Good Earth - The Durango Herald

Earth Briefs

Retirement party set for park manager Doug Secrist, longtime manager at Navajo State Park, is retiring, and community members are invited to a celebration party from...

DATE: Oct 28, 2015 | CATEGORY: Good Earth

BLM education guru retires after 23 years

Heath thought she was going to be school principal

DATE: Oct 28, 2015 | CATEGORY: Good Earth

San Juan National Forest users can expect new fees, campground closures

New fees at some campgrounds are likely

DATE: Oct 21, 2015 | CATEGORY: Good Earth

Biologists fly drone to track health of endangered orcas

SEATTLE – Federal biologists flying a drone have taken thousands of rich images of endangered Puget Sound orcas showing the whales are in good condition this year and that several appear to ...

DATE: Oct 21, 2015 | CATEGORY: Good Earth

Earth Briefs

AgrAbility workshop to be held in Mancos The Colorado AgrAbility Project is preparing its winter workshops for Colorado farm and ranch families who are dealing with barriers creat...

DATE: Oct 21, 2015 | CATEGORY: Good Earth

HomeRx diagnoses your energy use

Efficiency audit can reduce costs

DATE: Oct 21, 2015 | CATEGORY: Good Earth

This is how rising seas will reshape the face of the United States

Millions of Americans live on land destined to be reclaimed by rising sea levels, and that number rises dramatically if carbon dioxide emissions continue unchecked or if West Antarctica’s ic...

DATE: Oct 14, 2015 | CATEGORY: Good Earth

Earth Briefs

Durango Nature Studies to offer fly-fishing workshop Durango Nature Studies will host a fly-fishing workshop from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday at the Durango Nature Center. ...

DATE: Oct 14, 2015 | CATEGORY: Good Earth

Colorado taps NASA for snow monitoring

Aerial survey to gauge runoff in Rio Grande

DATE: Oct 14, 2015 | CATEGORY: Good Earth

Earth Briefs

Commodity loans available to producers The U.S. Department of Agriculture offers interim financing at harvest time to help producers meet cash flow needs without having to sell co...

DATE: Oct 7, 2015 | CATEGORY: Good Earth

Wind and solar keep getting cheaper and cheaper

A new analysis suggests that we continue to move into a world in which it makes more economic sense to draw electricity from the sun or the winds, rather than from fossil fuels. T...

DATE: Oct 7, 2015 | CATEGORY: Good Earth

Earth Briefs

Experience nature in silence at workshop Durango Nature Studies will offer a “Silent Nature” workshop from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturday at the Durango Nature Center. ...

DATE: Sep 30, 2015 | CATEGORY: Good Earth

Final phases of project underway at Camino del Rio and Main Avenue

Photos: Marching for women’s rightsDurango Women’s March on Saturday starts at Buckley Park, continues down Main Avenue

Durango Women’s March on Saturday starts at Buckley Park, continues down Main Avenue

Photos: Durango High School football DHS beat Vista Ridge 20-14 at home Friday night

DHS beat Vista Ridge 20-14 at home Friday night

Gallery: Animals, super heroes and other creatures take over Main Avenue

Photos: A fun and spooky day at school

Haunted house northeast of Durango gets bigger every yearCody Petersen’s Halloween hobby is his escape from the daily grind

Durango resident Cody Petersen said when he moved into his home at 15 Edgemont Way several years ago, his house on the corner looked lonely and spooky.Today, it’s a madhouse. Halloween decorations are splayed practically on every inch of his lawn, in the trees and up and down his home.

A group of school-aged kids stop in front of his house every day to pose with a little gothic doll in the lawn, he said. It’s the favorite attraction amongst hundreds of decorations Petersen bought locally and online as early as July in preparation for Oct. 31, Halloween.He said he doesn’t want to think about how much money he’s spent on fog machines, animatronics and Christmas lights, but the bill easily totals several thousands of dollars.

