsny & Clint Reid

Ear to the ground:

"Maybe if I wear this, I'll get a smart boyfriend.”

– Woman justifying to friends her purchase of a Maria’s Bookshop T-shirt

Down and derby

The Durango Derby is back. After taking a year off in 2025 while the road to the race venue in Durango Mesa Park was built, organizers Dave Hagen and Dylan Stucki say the race is back for 2026. This will be the third year for the 50-mile stage race, which takes place Sept. 12 and promises to be better (and cheaper!) than ever.

Described as an “epic stage race condensed into once unforgettable day,” the Derby offers four timed stages across Durango’s extensive trail system. Stages include: Durango Mesa Park/Horse Gulch/

Raider Ridge; Overend Mountain Park; Animas Mountain; and back to Horse Gulch/ Durango Mesa Park to finish. Camping will also be available at Durango Mesa Park for out-of-towners or those too tired to ride home.

STAFF REPORTER: SCOOPS MCGEE telegraph@durangotelegraph.com

The Durango Telegraph publishes every Thursday, come hell, high water, tacky singletrack or mon-

ster powder days. We are wholly independently owned and operated by the Durango Telegraph LLC and dis-

On the cover

Blucifer made a stop-over on a Durango sidestreet after his romp through the Snowdown Light Parade last Friday./ Photo by Missy Votel

E-MAIL: telegraph@durangotelegraph.com

DELIVERY AND SUBSCRIPTIONS:

New this year, entry fees will be reduced by more than 30% with all riders 18 and younger racing for free. There will also be two-stage and three-stage solo categories (in addition to the four-stage offering for all you gluttons) as well as a freshly updated course, featuring more singletrack than previous iterations.

“Whether you’re racing elbows-out for the podium or riding hard with friends and soaking in the atmosphere, the Derby is designed so everyone belongs on the start line,” Stucki said in an email. He said the course will challenge professionals while remaining welcoming and achievable for everyday riders.

Stucki noted the reduced entry fee is only for those who sign up before 9 a.m., Sun., March 15. After that, the entry fee will go up by $25 until 9 a.m. Fri., July 31, and will go up by another $25 after that. In addition, those who sign up by July 31 will get a free Durango Derby T-shirt (please note, as of now, there are no junior sizes available.)

The event will start and finish at Durango Mesa Park.

For more details or to sign up, go to: www.durangoderby.com

LaVidaLocal opinion

A morning run in a new year

Much like writing or listening to music, running is therapeutic for me. Yet there was a time when that activity wasn’t a priority in my daily life. So for a year now, I’ve been devoting time to running a few days every week. I’m not training for anything; I’m merely nurturing a renewed will to live, acting on a desire to care for myself. A morning run tends to be the most satisfying, but I’m also someone who enjoys slow mornings of nothing. And in the winter, it’s especially convenient to shrug off a morning run because I can always tell myself it’s too cold.

Recently, on a chilly winter morning, I decided to ignore my excuses and commit to an early run. I bundled up and told myself to run with no goal in mind, other than enduring a cold morning. I would run until my body decided it had enough.

See, there’s something about the way sunlight hits me alongside the chill of winter in the air, I inhale and exhale a new day as I gain momentum along the river trail. I mean, I’m grateful for the movement provided by my limbs and after a while I sense my heart is uncaged, beating with every step.

Before my run, a friend sent a text saying, “Watch out for ice,” and I know she means the accumulation of water in its solid state, frozen to the ground that my shoes will hit with forceful impact step by step, risking injury if I’m not careful. But I wonder if she’s also saying watch out for the accumulation of fascism’s masked cowards, kidnapping children and civilians off the streets and sending them to concentration camps and my brown skin puts me at risk of being targeted. It’s all too much to consider so I keep moving, and I watch my step as history repeats itself. Running keeps me immersed in the present, which means I’m embracing another day of american authoritarianism. Just like the state remains diligent as an oppressive force, we on the ground must remain resiliently creative in our resistance movements.

On the ground a few miles in, the train passes me, it’s a mechanical beast that feeds on repeating history for wide-eyed visitors. The passengers onboard

Thumbin’It

After a triumphant comeback, Lindsey Vonn tore her ACL during an Olympic training run. But the 41-year-old announced she’ll be racing anyway this Sunday in Italy, busted knee be damned. You go, girl.

Friends of the San Juans recently launched the San Juan Backcountry Radio Program, which assigns radio frequencies – or “open channels” – to different ski zones in an effort to improve safety, communication and rescue efforts.

Another successful and seemingly dramafree Snowdown is in the books. Even the drone show this time was good. Next year’s “villains” theme should be much easier to costume, with plenty of fodder.

smile and wave and in this transient exchange, they look unweighted by the world but maybe I’m projecting, maybe I’m wishing I was only visiting because there’s a heartache to being rooted somewhere and bearing witness to families separated and neighbors attacked by the settler state’s secret police. I mean, I check my watch for the distance spanned and I’m four miles in but losing steam. I need to work on pacing myself better. It’s easy to start strong but eventually all that energy burns away and now I need to make my way back home while momentum is fading. My shirt and hoodie absorb all the sweat that winter is wringing out of me and I don’t want to give up my stride. I begin thinking about how pacing oneself in movement is comparable to the work it takes to stay involved with community organizing. I’m not an organizer at all, but I show up and offer support when I can. The Black philosopher Cornel West often talks about the importance of remaining long-distance runners in the struggle for justice. In other words, liberation is a life’s work. How do you square that outlook with the fire-alarm sense of urgency that people feel when confronting injustice? How do we keep the fire going for those innumerable dark days ahead? On an individual level, I’m still figuring that out while listening to the rhythmic tapping of my footsteps.

To prevent achingly sore legs the next day, I finish a run with some light jogging. That ritual didn’t happen until a few months ago. I’m continually finding a balance between pushing myself and being gentle with myself. The sun beams against my back and I’m coming around to the realization that it’s not about measuring our days with victories and defeats because there will be many losses in the days ahead. Instead, I measure my days by the small acts of joy and sustained rebellion that unfold in our shared survival. On this recent run, I went farther than I have in a while. It’s a trivial but meaningful milestone. I slow down to catch my breath, and the moment of joy catches my heart. The sky above remains brushed blue, brighter than it should be. I find mercy in the impossible morning light.

– Kirbie Bennett

Actress Catherine O’Hara died rather suddenly last Friday, snuffing out one of the rare talents that was able to actually make being absurdly self-absorbed and out of touch funny. Unlike some orange balatrons we know.

The Washington Post is laying off a third of its staff, including 300 of its 800 journalists. We are by no means fans of Jeff Bozos, but this does not bode well for the rest of us holding on by our teeth.

Yet another gray wolf has died in Colorado, this time a 3-year-old male from the King Mountain Pack, who died somewhat mysteriously during recent CPW collaring operations in Routt County.

