Roger Hebbert got more than a cake for his 75th birthday this morning; he awoke to find what he believes is a meteorite that struck just 10 feet from his rural Rist Canyon home.

Hebbert's wife, Bonnie, said she heard a loud swooshing sound late Monday night and felt a gust of wind through the house, but she didn't think too much of it because the log-sided home the couple shares is heated by three different sources, including a woodstove.

"I hollered to him and kidded him if he was burning up the house, but he didn't say anything and I went to bed," she said.

Roger awoke around 5:30 this morning, though, and went outside to split wood and found what appears to be about a 10-pound piece of rock that fell to the ground so quickly that it created a funnel in the ground. Several smaller pieces of rock and small holes were found nearby. The rock struck just 10 feet from the couple's home.

The couple has called Colorado State University to see if researchers are interested in looking at the rock, and they hope to find out more.

If this is found to be a meteorite, Bonnie said this will be her second such experience. Nearly 60 years ago, her father returned with a large rock from their property near Livermore, which was a meteorite.

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