A “true love” is the gift-giver of a carol we sing every holiday season. Colorado’s gift-giving, meanwhile, is year-round — and the gifts are many more than a dozen.

But sure, we’ll call it “The 12 Days of Colorado.” And we’ll even match the rhythm and rhymes of the old song.

We’ll walk you through verse by verse, reflecting more on the natural wonder of this state as we go. And then we’ll sing along at the end.

On the first day of Christmas,
Colorado gave to me
A mountain at 14,000 feet

Colorado is unlikely to grant you a partridge in a pear tree. But Colorado will grant you more fourteeners (54) than any other state.

On the second day of Christmas,
Colorado gave to me
Two sandhill cranes

What a gift, these regal migrators that stop in the San Luis Valley every February and March.

On the third day of Christmas,
Colorado gave to me
Three buntings

In continuing the bird theme of the original song, the state bird appears: the lark bunting.

On the fourth day of Christmas,
Colorado gave to me
Four running rivers

How grateful we are for the river headwaters of this state, including four major: the Colorado, Arkansas, Platte and Rio Grande rivers.

On the fifth day of Christmas,
Colorado gave to me
Five golden trees

Even better than golden rings: Colorado’s golden aspen display every fall.

On the sixth day of Christmas,
Colorado gave to me
Six lakes a-laying

Many, many more high-alpine lakes lie in Colorado — including what’s known as America’s highest, Pacific Tarn, above 13,400 feet outside Breckenridge.

On the seventh day of Christmas,
Colorado gave to me
Seven fish a-swimming

Anglers know the Grand Slam of trout: rainbow, brown, brook and cutthroat. Colorado adds three more for popular feasting: Kokanee salmon, walleye and yellow perch.

On the eighth day of Christmas,
Colorado gave to me
Eight elk a-bugling

Colorado’s elk population is said to be the largest in the world. We eagerly anticipate the rut every fall — that piercing call of the mighty beast searching for love.

On the ninth day of Christmas,
Colorado gave to me
Nine parks a-sprawling

Count out Colorado’s four national parks — Rocky Mountain, Great Sand Dunes, Black Canyon of the Gunnison and Mesa Verde — and five of our beloved national monuments: Colorado, Dinosaur, Browns Canyon, Florissant Fossil Beds and Canyons of the Ancients.

On the 10th day of Christmas,
Colorado gave to me
Ten roads a-leaping

The Colorado roads leaping over the Continental Divide are many and magnificent. Among them: Berthoud, Boreas, Cottonwood, Hoosier, Independence, Loveland, Monarch, Rabbit Ears and Wolf Creek passes, plus Trail Ridge Road.

Lisa McGinn of Boulder eats powder while skiing on Feb. 15, 2013, at Monarch Mountain. (Christian Murdock,

the denver Gazette file)

On the 11th day of Christmas,
Colorado gave to me
Eleven skiers skiing

Free-spirited “pipers” might also be piping across this state’s bountiful powder. No state matches the size, elevations and rebel heritage of Colorado’s ski areas.

On the 12th day of Christmas,
Colorado gave to me
Twelve bikers biking

Drummers’ drumming is traced to Crested Butte. Mountain bikers have indeed followed the drumbeat of that so-called birthplace of the sport.

And all together now:

On the 12th day of Christmas,
Colorado gave to me
Twelve bikers biking
Eleven skiers skiing
Ten roads a-leaping
Nine parks a-sprawling
Eight elk a-bugling
Seven fish a-swimming
Six lakes a-laying
Five golden trees
Four running rivers
Three buntings
Two sandhill cranes
And a mountain at 14,000 feet