SignoftheDownfall:

He works hard for his honey

In Malaysia, it’s illegal to be gay, but it’s also illegal to sing obscene songs or ride elephants in the street without permission, so whatever. But anyway, Malaysia’s parliament just completed a big study on homosexuality, and last month, Zulkifli Hasan, the minister of religious affairs, concluded that working too much makes you gay. Here in the United States, it was also recently announced that ICE agents now receive “administratively uncontrollable overtime” pay because they’re required to work extra hours given that tear gas won’t shoot itself at people holding signs on weekends and holidays. So, considering the obvious mask fetish and a measurable correlation between ICE deployments and Grinder server outages, Zulkifli might be on to something.

WritersontheRange

Keeping the peace

Sharing the cost of range riders helps prevent depradation, bridge urban-rural divide

by Mitch Friedman

In 2008, Canadian wolves didn’t wait for an invitation from biologists to move into Washington state. Instead, they trotted across the border because they liked the territory.

The pair that found each other to form Washington’s first wolf pack came from far-flung places: the Canadian Rockies and the British Columbia coast. The spontaneous recolonization has become a notable success story.

Washington now has more than 230 wolves in at least 43 packs, living mostly in the northeastern part of the state. This area makes sense, as it is adjacent to wolf-populated wildlands in both Idaho and Canada. Wolves are amazing and ecologically vital, but also a challenge for the people they live among.

One rancher I know said, “When wolves first showed up, it felt like they were managing my cattle.”

The rancher finally regained control of his herd by using labor-intensive practices that deter wolves from preying on cattle. One of the most effective tools was a rider patrolling on horseback.

Range riders are specialized cowboys who keep the peace by providing a human shield. The riders bunch herds up at night when wolves are most active, and they make sure calves stay close to their moms.

While not infallible, range riding works well in keeping attacks on livestock relatively low while also reducing opposition to wolves. Human deterrence is costly, though. Contracting and managing range riders has cost up to $1 million each year. Washington has chosen to share the burden by funding ranchers willing to use these practices. Public and private dollars are funneled through two public agencies and the nonprofit that I direct, Conservation Northwest.

“Washington has more range riders

than any other state,” Jay Shepherd, who directs Conservation Northwest’s wolf field program, said. As a result, Washington has the fewest depredations on livestock among states with established wolf packs, which means fewer wolves killed.

When wolf attacks do occur, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife may help a rancher use nonlethal tactics to deter wolves, ranging from fladry to rubber bullets. If the incidents cross a certain threshold, the department may kill one or more wolves.

The response is guided by an advisory group of stakeholders, ranging from wolf advocates to ranchers. The group has determined that preventing problems in the first place is most effective. Prevention is also appreciated by ranchers who didn’t like the compensation process after they’d lost cattle.

Sharing the cost of deterrence makes sense. Collaborating to fund peacekeeping tactics has also been a good way to bridge the persistent urban-rural divide.

Elsewhere, in states like Idaho and Wyoming, people kill more than a third

of their state’s wolf population each year. In Washington, that mortality rate is under 5 percent.

Oregon has almost as many wolves as Washington, but combativeness is more the norm than collaboration in that state, resulting in twice as many dead cows and wolves. Bitter political conflict about wolves is also more evident in Oregon than in Washington, where the state’s bipartisan focus has been on funding deterrence.

California, with about 50 wolves, is newer to the arena. Its initiation to wolf drama came last year, when the Beyem Seyo pack killed more than 80 cows despite an expensive, but late, attempt at nonlethal disruption. The state ended up killing five wolves and relocating two more. Media reports described the wolves as “euthanized.”

In Colorado, a 2020 ballot initiative directed the state to bring wolves in from Canada. Although 25 wolves have been released, the effort has now been stalled by political polarization, which cost the head of the wildlife agency his job.

On the whole, if you’re a wolf, the best state to start a family is Washington – for now. Facing a tight budget, Washington halved its wolf funding in 2025. That means fewer range riders, more livestock depredations and angrier ranchers, along with litigation over a wolf-removal order.

If Washington can’t resume proper funding, its sterling record could end. If we can’t find the grace to continue the collaborative approach that we know works, everyone will lose.

Especially the wolves.

Mitch Friedman is a contributor to Writers on the Range, writersontherange.org, an independent nonprofit spurring lively conversation about the West. He heads Seattle-based Conservation Northwest, which he founded in 1989 after years organizing Earth First! protests. ■

SoapBox

The power of the powerless

So often after reading the latest headlines about the state of the world – and predominantly our current administration’s effect on it – I feel both perplexed and confused. I think many, if not most, of us who are not engaged in simply trying to make ends meet, feel overwhelmed by the magnitude of the current situation. A constant bombardment of news telling us about the latest cutbacks, firings, tariffs, U.S. invasions and bombings, ICE killings, lies, misinformation, smear campaigns and Justice Department attacks on anyone who opposes the current president. And although the courts may rule against the current president, it’s unknown whether he will choose to obey the law, circumvent it or simply counter-sue and obfuscate. And the state of the poor, the immigrants and the powerless. They are either being actively persecuted or marginalized by cutting off any assistance as it is deemed for the lazy or unemployed.

I was amazed to find out there’s a disorder (irony intended) for this onslaught of bad news and its effects on some of us. It’s acronym is TDS or Trump Derangement Syndrome. I get it! It’s like a madman’s yelling making you go mad. Whether intentional or just a product of Trump’s rhetoric and spurious, spiteful storytelling, it can create anxiety, fear and chronic stress. And for the life of me, I can’t understand why anyone would want to support this disorder-causing disorder. Is it because we’re too busy, don’t care, are overwhelmed or feel powerless? Obviously, many

by Rob Pudim

people support (and elected) Trump and choose to either ignore this disorder or must think it’s better than ... What? Having a government that is based on two or more party rule (vs. one), that resembles a democracy and not a plutocracy or is founded on our Constitution with a balance of powers? The only other explanation I can fathom is the Christian Right, those who drive the conservative Project 2025 agenda and tolerate or endorse a para-military Immigration and Customs Enforcement to the ends of containing ethnic minorities and intimidating, arresting or killing those who do not support ICE. They are people whose vision of America is a white nation under God – but only the Christian god – and under their morals and ethics.

Why would you want to live in a country where there is little to no tolerance for diversity, little to no inclusion and pretend it’s a country under God? What type of God is this? Not one I’d pray to. It’s sure not the one of Christian verse. No compassion there, no mercy that I can see. Mostly just might is right, and my way or the highway, freedom for the strong. And, of course, money is king. I don’t think Christ was a banker nor did he espouse fighting.

Recently, Mark Carney, the prime minister of Canada, delivered a speech in Davos to the World Economic Forum. If you have not listened to it, please do, it is remarkable what an educated and well thoughtout leader can convey. What caught my attention was his reference to Vaclav Havel, the Czech political dissident who spoke about refusing to participate in the “automated” rituals of false ideology – symbolized by a green grocer refusing to hang a propaganda poster –citizens create cracks in the system’s power structure.

