Denver Lofts

I get asked this question periodically, and I’ll have to admit, it’s a hard one to answer because I have never lived in a loft, and I have only actually been inside maybe a dozen of them.   I don’t know each one as intimately as a resident does.

However, based on what I know, and based on location, I would have to say that the Dakota Lofts are way up there on my list.   I don’t really like living in the heart of downtown anywhere, much less Denver (as much as I like Denver).  Downtown is too “hurried” and noisy for me – I like my peace and quiet.  But – I do like downtown on my terms, as long as I can leave when I am done with it.   The Dakota Lofts are perched right outside of downtown Denver, across the street from the flagship REI, and the Platte river.  There’s a great pedestrian bridge that takes you across I-25, and it’s just a short bikeride or a moderate walk to get to downtown.   And, from the Dakota Lofts, you get a view of downtown that is unparalleled.

These are beautiful and very modern lofts, in a funky little neighborhood with lots of coffee shops and great eateries nearby…..and downtown Denver is just a chip-shot away – but not in your lap!

I was at a a friend’s recently and he was talking about this amazing damage being done to his front yard.  He said that his yard all of a sudden started having these trenches appear, about an inch or two deep and about the same length across.   Kind of like veins appearing.   He said it was driving him nuts trying to figure out what was causing it.  These trenches seemingly appeared overnight.

He then discovered that it was likely due to Voles – little field mice who love to damage crops and yards, and the little buggers are really hard to catch and kill.  He has been using the standard mouse traps with peanut butter with some success.   He lives in Superior, just outside of Denver (of course, if you live in a loft in Denver, you probably won’t have this problem – but I thought it was an interesting subject).

About a week later, I saw the telltale trench appearing in my front yard.  I live about 5 miles from my friend, so definitely not the same mouse

I am a bit of a pacifist, and I don’t like to kill things unneccesarially.   I don’t like spreading poison around my house either, so I was in a bit of a quandry as to what I should do.  My neighbor, who is a crafty fellow, came over one day and I asked him if he had ever had the problem.  He said he didn’t but suggested putting Blood Meal around where the Vole activity was taking place.   I had never heard of such a thing – Blood Meal is basically dried blood of some poor animal and it looks a bit like coffee.   He said it is good for scaring away rodents – they apparently don’t like the smell.  So he brought his bag of blood meal over and poured a little bit around the area.

I would have to say it has been a success – there has been no further activity by the nocturnal bugger ripping up my yard.

Blood meal for voles – check it out!