Woke up this morning to the cardinals’ and mockingbirds’ marvelous harmonies dreaming that a doe and fawn would soon grace our wooded backyard on Lake Ann like last summer. We moved here late last summer with some sadness from our home of 30 years in the Roaring Fork Valley near Aspen. The threat of wildfires, drought and uncontrolled growth were part of the decision matrix, but mainly to be near our only daughter.

However, this spring morning my dream became a virtual nightmare! We merge into the intimidating traffic on Speedway 71 headed to the gym. My eyes were quickly drawn to the gathering of eight buzzards right beside the road. “What the heck are they doing there?” I thought. My heart was shattered as I gazed on the grotesque crumpled corpse of the mama deer who was surely pregnant. Her back was broken along with at least two legs. I prayed this was not the fawn from last year all grown up and pregnant now with her own baby. She was only trying to migrate back to the safe peaceful place she was raised by her mom. Never mind that we humans had built an uncrossable and deadly barrier in the middle of her habitat.

The only way there will be critters is if we immediately consider those who came before us in sustainable growth plans. We already desperately need over or underpasses and wildlife fencing for the deer and other critters. Heck, we could combine with the biking communities needs. We need to coexist with the critters who have lived here for thousands of years.

Remember that growth for growth’s sake means that the things we love about this place will soon leave us saying “What happened?” Garbage on the highways, plastic bags in the trees, air and noise pollution, no stars visible in the night sky – they are all preventable with smart growth, but uncontrolled growth means the cumulative effect of it will soon sicken us all literally and figuratively. Soon there will be no Milky Way in the night sky to reflect on as we sit with our families on a peaceful summer night.

P.S.: State Farm just sent me a notice to expect a hefty adjustment to my homeowner’s insurance because of “weather related claims.” Why can’t they just say climate change?