Unless you like the current state of affairs in the U.S. and think we’re headed in the right direction not only for ourselves, but our children and future generations, then you need to seriously pay attention and consider not going along with what’s happening in our country. You need to speak out. Write your congresspersons, go to rallies, talk about what you see and, most importantly, don’t be afraid to not hang that propaganda poster in your window. Ones like ICE recruitment posters that say “Destroy the Flood” and “We’ll Have Our Home Again” are a direct nod to those that would have this country be a white nationalist autocracy. This is not the America that emerged from colonial rule in 1776. This is what we broke away from. Resist.

– Tim Thomas, Durango

Fed up with sediment loading

We – the fishermen and women, fishing goods stores, fishing guides, boating community and landowners on the Animas River downstream of Lightner Creek – are fed up with the City of Durango’s unwillingness to address the sediment loading issue from Lightner Creek into the Animas River. First, we understand the sediment loading comes from the highly erosive Mancos Shale up Perins Canyon, behind the Tech Center. What we don’t understand is the City’s unwillingness to properly work to mitigate this sediment loading.

Runoff during rainstorms moved through a culvert under Rosemary Lane and into Lightner Creek. In the late aughts or early 2010s, there was a tremendous rainstorm on Perins Peak that resulted in the tearing out of the old culvert mentioned above. As a result, the City built a proper box culvert of concrete to convey the runoff to Lightner Creek. In addition, the City built a triangular shaped basin to allow the runoff to slow down before going through the culvert and into Lightner Creek. Unfortunately, the City made what I think was a conscious decision not to install a baffle on the downstream end of the basin that would allow sediment to settle out because that would have meant periodically having to clean out the basin.

Recently, with the development of new homes on Rosemary Lane, a baffle was retrofitted into the basin to become a sediment capture basin (SCB), possibly imposed on the home’s developer. Unfortunately, this baffle is not tall enough to make the SCB totally effective. Further, until recently, the City has been reluctant to spend the money to clean out the SCB.

Next up is the sediment loading coming from above the Tech Center. This sediment loading is from the highly erosive Mancos shale on Perins Peak (east side) and the snow removed from city streets that is deposited at the top of the flow path down to Lightner Creek. This flow path includes a couple of very small settling depressions (too small to be called ponds or basins) and then a flow path of compacted Mancos Shale widening out to a concrete wall with a culvert in the bottom and a trash screen on top, effectively allowing the flows to continue unabated down the center of Tech Center Drive directly into Lightner Creek.

Now, why should the City care about this other than that a portion of its citizenry are irate and complaining? Because, it is a storm water issue that the City is legally required to address. Beyond that, you’d think the City

would want to protect the Gold Medal fishery that starts at the confluence of Lightner Creek and the Animas River, protect the Smelter Whitewater Park (created at significant cost) and work to be sure the Animas presents its best “face” to our citizens and, very importantly, our visitors.

This brings us to money. Unfortunately, the City funds storm water management out of the General Fund, which means it takes a back seat to more important funding such as law enforcement, mandated requirements, etc. I was on a focus group recently that was convened to inform the City on how to provide storm water management with dedicated funding. So far, I see no move to establish this absolutely needed source of funding. Incidentally, I have confidence in and admiration for the City’s Storm Water Management Team.

Here is what is needed to address the most egregious sediment loading in Lightner Creek. First off, clean out the SCBs every time sufficient sediment fills it up. Second, completely redesign and construct out of concrete a functioning SCB at the top of the Tech Center. Third, raise the level of the baffle on the SCB at the bottom of Perins Canyon.

Where do we get the money? Five Rivers Trout Unlimited stands ready to partner with the City to make most of this happen. There is a lot of grant money available for this kind of work, and 5RTU can help with leveraging grants and will help with the design work. We just need the City to say, “Let’s do it.”

As the author of this piece, I have had conversations with several current councilors and did a show and tell tour of the sites with one. Further, I welcome the opportunity to help get the ball rolling on this much-needed control of storm water.

– Buck Skillen, past board member and president, Five Rivers Trout Unlimited

We’ll print damned near anything

The Telegraph welcomes healthy civil discourse in 750 words or less. Writers must include their (real) name and city/town/state of residence. Personal attacks, hate speech or any other kind of b.s. deemed libelous are not welcome. Please email your profundities to: telegraph@durango telegraph.com

LandDesk

Sagebrush hypocrisy

Public lands protestors of past strangely silent on current federal tactics

by Jonathan P. Thompson

Early on a May morning in 2014, I loaded my camera, notebook and myself into the Silver Bullet – my 1989 Nissan Sentra – and headed west to Blanding, Utah. Phil Lyman, a San Juan County Commissioner, was planning a convoy of OHV-riders along a closed-tomotorized-vehicle trail on public land in Recapture Canyon to protest what he called “federal overreach.” I was going to observe and report on the event.

I would be lying if I said I wasn’t anxious. After all, this was just weeks after a heavily armed group of yahoos had descended on the Bundy Ranch in southern Nevada to stop Bureau of Land Management agents from rounding up cattle that were grazing illegally on federal land. If the BLM, or environmentalists, tried to interfere with Lyman’s lawbreaking, it could lead to an armed conflict – and I could get caught in the middle.

I’ve been thinking about that protest, the events that led up to it and the general political atmosphere at the time. And about the similarities and vast differences of what’s happening today.

After Lyman had posted his plans on the Bundy Ranch Facebook page, commenters’ responses included statements like these:

• “The BLM is about to learn they can’t push people around any more in the West. Our backs are up against a wall push back! Yet another case of the federal government taking tyrannical control of the people. They need to be put down and put down hard.”

• “Why is the BLM still around? If they so much as throw a stone in your way, light ’em up. Time to quite (sic) defending, being ever gnawed at, and go on offense. … Strike while you are still strongest.”

My unease only grew when I arrived at Centennial Park on the town’s southern fringe, where a pre-protest rally was under way. It included a contingent of locals and an equally large number of out-of-towners, many of whom were part of the Bundy group. This included Ryan Bundy, Cliven Bundy’s son, who circulated pocket versions of the U.S. Constitution, peppered with scripture,

published by the National Center for Constitutional Studies, a right-wing organization. And Ryan Payne, a so-called militia leader, who told a reporter that during the Bunkerville standoff he had positioned snipers with guns trained on federal employees: “If they made one wrong move, every single BLM agent in that camp would’ve died.”

Lyman and others spoke at the event, airing their grievances. Like the folks in Minneapolis today, their rhetoric suggested they were resisting a federal government that had slipped into tyranny and was taking away their Constitutional rights. “They targeted Blanding,” Lyman said, (much as the Trump ad-

ministration has targeted Democraticleaning cities) adding that the feds had sent jackbooted thugs to harass and intimidate locals. In the crowd in Blanding, I heard words such as “despot,” “dictator,” “tyranny” and “gestapo.”

These are the same words that Border Patrol Commander Greg Bovino decried using after federal agents killed Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis.

“When politicians, community leaders and some journalists engage in that heated rhetoric … when they make the choice to vilify law enforcement, calling law enforcement names like a Gestapo or using the term kidnapping, that is a choice that is made. There are actions

and consequences that come from those choices.”

