LOVE IS IN THE AIR
Salty Pine Floral & Boutique

by Fred Hernandez
Ah, Valentine’s Day. The time for red roses, boxes of chocolates, romantic candlelight dinners for two and cute Cupid shooting his arrows at unsuspecting lovers. Despite all the hoopla on this signal day few actually know the origins of this celebration which is shrouded in deep mystery and is embedded with both Christian and ancient Roman traditions.
The Romans celebrated a fertility festival known then as Lupercalia. Dedicated to Faunus, the Roman god of agriculture, it involved animal sacrifice with the blood soaked in pieces of animal skin, slapped on the women who truly believed it would
improve their fertility. With the rise in Christian beliefs this annual festival was deemed “unChristian” and finally, it was outlawed at the end of the FifthCentury when Pope Gelasiusdeclared February 14th St. Valentine’s Day.
Before that Catholic history has it that there were three Valentines all of whom were beheaded by the Roman Emperor for various reasons.
The more popular legend is that the Emperor was convinced that single men made better fighters for his army and so, decreed that young men should not be married. St. Valentine, believing that the edict was too severe and unjust, secretly married young men until his actions were discovered and he was made a martyr.

St. Valentine then became the “patron Saint” of lovers. Today we have a whole industry dedicated to this one feast day. From greeting cards, to flowers, gifts of all kinds, dinners and celebrations and much more.
In Custer County we have a very special place where the joyful celebration of Valentine’s Day can begin for everyone. Salty Pine at 411 Main Street in Westcliffe is a most unique boutique that offers beautiful flower arrangements including fresh and beautiful, imported Ecuadorian Roses, hip clothing, dazzling jewelry and many other gifts. This is their 13th Valentine Day offering since the shop first opened on December 12, 2012. The owner, Pepper Stafford, highly recommends placing your orders ahead of time to ensure availability of products especially the imported Ecuadorian Roses will be available at last year’s prices. That is really good news since the price of roses everywhere is skyrocketing.

Also available are delicious gourmet chocolate covered strawberries, delightful assorted candy bouquets, live blooming and non-blooming plants, and what is called a dish gardencomposed of assorted plants.
Gift certificates are also available and one can place orders for delivery out of state. Salty Pine is open to serve everyone daily except Sundays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. You may want to check the entire product line at westcliffeflowershop.com or call (719) 783-9393.
Happy Valentine’s to everyone. A word of caution:..Cupid has his eye on you! Je t’aime.