Good Earth - The Durango Herald

Bringing solar to low-income residents in La Plata County

Local group uses grant to power affordable housing

DATE: Feb 10, 2016 | CATEGORY: Good Earth

Studies aim to restore habitat of imperiled Northwest fish

BOISE, Idaho – Scientists in the Pacific Northwest are studying more than a dozen watersheds to develop templates on habitat restoration that could be used in similar streams to bolster stru...

DATE: Feb 8, 2016 | CATEGORY: Good Earth

San Juan National Forest targets spruce menace

Spruce beetle infestation on the San Juan National Forest grew to more than 120,000 acres in 2015, according to an annual aerial survey of Coloradoâ€™s trees. To address this and...

DATE: Feb 3, 2016 | CATEGORY: Good Earth

Forest Service may close sites in Dolores district

Agency must trim operational budget

DATE: Feb 3, 2016 | CATEGORY: Good Earth

Pine beetle outbreak ends in Colorado

Bugs attacked 5,300 square miles of forest across state

DATE: Feb 3, 2016 | CATEGORY: Good Earth

Study examining human-bear interactions in Durango enters final year

Bears may be in hibernation, but local wildlife officials are conducting a years-long study hoping to learn more about Durango residents’ interactions with the lumbering beasts. L...

DATE: Jan 27, 2016 | CATEGORY: Good Earth

Study may lead to protection for butterfly

ALBUQUERQUE (AP) – Federal officials plan to study the status of a butterfly once found across the Southwest to see if it warrants protection under the Endangered Species Act. The...

DATE: Jan 20, 2016 | CATEGORY: Good Earth

Earth Briefs

Nature Studies announces events The Durango Nature Studies will hold these events: Winter Volunteer Naturalist Training will be held from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday at the...

DATE: Jan 20, 2016 | CATEGORY: Good Earth

2015 was Earth’s hottest in recorded history

WASHINGTON – Last year wasn’t just the Earth’s hottest year on record – it left a century of high temperature marks in the dust. The National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration a...

DATE: Jan 20, 2016 | CATEGORY: Good Earth

Nearly 9,000 call for protections for Mesa Verde’s horses

Park officials say their one option is to remove them

DATE: Jan 13, 2016 | CATEGORY: Good Earth

Annual bird count yields record number

High volunteer turnout may have helped boost total

DATE: Jan 6, 2016 | CATEGORY: Good Earth

Grizzly bear deaths rise as Yellowstone population grows

CHEYENNE, Wyo. – The number of grizzly bear deaths or removals in the Yellowstone region climbed to an all-time high in 2015, but biologists say they’re not worried about the animal’s long-t...

DATE: Jan 6, 2016 | CATEGORY: Good Earth

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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

Bringing solar to low-income residents in La Plata County

Studies aim to restore habitat of imperiled Northwest fish

San Juan National Forest targets spruce menace

Forest Service may close sites in Dolores district

Pine beetle outbreak ends in Colorado

Study examining human-bear interactions in Durango enters final year

Study may lead to protection for butterfly

Earth Briefs

2015 was Earth’s hottest in recorded history

Nearly 9,000 call for protections for Mesa Verde’s horses

Annual bird count yields record number

Grizzly bear deaths rise as Yellowstone population grows

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