Nature Friday ~ June 12, 2026

~ Tails Around the Ranch ~ 36 Comments

BunnyGreetings mates. Wilson here and I’d like to welcome everyone to this week’s edition of Nature Friday where as always, we’re joining our friends at The Adventures of the LLB Gang. Clicking on the link will take you to see what others have shared this week. Well it’s been a uber busy week and Mum has been up to her eyes in alligators. All fun stuff mind you (her sister from Texas came for a short visit and brought her Dad with her) and she had some work done around the ole barn so photo taking sessions are, well let’s just say a bit slim this week. But one thing that’s not too slim are the number of bunnies we’re seeing whenever we’re out on our dawn walks. Why are we going on walks around dawn, you ask? Well, neither one of us can stand being outdoors when it’s 900 degrees. And yes, that is a bit of an exaggeration but not by much. The temps we’re having are more in the July or August variety of hot. We’re not looking forward to those months if these are the kind of hot temps we’ll be getting.

The Mum: Yes, it has been a very busy week with lots of work to take up loads of time. Last night I collapsed on the sofa-my body said “No more, woman or imma gonna hurt you” but apparently my body lied about the threat and delivered a raging ache in her lower back. She’s hoping now that things are semi-back to a more normal schedule that her lower back will stop aching nonstop. I asked Wilson when did I get so old but he didn’t have an answer…

Wilson: {interrupting} Not an answer you’d want to hear, at any rate.

The Mum: Wait, are you implying I’m just old?

Wilson: Umm, might be. You know if the shoe fits, you have to wear it. But I digress. Let’s get on with it and share what little we managed to capture around our neighborhood, shall we?

The Mum: Oh gosh, you know you’ve cut me to the quick, House Pony. Alrighty then, show me what you’ve got.

Wilson: Let’s first start with an update on the bloody cottonwood seeds that continue to stick to everything. No matter how many times you clean them up, the afternoon winds manage to disperse loads more. This was just a teensy fraction of them that rolled up together.

Cottonwood seeds

The Mum:  Oh yes, I’m so over the cottonwood seeds. It’s beyond incomprehensible why there is so doggone much of these fluffy seed heads. It’s as if they’re never going to end.

Wilson: It funny how fluffy they are when they’re floating around for a spot to land. After a few days the seeds begin to dry out and then they resemble popcorn and they are crunchy under your feet. These were found on top of the BBQ grill cover.

Cottonwood seeds

The Mum: I know, they’re everywhere. Luckily there are other things that are non-cottonwood related that brought smiles this week.

Wilson: Quite, Mum. Like this blooming yarrow. It’s so cheerful to look at and several of the homes near us have planted it. I think this variety is Moonshine. It’s very fuss-free, and loves the heat and blooms with large clusters of canary yellow flowers on narrow stems on ferny-like, grey-green foliage clumps. Landscapers use it to accent sunny borders and rock gardens, or in mass plantings like it appears around our area to create a nice band of color throughout summer. The beauty of this particular yarrow is that it doesn’t go bananas naturalizing like so many other yarrow varieties.

Yarrow

The Mum: Seeing these over by the mailboxes always makes me happy, even if it’s hot as blazes over there. It’s an especially great plant for our mountain desert climate.

Wilson: It is a beauty, no doubt, but there’s beauty in the milkweed plant that’s beginning to bloom now. Hopefully that means there’ll be lots of butterflies arriving soon and not just the cabbage butterflies we’ve begun seeing around the neighborhood. Milkweed seems to be everywhere around the golf course and along the Ralston Creek Trail where we walk everyday.

Milkweed flower

The Mum:  The grasses along the trail have really gotten tall and thick. With a bit of rain recently, even the dandelions are gigantic. I think it’s actually Salsify or Goatsbeard, not the typical small yellow flowered plants we find in people’s lawn. Dandelion

Wilson: Well I’m no horticulturist, but it looks like your average dandelion to me. Anyway, it’s not the most unusual thing we saw this week. While it looks a little bit like your average every day Canadian goose, it was actually a wild female turkey on the golf course. You don’t see those every day. Mum didn’t have her big camera with her and had to rely on her cell phone to capture it and sadly it’s not a great shot, plus it turned its head and waddled away as fast as her long legs would carry her.

Turkey

The Mum: Nope, you sure don’t see them all the time. But it’s always a joy whenever I see some new critter along our walks. We’re starting to see lots of blue jays now but they seem against posing so I haven’t managed to capture any semi-reasonable shots. Hopefully soon though, since we are seeing them every day now.

Wilson: Well, that’s it from us. We hope you are able to check out some of Nature’s finest sights. Whatever you do, we hope you have a terrific weekend. Stay cool if you can (or in the case of some of you, stay dry).

Nature

Live, love, bark! 🐾

Monday Musings ~ June 8, 2026

~ Tails Around the Ranch ~ 72 Comments
OES Picnic snacks
OES themed snacks

Happy Monday, peeps. We enjoyed the rescue picnic over the weekend although a smaller than usual group attended. There was a rodeo just down the road from where the picnic was held and I’m sure there were many other events that competed with our get together but I think we did decently well with the silent auction baskets and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. Here are a few photos from the event.