Tyranny and overreach

What inspired such outrage in Blanding? For Lyman and friends, examples of “tyranny” and federal overreach included the BLM prosecuting and fining two local men for building an OHV trail in Recapture Wash in 2005. The crime included chopping down old-growth junipers, building a bridge across the creek, installing culverts and using heavy machinery to clear a path through a riparian zone rich with cultural resources. The BLM also banned motorized vehicles on that section of Recapture.

And in 2008, the BLM subtly changed its resource management plan from considering all trails on public lands open to motorized travel unless otherwise closed, to closing all trails unless specifically designated as open to motorized travel.

Then, in June 2009, feds raided several homes of Blanding residents suspected of gathering or dealing in artifacts found on public land in violation of the Archaeological Resources Protection Act. There was at least one SWAT team equipped with tactical gear, though they did not wear masks to conceal their identities. Among those arrested was James Redd, a local physician. A day later, he killed himself; his family later sued the BLM for emotional distress and wrongful death, but the case was dismissed.

In 2010, the Obama administration floated the idea of establishing a national monument on public land on Cedar Mesa, west of Blanding, sparking an uproar among the anti-federal land management movement.

Lyman had organized this protest, and the Bundy crowd had joined, to push back. Was this enough to justify a protest? In my opinion: yes. These people were displeased with the federal government and exercising their First Amendment right to demonstrate peacefully. And they would – like Henry David Thoreau before them – break the law, practice civil disobedience and risk fines or jail, to make their point.

Many of the attendees were also exercising their Second Amendment right to bear arms, from the older cowboy-hatted man with a six-shooter, to the young buck in an “American Venom” t-shirt and an AR-15, to the buzz-cut dude with a “REGULATOR” neck tattoo and a Glock semi-automatic holstered to his thigh.

At one point during the pre-ride rally, after a shouted dialogue among the attendees in which they threatened any unfriendly journalists that might be among the crowd, an older man spoke up: “We have a treasure, a jewel, and it has been mugged. It’s been stolen from us by people back east. They have stolen our treasure. We have to stop this BLM police state.”

“You’ve got guns, too, by God, that’s what they’re for,” said another voice from the crowd.

Contrast this with Donald Trump’s response to a question about federal agents shooting and killing Alex Pretti, who was legally carrying a firearm, in Minneapolis. “You can’t have guns. You can’t walk in with guns,” Trump said.

Fading First Amendment

A little while later, I was hoofing it down Recapture Canyon in an effort to get ahead of the protesters,

most of whom would be on motorized three- or fourwheelers. The vehicles are allowed in the first mile or so of the canyon, meaning at that point it would be just a protest, not an act of civil disobedience. If the BLM was going to have its line of riot cops anywhere, it would likely be at the sign marking the motorized closure.

I was only a few hundred yards down the dusty two track when the incessant buzz of two-stroke engines alit on the air. I walked to the side to avoid getting squashed and snapped photos as one after another buzzed past, their diesel exhaust mingling with the pungent aroma of sage and dust.

A man driving a four-wheeler with a woman sidled up behind him slowed to a stop next to me, causing me to jump. “Hop on,” the man said, motioning to the little cargo area on the back. As we cruised down canyon, the woman asked who I reported for, and whether I was “for us, or against us.”

“I’m a freelancer,” I said. “And I’m for the truth.”

A crowd of OHVers coalesced at the motorized-ban line and my ride slowed to a stop, allowing me to jump off and capture some pictures. There were no flak-jacketed BLM agents, no riot cops, no tear gas. Just a few San Juan County Sheriff’s deputies, who made no motion to stop or discourage the protesters, even as they continued on past the line in violation of federal rules.

It may strike some folks as “off” to see a law enforcement officer watching idly as someone breaks the law. It’s not. In 1997, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Printz v. United States that the federal government cannot compel state or local law enforcement to enforce federal regulations.

I continued past the nonmotorized line on foot, following the OHV convoy. From what I could tell, all or almost all of the attendees chose to break the law that day, though most stopped at the end of the two-track and beginning of a more primitive trail that passes over archaeological sites.

While I had been anxious about my safety, given the large number of firearms and intensity of the crowd’s hostility toward the press, I never worried that I would be arrested, detained or tear-gassed by federal agents simply for being present. The same would be true even if I had stayed on the back of the OHV after its driver passed the non-motorized line.

That’s because I was there doing my job as a journalist, and any Democratic government with an inkling of respect for the U.S. Constitution would acknowledge

and respect that and allow me to do my job (while not always making it easy to do so).

But that was almost 12 years and a few administrations ago. Now, the government is attacking the First Amendment and, really, pretending it doesn’t exist. Last month, journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort entered a Minneapolis church to cover a protest against the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. In this case, the feds arrested Lemon and Fort and charged them with violating federal law, not long after Trump had reposted a social media post calling for Lemon’s arrest. Prosecutors accused Lemon of peppering the pastor – who also works for ICE – with questions. In other words, Lemon was doing his job, which, under Trump, is apparently a federal offense and could even get him labeled a domestic terrorist.

I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised at Trump’s authoritarianism. They promised this, after all, both at campaign rallies and in Project 2025, which the administration has followed closely. But I am a bit surprised that almost none of the folks yelling about federal overreach and tyranny at the Recapture protest are speaking up today, even mildly.

Lyman is X-eeting about the Gestapo, it’s true, but his target is not masked ICE or CPB agents running amok or even Greg Bovino in his Nazi-esque coats, but the Utah Department of Natural Resources law enforcement division. Even pro-gun “Sheriff” Richard Mack, who was a plaintiff in the 1997 Printz case, which challenged federal background checks, has remained silent or supported the current administration’s actions.

It’s disappointing and unmasks the hypocrisy within the Sagebrush Rebellion and its ideological successors. Early on, the so-called Rebellion’s motives were honest. They saw public lands as the manifestation of freedom and liberty. They resented having an absentee landlord take those freedoms away, and they stood up to the powers that be. But it is now abundantly clear that the movement was long ago hijacked, not only by the extractive industries, but also by the ideologues and demagogues. The old battle cries of liberty, freedom and “Don’t tread on me” are no more than empty slogans. The pocket Constitutions they tote alongside their firearms carry less weight for them than the paper they’re printed on.

The Land Desk is a newsletter from Jonathan P. Thompson, author of “River of Lost Souls,” “Behind the Slickrock Curtain” and “Sagebrush Empire.” To subscribe, go to: www.landdesk.org ■

“I

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BetweentheBeats

A full February

Miss out on Cover Night? Not to worry – there are plenty more great options

by Stephen Sellers

Greetings, dear readers! February is doing that sneaky thing where the calendar looks manageable until you realize every weekend has at least one solid reason to leave the house even if the snow is playing hard to get. One quick note: KDUR Cover Night sold out in about 20 minutes. Impressive, mildly painful for the rest of us and deserving of its own headline, but I’ll spare you the salt (and adjacent microplastics?) by leaving it off this calendar. Enjoy your victory lap, Liggett and Lynch!

