Ed Craft Group · Southwest Colorado Field Notes
Living near the forest: a better wildlife routine for your Colorado home
A Southwest Colorado wildlife routine for homeowners and guests, from secured trash and bird feeders to clear collection-day instructions.
One of the most useful moments in Ed and Lisa Craft’s September conversation began with an empty hummingbird feeder. A camera eventually revealed the visitor: a raccoon. The story was funny in the telling, but it captured something a new mountain resident might miss. The things people put outside for one purpose can attract an entirely different audience.
Seeing wildlife is part of the pleasure of Southwest Colorado. The habits that protect that experience are often ordinary ones: closing a garage, understanding trash day and making sure a visitor knows how the bin latches. A house beside the woods works better when everyone understands those small routines.
Look at the property from an animal’s perspective
A good place to begin is the route between the kitchen and the outdoor trash container. Notice where a bag might sit while someone finishes packing the car, where pet food is stored and whether a garage door is commonly left open. These are practical observations to make before guests arrive, not a reason to turn a wildlife sighting into a crisis.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife advises keeping human food and other attractants away from bears, including securing garbage and removing food from vehicles. Its guidance also calls for removing bird feeders during the seasons when they attract bears. Merely bringing a feeder in at bedtime does not eliminate the attraction. Check CPW’s current living-with-bears guidance for your setting and contact the agency about recurring problems.
Ed and Lisa’s feeder story is a reminder to revisit familiar habits after moving. Something that seemed uneventful at a previous home may deserve a different arrangement near the forest. Watching from inside or from a respectful distance can still be a memorable part of the day; feeding or approaching wildlife should not be part of the plan.
Make trash day a complete instruction
The Crafts also talked about the extra coordination that a collection-day question can create. A calendar saying “Thursday” is only the beginning. Someone needs to know where the container belongs, how it closes, when the hauler permits it to be put out and where it returns afterward.
Ask the waste provider about the equipment appropriate for the address and learn to operate its latches. Try the process yourself before writing instructions for someone else. If the container cannot close because it is overfilled, another bag beside it is not a completed solution. Decide how overflow and missed pickups will be handled with the provider or responsible local contact.
For holiday weeks, check the hauler’s actual schedule. Keep the confirmed collection details in one place rather than leaving guests to reconcile an old refrigerator note with a newer text message. If a stay ends before pickup, name the person who handles the remaining task. Otherwise, everyone can leave believing someone else will do it.
Give guests a welcome they can follow
A short arrival note works best when it describes actions. Show where household waste belongs and how to secure it; explain which outdoor doors should remain closed; and identify the contact for a damaged container or wildlife concern. A photograph of the correct latch position may be more useful than another paragraph.
Keep that practical information separate from dramatic wildlife stories. Guests need to understand the routine without feeling that every sound outside is an emergency. Families can agree that children watch wildlife with an adult and that pets remain under control. A camera can preserve a sighting without anyone needing to move closer.
Owners should also check that the person preparing the home uses the same instructions. The arrival message, house guide and turnover checklist should agree. A beautifully prepared kitchen is less helpful if the next guest has to guess where the full trash bag goes.
Make it part of knowing the home
When looking at a property, ask about waste service and storage as deliberately as you ask about parking. Where will the container fit? Is the route manageable for the people using the house? Who handles collection during an extended absence? These questions connect the view outside the window to the way the home functions every week.
The best routine soon becomes unremarkable. The bin is secured, the doors are closed and the evening is yours. The wildlife can remain the interesting part of the landscape, rather than becoming a visitor you accidentally invited to dinner.