For trick-or-treaters on Halloween, whom he encourages to visit, jumpscares abound at Petersen’s home, featuring animatronic spiders, growling wolves and other monsters, he said.He’s working on his own animatronic coffin, which shakes and rattles, and a pulley system that will push and pull a ghost up and down the yard, but neither will be ready for this year’s Halloween.He said he has fond memories of his parents decorating for the holidays during his upbringing and he’s a huge horror genre fan. So he enjoys going all out on decorations for the spooky season. He justifies his hobby with the logic his kids will only be in high school a few more years, and it isn’t as cool to decorate the lawn for Halloween when one doesn’t have children living at home.But the neighbors enjoy his haunts as much as the rest of the community. He said his Halloween scene has gradually grown larger every year; at least 50 trick-or-treaters turned up at his home last year.“I'm a home inspector, so I do have a lot of tools and no fear of trying things out,” he said.

He said typical Halloween animatronics cost $400 a piece, but they only last one year or so without breaking. That’s frustrating, he said, and he believes he can do better by building his own.He said this year’s display and experience is more organic than past years thanks to his handiwork. Among his myriad decorations, trick-or-treaters can spot easter eggs referencing “Beetlejuice,” “The Nightmare Before Christmas” and “Pet Sematary.”Among the horror props are real animal bones Petersen said he’s found on hikes across the countryside.“I've got ghosts and spiders and witches and that kind of thing,” he said. “Here in Edgemont, we have giant spiders for real. ... We get these huge wolf spiders that are bigger than my hand. I mean, huge, bigger than tarantulas.”

Petersen said he was motivated to make his first decorations within the first month he and his wife moved into the home on the corner at 15 Edgemont Way.A lone pine tree, a typical Christmas tree that would be strung up with lights and ornaments in December, stood out to Petersen in the yard, he said. He just felt compelled to decorate it and light it up.He said he thoroughly decorated the tree and left it lit year-round. Within a month of moving into the house, his neighbor died. The man was old and suffering from Alzheimer's.

Months later, the man’s wife approached Petersen and told him she and her husband’s last salient moments together were spent looking out at Petersen’s lighted Christmas tree, pretending it was Christmas. In the following hours, the man succumbed to delirium. He died several days later.“I don't know why I had that tree, why I lit it, but that's why that tree, even when Halloween is over, all year round, that Christmas tree always stays lit now,” he said.Petersen is a horror movie fan, and in particular he’s always enjoyed the sinister character Michael Myers of the “Halloween” franchise.

He said every year, after thrilling trick-or-treaters at his home, he takes to downtown and East Third Avenue in his Michael Myers costume, bearing a giant bowl of candy, to continue the fun.The highlight of his yard, the creepy doll neighborhood kids like to pose and take pictures with, is Petersen’s “elf on the shelf,” he said. He likes to move the doll around the house, sometimes propping her up to hold animal bones.“I have a real busy and pretty stressful job,” he said. “I just love the fall so much. And to come home, it's just a good way to wind down and, you know, de-stress, just go out and work in the yard.”cburney@durangoherald.com

Cody Petersen’s Halloween hobby is his escape from the daily grind

Reader-submitted photos of Halloween decorationsLast week, we asked readers to submit photos of their Halloween decorations or a neighbor’s decorations. We received dozens of photo submissions. We have selected some of the most spooky, elaborate and fun photos to share in this gallery. Enjoy!

Photos: FLC volleyball returns homeFort Lewis College volleyball took on Adams State University on Tuesday

Fort Lewis College volleyball took on Adams State University on Tuesday

Photos: Expert leathercrafter and collector estate sale near IgnacioItems belonging to the late Alex Pappas were auctioned for sale on Saturday

Items belonging to the late Alex Pappas were auctioned for sale on Saturday

Photos: Pro boxing in DurangoLegends on the Animas boxing showdown took place on Saturday

Legends on the Animas boxing showdown took place on Saturday

Earth Briefs

BLM education guru retires after 23 years

San Juan National Forest users can expect new fees, campground closures

Biologists fly drone to track health of endangered orcas

Earth Briefs

HomeRx diagnoses your energy use

This is how rising seas will reshape the face of the United States

Earth Briefs

Colorado taps NASA for snow monitoring

Earth Briefs

Wind and solar keep getting cheaper and cheaper

Earth Briefs

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