If you’re reading this, you’re functional after Snowdown – congratulations! After our town’s midwinter, high-energy swirl, the music scene settles into something a little more spread out but no less alive. Community is the through-line this month: plenty of local love, with a few national heavy hitters mixed in. Our local venues and musicians need our support now more than ever. Big hugs to you all, and see you on the dance floor!

• Desert Dwellers w/ Smiley Coyote & DJ Panacea, Thurs., Feb. 5, 7 p.m., Animas City TheatreThe Boulder-based Desert Dwellers don’t just play shows, they build diverse sonic environments. Lucky for Durango, the duo is kicking off their Tabula Rasa Tour right here at the Animas City Theatre. Expect a slow-burn blend of global instrumentation, deep bass and shimmering psychedelia that lives somewhere between meditation and movement. Two of Durango’s most beloved DJs, Smiley Coyote and DJ Panacea, are opening the show, hopefully uniting our town’s ecstatic dancing faithful for a packed Thursday night.

• The Poppletons, Fri., Feb. 13, 7 p.m., Animas City Theatre - Durango’s most delightfully offbeat underground success story steps onto the big stage. Taking their name from the pop-

coming to Toast Records and Bakes, you need to get on the guest list as soon as possible. This one is no exception. Sparrow Smith & The Resonant Rogues weave indie-folk textures with experimental edges, creating songs that feel both earthy and slightly unmoored.

Local flatpicker and songwriter Alex Graf opens with thoughtful, melodyfirst writing – a strong pairing for listeners who like their folk with a little air under it.

• Acid Wrench, The Blissins & Downplay, Sat., Feb. 21, 7 p.m., Anarchy Brewing Co. - Anarchy continues to offer one of Durango’s premier downtown locations for raucous, live shows soaked in suds as Tuba City favorites The Blissins and Downplay join local legends Acid Wrench. Expect things to get loud, fast and cathartic.

ular children book series about a polite pig, the Poppletons grew from livingroom “Sunday Sundaes” (house shows with ice cream and costumes) into soldout local rooms, all without chasing the traditional band path. Beneath the playful lore (Poppleton character names, bubbles, fog and the occasional laser) is music that hits deep. Chest-thumping drums, atmospheric guitars and songwriting balances pop hooks with weight, wonder and moments of social reflection. Expect a show that feels less like a concert and more like being folded into something communal, creative and just a little surreal.

• Thom Chacon, Fri., Feb. 13, 8 p.m., iNDIGO Room, iAM MusicSouthwest songwriter Thom Chacon delivers cinematic folk shaped by desert horizons and hard-earned tenderness.

His songs carry a novelist’s eye – dusty towns, complicated hearts and small human moments that echo big. The iNDIGO Room should make this one feel close and unguarded.

• Nuages du Desert, Sat., Feb. 14, 7 p.m., American Legion Post 28Valentine’s plans, reimagined. Nuages du Desert leans into Django-era dance music with buoyant gypsy jazz rhythms, nimble guitar lines and old-world swing built for twirling across a dance floor. Romantic without being precious, lively without being loud, it’s the kind of night where the room feels warmer, strangers feel familiar and the music does most of the talking.

• Sparrow Smith & The Resonant Rogues w/ Alex Graf, Thurs., Feb. 19, 7 p.m., Toast Records - You know that if a show is

• DJ Williams Band w/ Nu Bass Theory, Sat., Feb. 21, 7 p.m., Animas City Theatre - You might not recognize this name, yet. But, expect The DJ Williams Band to bring a level of funk to Durango that you rarely get to experience. The former guitar player for Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe leans into funk, soul and jam-fusion with tight musicianship and a clear mission: funk first. Denver-based electro-funk duo Nu Bass Theory sets the low-end tone early with their blend of Sade-esque and Nile Rogers-inspired grooves.

• Tony Furtado & Luke Price, Thurs., Feb. 26, 7 p.m., Durango Arts Center - Shout out to my neighbor Beth Lamberson Warren for getting this one on the books for Durango! Banjo player Tony Furtado has range for days with bluegrass roots, blues grit and unexpected turns. Luke Price meets him there, shifting instruments and textures with ease. It’s the kind of show where the playing is jaw-dropping, but the feeling is relaxed, warm and human. The DAC is the perfect intimate space for this pairing. ■

by Jeffrey Mannix

AAddictively terrifying

‘Unfit’ a feverish account of just how far a mother will go

vant-garde publisher New Directions has put to orbit this past October another glass-shattering novel. True to its proclivity since 1936 of seeking the most edgy novelists – authors the mainstream fiction industry sends pink slips for submissions they deem mutinous to the profitable pace they’ve set with midlist authors in “trade” paperback.

This history of New Directions and the eulogizing of their authors is part of every book they publish. “Unfit,” by Ariana Harwicz, is the oddity we’re looking at today in “Murder Ink.” It’s neither a book about murder nor police perfidy or current dystopian events.

“Unfit’’ is a 103-page evasion of authority by a fed-up, aggrieved, near-crazy mother of twin 5-year-old boys. Their unreliable father wants his estranged, unstable ex-wife to surrender custody.

Lisa is the angry mother and writer of this stream-of-consciousness unbosoming. Entrapped by the social and legal system faced, this Jewish Argentinian immigrant living in a Christian town in rural France is trying to keep her children from the antisemitic parents of her wayward ex, Armond.

This is not as simple a story as I just made it sound. Ariana Harwicz is referred to in her New Directions biography as a fiercely independent writer and thinker

born in Argentina in 1977. She studied comparative literature at the Sorbonne and has been translated into more than 20 languages and longlisted for the Booker International Prize for her novel “Die, My Love.”

Translated from Spanish by Jessie Mendez Sayer, “Unfit” is a feverish account of an overwhelmed mother who is deprived of her sons and pulls the emergency cord to steal her children from their beds in the dark of night. As a salvo, she sets fire to her hateful in-laws’ hay barn, skulking away destined for nowhere but far away. New Directions describes “Unfit” as addictively terrifying, savagely sophisticated and shockingly brilliant.

What makes “Unfit’’ the “Murder Ink’’ choice for February is that I couldn’t read it at first because of its stream-of-consciousness writing, changing subjects mid-sentence. At first, the over-the-road nonsense with sleeping in the woods, gas station bathrooms, eating with truckers and avoiding police, amid threats of mental institutions, prison and punishment, confused me. I quit. It was too ridiculous; too far out there.

But it mysteriously found its way back to the top of the pile of books waiting to be chosen for “Murder Ink.” I picked it up again and again, reading two, four, five pages. Before long, I was halfway through the 100page book. And it made my blood run cold to follow such a desperate and frightened mother with such happy-but-doomed children on a roadtrip that could only end grievously.

I couldn’t put “Unfit’’ down. I read it twice and probably three times before my fear settled into anger, then wisdom and then despair for everything so very wrong with Lisa’s flight to freedom, and everything so wrong with my country right now.

