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Laurie Lester

Laurie is an accomplished soprano, her vocal repertoire includes music from the middle ages and Renaissance,
folk music from many lands, classical, opera, Broadway and New Age.
Laurie has won many awards and honors for her singing including first place in the California State VOCE competition,
placing in Long Beach Mozart Festival and named Southern California Rotary International "Singer of the Year."
Laurie Lester is a self-taught dulcimer player and plays English & French Renaissance music,
Classical & Celtic (Traditional Irish & Scottish aires and jigs) music, in the fingerpicking style, on the Mountain Dulcimer.
Laurie is a former music director, directing children's, youth and English Handbell choirs for 11 years. Laurie Lester is a Southern California native.

Laurie currently writes a monthly recipe column for the Fruita Times and is a member of the Western Colorado Chorale.

Read the New Sounds Magazine interview featuring Laurie.

When not working the inn, Laurie enjoys music, art, gardening, reading and spending time with her family & friends.

Visit

www.myspace.com/laurielester

to hear and purchase music by Laurie & Dave

David Lester

John Winn & Dave

Click on the photo to hear John and Dave play 'Colorado Campfire Song'

David Lester has been a professional photographer for over 25 years. As a photographer, David has enjoyed many aspects of the job from
film, digital and aerial photography to weddings, hospital photography and corporate freelance work. His clients have incuded:
Macerich Corporation, Caruso Affiliated, JPIA, Long Beach Mason's Lodge, Scottish Rite, McDonnell Douglas Aircraft,
Bay Shore Community Church, Long Beach Memorial Medical Center, California Contract Cities Association,
Los Angeles Sherriff's Dept., Virginia Country Club Golf Course and the late great jazz saxophonist, Tommy Thomas.

Before becoming an innkeeper, David was head photographer for the City of Lakewood, CA.

David Lester is a multi-talented musician, playing piano, guitar, bass, drums and is also a recording engineer.
While doing a stint in a Los Angeles based Alternative Rock band, he played The Whiskey A- Go-Go.  
With his surf band, The Sliders, he played clubs and concerts supporting environmental causes.
In his classic rock band, Dave played the Queen Mary in Long Beach, California.
David's musical inspiration is rooted in old-time Peter Green era Fleetwood Mac, Lindsey Buckingham's fingerpicking style,
he also notes Dick Dale, Bob Dylan, Lyle Lovett and Chris Isaak as musical influences.

Visit David's photography website: www.willowpondphoto.com

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Eco Friendly Lodging and Our Footprint

We care about our home and the environment and are taking steps to make our business as environmentally friendly as possible.

Things we have implemented at Willow Pond Bed and Breakfast to reduce our environmental impact:

We have soap/conditioner dispensers in all of our bathrooms in place of individually wrapped soaps, to cut down on waste.
We buy our complimentary all-natural handmade handsoaps from a local soapmaker in Fruita, Canyon Spirit Soapworks.

While we do have in-room air conditioners for guest use in summer, we use an evaporative cooler to cool the inn
which cuts our cooling costs considerably and is efficient enough that many guests choose not to use the air conditioners.

We use our lawn clippings as mulch and compost the remainder.
We take our waste to the green waste recycling center when we do our big clean-ups.

We use the fruits from the trees on our property to make foods for our guests!
We do not spray our trees or flower beds for insects or weeds.

We buy local produce as it is available and buy from our local farmer's market when it is in season.
We buy our eggs and milk from local farms.
We grow many of our own herbs for use in our breakfast dishes.
We also buy our shade grown coffee from a local roastery, Tucan Coffee, in Palisade.
We buy locally harvested honey to serve with tea.

We encourage guests to reuse their towels during their stay (at least 2 days) and change bed-linens only between different guests or
twice weekly for extended stays, unless the guest requests more frequent changes, to reduce water waste.

We are making an effort to find and use less toxic cleaning supplies, such as vinegar for window cleaning and
commercial cleaning supplies marketed as non-toxic and/or biodegradable.

We use vacuum cleaners with HEPA filters and steam clean our carpets frequently (with water) to help reduce allergens.

We do not permit smoking on our property and do not allow our pets in guest areas, to reduce allergens.

We buy in bulk to reduce packaging waste.

We donate to charity whenever we do our big clean-ups and replace items.
We buy items to furnish and refurbish many parts of the inn, including furniture, decor, cooking items, toilets and building supplies,
from the Habitat for Humanity Re-Store in Grand Junction. Our purchases go toward helping families in the community.

We use "durable service items", a.k.a. reusable dishes, napkins & flatware instead of disposables, to reduce waste.

We encourage our guests to conserve energy during their stay by lowering the thermostat, turning off lights and
air-conditioners if they are leaving the inn for an extended period of time.

We have low-flow shower heads and toilets.

We recycle our plastics, glass, cans and newspapers.

We are looking into more eco-friendly energy solutions for the inn.

Here are some links to learn more about how to "green" your home or business:

Yahoo Green

Treehugger.com

The Green Guide

High Noon Solar

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