St Joseph Catholic Church is draped in purple for Lent. Modern believers focus more on self-improvement than deprivation in this season.

Colorado Mesa University guard Sharaya Selsor holds her 1-year-old daughter Carter during halftime of a men’s basketball game at Brownson Arena.

A lone skier glides along an ungroomed trail in the transition zone between aspen forest and pine forest.

Everyone loves a snowy day, and there have been several lately to please both man and his best friend. Most of the state’s ski resorts are reporting new snow this week, with some resorts receiving in excess of 20 inches of snow.

Grand Junction’s Jacob Trujillo flips Fruita Monument’s Isaac Rodriguez on his head Saturday night during the Class 5A 145-pound championship match at the Pepsi Center.

A blue heron spreads its wings on a frozen portion of a lake in the Island Acres section of the James M. Robb Colorado River State Park.

As he stands in a sea of Valentine’s Day bouquets, the Rev. Paul Labig checks his delivery list as he hefts a vase of roses on it out of the dozens to hand to a deliverer at Country Elegance Florist, 2990 Patterson Road, Wednesday morning. People from several church groups gathered at the floral shop to spend the day delivering the flowers as a fundraiser. Labig is the associate pastor at Church on the Rock.

A pedestrian crosses 12th Street today while big snow flakes fall during one of the snow squalls in the valley Friday.

Ed Conkle fly fishes the Uncompahgre in Baldridge Park in Montrose during on of the few sunny times recently. Conkle fishes the quarter mile stretch of the river almost every day this time of year and often catches small rainbows.

Local filmmaker Mara Ferris works in her production studio in her Grand Junction home.

Fruita Monument girls celebrate after winning the league against and at Grand Junction.

Palisade’s Dalton Hannigan, back, gets ready to throw Cheyenne Mountain’s Bobby Amond during Saturday’s Class 4A 126-pound championship match at the Pepsi Center. Hannigan won 12-4 to win the first state title for the Bulldogs since Travis Bounds in 2003.

Isaac Rodriguez of Fruita Monument, top, works Alec Wyatt of Prairie View into a position to pin him during the 145-pound Class 5A semifinal match Friday. Rodriguez’s win set up a matchup with Grand Junction’s Jacob Trujillo in the final.

Levi Lucero stands in the middle of North Ave at 13th Street with his University Blvd street sign. He is hoping to change the name of North Avenue to University Blvd.

Crystal Geyser is located on the east bank of the Green River 4.5 miles downstream from Green River, Utah. It is a rare example of a cold water carbon dioxide driven geyser; geothermal activity does not play a role in the activity of the geyser.

Mare Charlesworth takes a picture from a low angle in an impromptu photo studio on Main Street of some baskets from Woven Design. She was shooting the baskets to place on their website for a March promotion.

Colorado Mesa University hurdler Jasmine “J.J.” Johnson beats Cafe V owner Alex Mackey to the ribbon held by restaurant staff on one side and Karis board members on the other as the two race over hurdles to celebrate the opening of the restaurant located at Fifth Street and Belford Avenue on Friday.

A little girl gets close as she watches a core of dancers perform a choreographed routine to the Twisted Sister song, “We’re Not Going to Take It” outside of the Colorado Mesa University’s University Center Thursday. The event was part of the international One Billion Rising in honor of V-Day, a global movement to end violence against women.

Montrose resident Rachel Daake cries while Montrose Municipal Court Judge Richard Brown details the injuries she sustained regarding the 107-pound American Allaunt canine named Dutch who attacked her last November during a hearing Thursday morning Feb. 14, 2013. Brown ruled that Dutch is to be put down.

Main Street Bagels Bakery and Cafe

Adrea Tilford and her daughter Nella are well protected by her dogs Ritton, center, and Zena on a walk on fourth Street today.

Horizon Drive glows from tragic and signs in this 13-second time exposure shot looking north from above the Horizon and G Road intersection.

At the valentine party at Grand Valley Childcare, 1 1/2-year-old Morgan Wright wanted to eat a cupcake but didn’t want her fingers to get messy. Solution- don’t pick it up.

Using ashes from last year’s Palm Sunday palm fronds, The Rev. Edmundo Valera draws the sign of the cross on the forehead of parishioner Owen Bartels, 11, of Glade Park as the priest and his congregation celebrate Ash Wednesday Mass at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church.

GRETEL DAUGHERTY/The Daily Sentinel—With her 1-year-old son, Addison, tucked under one arm, Katrina Fallas helps her other son, Nicolas, 5, pick out a free book Saturday during a celebration for the Grand Junction chapter of Imagination Library. The central branch of the Mesa County Library marked delivery of the 25,000th book to a child 5 or younger.

Two kindergarten students peer out of a pair of gun turrets on the Mesa County Sheriff’s Department’s S.W.A.T. rescue Bearcat during a day dedicated to community helpers for Rocky Mountain Elementary School kindergarten classes on Friday. The children also were able to try on bulletproof vests, helmets and shields with the help of deputies. An eye doctor, a veterinarian and a therapy dog with its handler also visited the school for community helper day in addition to deputies and the Beatcat from Sheriff’s Department.

Champion conformation dog Narsil assumes a show stance in the front yard of Kim and Joe Giannoni’s Grand Junction home. Narsil has been ranked among the top 20 of all Bernese Mountain Dogs in the nation for the past five years; in 2012, he was ranked No.8.

With her sister Haley, center, in tow, Colorado Mesa University sophomore Dylana Gross, left, listens excitedly as Tina Kleespies, the assistant director of the University Center, talks about the benefits of joining a sorority during an informational meeting Thursday at the university. Haley is a junior at Grand Junction High School and is planning to attend CMU in the future.

The Charlie Tayler Weterwheel along the banks of Ute Creek in the town of Idaho Springs.

Hannah Price gets a a balloon toy puppy from Shriner Daran Mahoney at the National Pancake Day at IHOP in Grand Junction today. The restaurant is offering free pancakes until 10 p.m. to help the Shriners collect donations for their hospitals. Mahoney’s daughter has had multiple corrective surgeries via the charitable organization free of charg

Robyn Parker with Women Helping Others, concerned citizen Joel Dyar and Matt Tonge with Colorado Public Interest Research Group speak to the issue of tax shelters at city hall Tuesday.

The residents of the Memory Care Wing at The Commons of Hilltop such as Lon Suplizio, left and Fern Honstein have taken to Rez, the first dog to participate in a pilot program to train rescued dogs to be therapy dogs.

The sun peaks through snow loaded branches of conifer trees on Grand Mesa as a jet leaves a contrail highlighted by a deep blue sky.

GRETEL DAUGHERTY/The Daily Sentinel—Grand Junction firefighters battle a blaze at 300 S. Redlands Road on Saturday evening. People who were inside the home escaped unharmed.