If you want to continue at your current comfort level, my recommendation is to stay away from “Unfit.’’ It will shred your insides. It will force you to see the lies and deceptions that get painted over with truth in order to mollify ignominy. ■

Thursday05

Free Radon Education Sessions and Test Kits presented by La Plata Public Health, 1 p.m., Pine River Library, 395 Bayfield Center Dr., Bayfield

2026 Durango Independent Film Festival Beer Release, 5 p.m., Ska Brewing, 225 Girard St.

Spanish Conversation Hour/Hora de Conversación en Español, 5:30-6:30 p.m., Durango Public Library, 1900 E. 3rd Ave.

Poetry Open Mic, 5:30-8 p.m., The Subterrain, 900 Main Ave., Ste. F

Dart Tournament, 5:30-9 p.m., Union Social House, 3062 Main Ave.

Author Event with Clint McKnight “Colorado Wolf Stories,” 6-8 p.m., Maria’s Bookshop, 960 Main Ave.

Gary Watkins plays, 6-9 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave.

Bluegrass Jam, 6-9 p.m., Durango Beer and Ice Co., 3000 Main Ave.

Andrew Schuhmann plays, 6-9 p.m., Office Spiritorium, 699 Main Ave.

Open Mic Night, 6-9 p.m., American Legion, 878 E. 2nd Ave.

Trivia Night, 6:30-8:30 p.m., The Powerhouse, 1333 Camino Del Rio

Trivia Night with Aria PettyOne, 7:30-9:30 p.m., Starlight Lounge, 937 Main Ave.

Friday06

Durango First Friday, 4-7 p.m., various locations Downtown Durango

Jason Thies plays, 4-7 p.m., Toh-Atin Gallery, 145 W. 9th St.

The Kitchen Jam Band plays, 5-7 p.m., Four Leaves Winery, 528 Main Ave.

Devotional Art Show, 5-7 p.m., Blue Rain Gallery, 934 Main Ave., Unit B

Teen After Hours Movie Night: “The Princess Bride,” 5-7:30 p.m., Durango Public Library, 1900 E. 3rd Ave.

Tia Jean “Worlds I Carry,” opening reception, 58 p.m., Studio &’s The Recess Gallery, 1027 Main Ave.

Artist Showcase and Mingle with Matt Clark, aka Lil Bud, 5-8 p.m., The Subterrain, 900 Main Ave.

“Rigamarole” opening reception, 5-8 p.m., Durango Creative District Gallery, 1135 Main Ave.

First Friday ArtRoom, 5:30-7 p.m., ArtRoom Collective, Smiley Building, 1309 E. 3rd Ave.

Game Night, 5:30-7 p.m., Sunnyside Library, 75 CR 218

Black Velvet Duo, with Nina Sasaki & Larry Carver, plays, 6 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 669 Main Ave.

Love is Love Queer Party, 6-7 p.m., Lower Left Studio, 835 Main Ave., Ste. 209

Opening Reception with artist Kelly Lewis & music by Wabi Sabi, 6-8 p.m., The Light Box at Stillwater Music, 1316 Main Ave., Ste C

Dustin Burley plays, 6-9 p.m., Office Spiritorium, 699 Main Ave.

Saturday07

Weaving Basics Workshop, 1-3 p.m., Durango Public Library, 1900 E. 3rd Ave.

Adam Swanson plays, 5:30 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave.

Matt Rupnow plays, 6-9 p.m., Office Spiritorium, 699 Main Ave.

Karaoke with Kimmy, 6-9 p.m., Durango Beer and Ice Co., 3000 Main Ave.

Euchre, 5:30-8:30 p.m., Union Social House, 3062 Main Ave.

Sunday08

Super Bowl Party and West Coast IPA Release, 11 a.m., Ska Brewing, 225 Girard St.

NFL Game Day viewing, 11 a.m.­close, Sundays, VFW Post 4031, 1550 Main Ave.

Irish Jam, 12 noon-3 p.m., Durango Beer and Ice Co., 3000 Main Ave.

Funk Jam Sessions, 4-6 p.m., 11th St. Station, 1101 Main Ave.

Monday09

Sign Waving peaceful gathering, 4 p.m., corners of Camino del Rio and College Dr.

Climate Support Group, 4:30-5:30 p.m., Durango Public Library, 1900 E. 3rd Ave.

Happy Hour Yoga, 5:30 p.m., Ska Brewing, 225 Girard St.

Meditation and Dharma Talk, 5:30 p.m., in person at The Durango Dharma Center, 1800 E 3rd Ave, Ste 109, online at www.durangodharma center.org

Classic Movie Night: “The Seven Year Itch,” (1955), 6-8 p.m., Pine River Library, 395 Bayfield Center, Bayfield

Terry Rickard plays, 6-9 p.m., Office Spiritorium, 699 Main Ave.

Joel Racheff plays, 6-9 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave.

Tuesday10

Great Decisions Durango: U.S. Engagement with Africa, 11:45 a.m., Durango Public Library, 1900 E. 3rd Ave.

Community Open Table, a chance for solo diners or pairs to meet and share dinner with others, 5:30 p.m., Union Social House, 3062 Main Ave.

Tuesday Trivia, 6-8:30 p.m., 11th St. Station, 1101 Main Ave.

Jason Thies plays, 6-9 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave.

Sean O’Brien plays, 6-9 p.m., Office Spiritorium, 699 Main Ave.

Barbershop Tryouts, every Tues., 6:30 p.m., Christ the King Church, 495 Florida Rd.

Open Mic, 7 p.m., Starlight Lounge, 937 Main Ave.

Wednesday11

Ska Bingo Night, 5-7 p.m., DoubleTree Animas River Lounge, 501 Camino del Rio

Ukulele Night, 5-7 p.m., Four Leaves Winery, 528 Main Ave.

“Money Talks” friendly gathering for personal finance, 5:30-7 p.m., 11th St. Station, 1101 Main Ave.

West Coast Swing Basics, 5:45-7:30 p.m., The Durango Collective, 1315 Main Ave.

Guys Who Give Quarterly Impact Event, 6-7 p.m., Steamworks Brewing, 801 E. 2nd Ave.

Writers & Scribblers, 6-8 p.m., Durango Public Library, 1900 E. 3rd Ave.

Donny Johnson plays, 6-9 p.m., Diamond Belle Saloon, 699 Main Ave.

Chuck Hank plays, 6-9 p.m., Office Spiritorium, 699 Main Ave.

“New Data, Old Questions: Ancient DNA and the Archaeology of NW Mexico and the Southwest,” presented by San Juan Basin Archaeological Society, 7-8:30 p.m., Lyceum at FLC and via Zoom

AskRachel Dishwasher wars, doggy style and changing stripes

Interesting fact: I am just now learning that there’s a whole documentary film, “Sit Stay Ride,” about sidecar dogs in America. This is the greatness we need to get back to.

Dear Rachel,

Everyone talks about how couples load the dishwasher. But what about how couples UNload the dishwasher? Is there a right way, like putting silverware on a towel to finish drying and stacking plates in the appropriate order? Or a wrong way, like pure chaos mode and everything still wet? We want your answer, for the sake of our domestic bliss!

– Dish It & Take It

Dear Unlocked & Unloaded,

The UN Commission on UN-loading the Dishwasher decrees, in no uncertain terms, that the peoples of the world are committed to taking basic care of each other’s kitchenware. This, however, leaves room for cultural differences within the foundation of this basic understanding. The Commission thereby encourages you to communicate within your household and compromise accordingly. Militant, unbending perspectives are invited to join the Bored of Peace instead.

– In unity, Rachel

Dear Rachel,

It seems like more and more dogs lately are wearing dog goggles, aka “doggles.” I understand if it’s for some kind of medical con-

Ongoing

Justin D’Onofri’s “Chroma Coves” exhibition thru Feb. 19, Mon.-Thurs.,10 a.m.-4 p.m., FLC Art Gallery

Leonard Davies “The Joys of Painting as a Pastime,” thru Feb. 28, 5-7 p.m., Durango Arts Center, 802 E. 2nd Ave.

Tia Jean “Worlds I Carry” exhibit, thru Feb., Studio &’s Recess Gallery, 1027 Main Ave.

Dementia/Alzheimer’s Caregivers Support Group, 1st, 3rd & 5th Wed. of each month, 10:30 a.m.-12 noon, La Plata Senior Center, 2424 Main Ave.

Upcoming

“Mental Health in the Mountains,” films and panel hosted by Friends of the San Juans, Thurs., Feb 12, 5:30 p.m., Durango Arts Center, 802 E. 2nd Ave.

Comedy Open Mic hosted by Joe Shrock, Thurs., Feb. 12, 6:30-9 p.m., The Subterrain, 900 Main Ave.

“The Buddhist Fist,” part of the Martial Arts Film Series, Thurs., Feb. 12, 7:30-9:30 p.m., Gaslight Twin Cinema, 102 E. 5th St.

dition, or if you have, say, an avi rescue dog that spends a lot of time on bright snow. But more and more, it seems like a fashion statement. Are doggles the new doggie coat? And more importantly, do I need to run out and get some for my dog to look cool?

– Boggled

Dear Furry Vision,

Yeah, I’m this kind of dog person: Your dog is not your mannequin for fashion accessories. Unless your dog is already a fashion accessory, in which case, you’re just layering shame on shame. But don’t make your dog suffer through stuff just because it’s trendy. If you’re getting doggles, your dog better already be in an avi program – or, better yet, you better be buying a doggie sidecar for your human motorcycle.

– Ain’t nothin’ but a, Rachel

Dear Rachel,

How long does it take for a person to undergo meaningful growth and healing? We’ve watched my brother go through it with a good-hearted but badly behaved girlfriend. He finally took a couple weeks’ break to get his head on straight. Their friends are reporting that she healed “so much” in that time. We siblings think maybe she had a change of heart but can’t accomplish more than that without months of effort. What do you say?

– Stubborn Sister

Dear Wary Mary,

Gee, even I know better than to generalize an indi-

Winter Bike to Work Day, Fri., Feb. 13, 7:30-9:30 a.m., Main Avenue and various locations around Durango

Winter Bike to Work After Party, music by Stillhouse Junkies, Fri., Feb. 13, 4:30-6:30 a.m., The Powerhouse, 1333 Camino Del Rio

Mountainfilm on Tour, High Desert DEVO fundraiser, Fri., Feb. 13, doors 5:30 p.m., show at 7 p.m., Mancos Opera House, 136 Grand Ave.

The Poppletons play, Fri., Feb. 13, 7 p.m., Animas City Theatre, 128 E. College Dr.

“An Improvised Lifetime Movie,” hosted by Lower Left Improv, Fri., Feb. 13, 7-9 p.m., Durango Arts Center, 802 E. 2nd Ave.

“Silent Sky,” the story of pioneering American astronomer Henrietta Leavitt, Fri., Feb. 13, 7-9 p.m., Merely Underground, 789 Tech Center Dr.

Tom Chacon performs, Fri., Feb. 13, 8-10 p.m., The iNDIGO Room, 1315 Main Ave., #207

“Our Public Lands & the La Plata Mountains,” community panel discussion sponsored by the La Plata

Email Rachel at telegraph@durango telegraph.com

vidual’s healing journey. That said, two weeks is nothing. Reminds me of the friend who insisted her broken ankle was healed enough to dance on, just because she’d been cleared to walk. Guess who is now hobbled for the foreseeable future? So, I don’t blame you for getting protective. I recommend this true test of her growth: See how she handles him proposing –not marriage, but a switcheroo in how they load the dishwasher.

– Hackles up, Rachel

Mountains & Public Lands Coalition, Sat., Feb. 14, 9-11 a.m., Durango Public Library, 1900 E. 3rd Ave.

“Silent Sky” the story of pioneering American astronomer Henrietta Leavitt, Sat., Feb. 14, 7-9 p.m., Merely Underground, 789 Tech Center Dr.

Valentine’s Day Dance with Nuages Du Desert, Sat., Feb. 14, 7-10 p.m., American Legion, 878 E. 2nd Ave.

“Silent Sky” the story of pioneering American astronomer Henrietta Leavitt, Sun., Feb. 15, 2 p.m., Merely Underground, 789 Tech Center Dr.

Deadline to submit items for “Stuff to Do” is Monday @ noon. Please include: • Date and time of event • Location of event

E-mail your stuff to: calendar@durangotelegraph.com

FreeWillAstrology

by Rob Brezsny

ARIES (March 21-April 19): I’m thrilled by your genius for initiating what others only dream about. I celebrate your holy impatience with fakery and your refusal to waste precious life-force on enterprises that have gone stale. I’m in awe of how you make fire your ally rather than your enemy, wielding it not to destroy but to forge new realities from the raw materials of possibility. Everything I just described will be in your wheelhouse during the coming weeks.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): How do I love you? Let me count some of the ways. 1. Your patience is masterful. You understand that some treasures can’t be rushed and that many beautiful things require slow nurturing. 2. You have a knack for inducing the mundane to reveal its small miracles and spiritual secrets. 3. You practice lucid loyalty without being in bondage to the past. You honor your history even as you make room for the future. 4. You know when to cling tightly to what needs to be protected, and you know when to gracefully loosen your grip to let everything breathe. In the coming weeks, all these superpowers of yours will be especially available to you and the people you care for.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): In carpentry, there’s a technique called “kerf bending.” It involves making a series of small cuts in wood so it can curve without breaking. The cuts weaken the material in one sense but make it flexible to create shapes that would otherwise be impossible. I suspect you’re being kerf-bent right now. Life is making small nicks in your certainties, your plans and your self-image. It might feel like you’re being diminished, but you’re actually being made flexible enough to bend into a new form. Don’t interpret the nicks as damage. They’re preparation for adjustments you can’t see yet. Let yourself be shaped.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): In Irish folklore, “thin places” are situations or areas where the material and spiritual worlds overlap. They aren’t always geographical. A thin place may be a moment: like the pre-dawn hour between sleeping and waking, or the silence after someone says “I love you” for the first time. I believe you’re living in a thin place right now. The boundary between your inner world and outer circumstances is more porous than usual. This means your emotions may affect your environment more directly. Your intuitions will be even more accurate than usual, and your nightly dreams will provide you with practical clues. Be alert. Magic will be available if you notice it.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): In traditional Korean jogakbo, scraps of fabric are stitched together into a piece that’s both functional and beautiful. Every fragment contributes to the whole. I encourage you treat your current life this way. Don’t dismiss iffy or unfinished experiences as “wasted time.” Instead, see if you can weave all the bits and scraps together into a valuable lesson or asset. Prediction: I foresee a lovely jogakbo in your future.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): The Maori people of New Zealand practice mirimiri, a form of healing that works not by fighting disease but by restoring flow. The technique involves removing blockages so life force can move freely again. I think you need the equivalent of mirimiri. There’s a small but non-trivial obstruction in your life. The good news is you now have the power to figure out where the flow got stuck and then gently coax it back into motion. Let the healing begin! Here’s a good way to begin: Vow that you won’t hold yourself back from enjoying your life to the max.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): In coming weeks, I encourage you to prioritize mirth, revelry and gratification. For starters, you could invite kindred spirits to join you in pursuing experimental forms of pleasure. Have fun riffing and brainstorming about feeling good in ways you’ve never tried or even imagined. Seek out stories from other explorers of bliss and delight who can inspire you to expand your sense of wonder. Then, with your mind as open as your heart, give yourself the freedom to enjoy as many playful adventures and evocative amusements as you dare.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): In the Inuktitut language of the Intuit people, the word ajurnarmat is translated as “it can’t be helped.” It acknowledges forces at work beyond human control. It reflects an attitude of acceptance what can’t be changed, which helps people conserve energy and adapt to challenging circumstances. For example, when hunters encounter impossible ice conditions, ajurnamat allows them to refrain from forcing the situation and notice what may actually be possible. I suspect you’re facing your own ajurnarmat. Your breakthrough will emerge as soon as you admit the truth of what’s happening and allow your perception to shift. What looks unnavigable from one angle may reveal a solution if you approach it from another direction. Practice strategic surrender.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Your hunger for meaning is admirable! I love it. I never want you to mute your drive to discover what’s interesting and useful. But now and then, the intensity of your quest can make you feel that nothing is ever enough. You get into the habit of always looking past what’s actually here and being obsessed with what you imagine should be or could be there. In coming days, avoid that tendency. Rather than compulsively pursuing high adventure and vast vistas, focus on the sweet, intimate details. The wisdom you yearn for might be embedded in ordinariness.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): In architecture, a “flying buttress” is an external support system that allows a massive building like a cathedral to reach greater heights without collapsing under its own weight. Because the buttress is partly open to the air rather than solidly built against the wall from top to bottom, it appears to “fly,” which is where the name comes from. In coming weeks, I encourage you to acquire your own equivalent of at least one new flying buttress. Who or what could this be? A collaborator who shares the load? A new form of discipline that provides scaffolding? A truth you finally speak aloud that lets others help you? To get the process started, shed any belief you have that strength means carrying everything all by yourself.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): The coming weeks will challenge you to think with tenderness and feel with clarity. You’ll be called on to stay sharply alert even as you remain loose, kind and at ease. Your good fortune will expand as you open your awareness wider, while also firming up the boundaries that keep mean people from bothering you. The really good news is that cosmic forces are lining up to guide you and coach you in exactly these skills. You are primed to explore intriguing paradoxes and contradictions that have valuable lessons.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): In alchemy, solve et coagula is a Latin phrase translated as “dissolve and coagulate.” It means that transformation must begin with the process of breaking down before any building begins. You can’t skip over the dissolving phase and jump straight into creating the new structure. I believe you’re now in the dissolving phase. It might feel destabilizing, even a bit unnerving, but I stick with it. When the moment comes to construct the beautiful new forms, you will know. But that time isn’t yet. Keep dissolving a while longer.

Deadline for Telegraph classified ads is Tuesday at noon.

Ads are a bargain at 10 cents a character with a $10 minimum.

Prepayment is required via cash, credit card or check. (Sorry, no refunds or substitutions.)

Ads can be submitted by emailing: classifieds@ durangotelegraph.com

Announcements

Valentine’s Day Dance at The American Legion Hall 878 E. 2nd Ave. Durango, Saturday February 14th 7 - 10 pm. More info www.nuagesdurango.com

Ready to make a difference close to home? The University of Denver GSSW Four Corners Program is now accepting applications for the 2026–2028 MSW cohort! Classes meet Fridays in Durango, so you can keep working while earning your MSW. Learn more at du.edu/socialwork/fourcorners. Change your community. Change your future. Start with DU!

HelpWanted

FT Financial/Operations

Coordinator wanted. Wildfire Adapted Partnership (nonprofit) seeks full-time position: Financial and Operations Coordinator to assist the Executive Director in financial and grant management and day-to-day org operations. Visit www.wildfireadapted.org to view full job announcement.

Free

Beer Bottles – Free 8 cases, various sizes and types. Some flip tops. Clean and in very good condition. Ready to be refilled with good home brew. Call Peter 970-769-1244

BodyWork

Massage by Meg Bush LMT, 30, 60 & 90 min., 970-759-0199.

Wanted

Books Wanted at White Rabbit

Donate/Trade/Sell 970 259-2213

Classes/Workshops

Aikido Crash Course

Slow learner? Two left feet? Kind heart? Aikido may be your jam! Try the fast, fun $8 weekly crash course Mondays 5:30-615pm. Must register online: durangoaikido.com

Services

3-Step Plumbing LLC

Emergency plumbing – same day service (720)-357-2788. Get scheduled today!

Electric Repair

Roof, gutter cleaning, fence, floors, walls, flood damage, mold, heating service.

Chapman Electric

Colorado licensed and insured electrician. Mike 970-403-6670

Boiler Service - Water Heater

Serving Durango over 30 years. Brad, 970-759-2869. Master Plbg Lic #179917

CommunityService

Applications Now Open for the 2026 Durango Farmers Market. Vendors can apply for the full regular sea-

son – including 2nd Saturdays on Main –or choose to apply for 2nd Saturdays only. Details and applications are available at: durangofarmers market.com.

Free Tax Preparation Services

VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) will again be preparing tax returns for individuals and families with income less than $68,000. The service is free, held at the La Plata County Fairgrounds Extension Building on Mondays and Saturdays, Feb. 2 - April 13. Volunteer tax preparers are certified by the IRS. Appointments are required. For more information and to schedule an appointment, go to www.durangovita.org.

HaikuMovieReview

‘Bugonia’

Human beings are insufferable and glib. Just like this movie – Lainie Maxson

SW Community Justice Coalition

Support restorative justice in Southwest Colorado. In 2025, SCJC expanded community-based trainings and launched new pathways to promote healing-centered responses to harm. Learn more at southwestjustice.org or southwestjustice.org.