It’s never easy getting everyone in the frame let alone getting them to look at the camera. It’s always for a good laugh though.

As you can see it was a glorious day, but very hot. Most folks hung out in the shade.

OES picnic 2026

OES picnic - 2026

OES picnic - 2026
Playtime for sheepies while their parents bid on the silent auction gift baskets.

There were lots of wrestling matches and/or dashes around the acreage, but everyone was well behaved. A small doggie pool was set up that helped cool off panting sheepies and frequently turned into a good sized drinking fountain for them. Trust me, that sight was not pretty since as soon as dogs cooled off in the pool and took a long drink, they were back chasing one another. The dirt build up in the bottom of the pool required multiple cleanings. Too bad we didn’t have something as pretty as this one.

Monday smile

Temperatures reached 90F (32.2C) and let me tell you, it was hot whenever you were in the sun. I was ‘James Brown hot’ with sweat pouring down my face despite wearing a wide brimmed hat.

Monday smile

All in all, everyone had a great time (Wilson opted to stay at home to avoid being too stimulated with all the high energy from the attending sheepdogs) but he apparently had a good time too. He was a good boy and didn’t get into anything.

Wilson

We hope you had a terrific weekend. Stay cool and enjoy a fabulous week.

Live, love, bark! 🐾

Nature Friday ~ June 5, 2026

~ Tails Around the Ranch ~ 60 Comments

Wilson Chewed up coasterHappy Friday, folks. Wilson here. We have been busy this week. Mum is getting ready for our annual sheepdog picnic/fundraiser and sadly, I’m had to spend a lot of time entertaining myself after my walks. But apprently I’m not happy about being left to my own devices while Mum is working on getting the gift baskets ready for the picnic. I don’t know, it seemed like the right thing to do at the time. But I was contrite when Mum saw it. My head went down quicker than a bad day on the stock market. Mum knows I had no idea what I was doing, us dogs don’t feel guilt like our humans think we do. Still I know I disappointed her and for that, I’m sorry. Ok, maybe not all that so sorry, but here we are. Anyway, we’re joing our pals from the Adventures of the LLB Gang. Be sure to click on the link to see what others are sharing.

Wilson: So we had a couple of days of light rain in our neighborhood. Oh my giddy aunt! In Denver however, things got real. There was major downpour in downtown and hailstones fell like crazy (see a video here). A family from Aurora posted a photo of an alligator they created from all of the hail. Bulldozers had to be called in to shovel it off roadways and one woman was rescued at a gas station because the hail and fast moving water was running so deep. Holy cow!

Hail alligator

The Mum: That was quite the weather event. It was nice to receive some moisture but I’m sure the northern third of Denver and eastern suburbs feel differently. Currently those nice temperate days are definitely in the rear view mirror. It’s back to hot temps. Yesterday the thermostat hit 88F (31C) and it’s forecast to be hotter during the next week. Bet you’re glad that you were groomed with a summer cut, aren’t you, House Pony?

Wilson: Absolutely. We’ve had to take our morning walks at the crack of dawn. I know you’d like to sleep in a bit as much as me but we need to get cracking to avoid the heat. It’s disrupting my chi, Mum.

The Mum: I know, buddy and yes, I’m not happy about it either but we just have to accept that’s the way El Niño rolls…hot temps, with lots of moisture. ‘Course with those hot temps, it makes our statewide drought worse. It’s a vicious cycle. Anyway, not much we can do about it. What else do you have for us?

Wilson: Well, the weird weather didn’t keep us from finding a few pretty flowers from around the ‘Hood early in the mornings. I think I’m going to look at this next photo often while it’s hot. It’s so calming and gives me a nice cooled off feeling. Not that I will start liking water, mind you, Mum…so don’t get any ideas but I think it’s a refreshing place along the trail to pause and enjoy.

Creek

The Mum: No, I get it. I feel the same way. That view is from one of the bridges we cross  and it always makes me want to stop and inhale deeply to relax even more during our walks. Best time of the day crossing that bridge and seeing that runoff rushing into the creek from the canal.

Wilson: Right! That’s what I’m talking about. I did rather enjoy the new route we took this week to see what kind of gardens other folks have. This front garden was especially pretty.

Garden flowers

The Mum: This was such a pretty front garden and they had a couple of fun signs in the middle of it. Everything was neat as a pin and fairly formal.

Wilson: And then there was this gorgeous clematis. So full and vibrant. Much more so than the ones we had at our old house. Yours never did bloom that much.

Clematis

The Mum: No, I don’t think I really gave mine enough water and with the shade from the silver maple, well I just don’t think they ever liked the conditons where they were planted.

Wilson: It’s ok, Mum. We have lots to see on our walks. I really enjoyed passing this large clump of blue flax in the area between the path and the creek very near the spot where that coyote was seen. Looks like Mother Nature was moving ‘furniture’ again. She sure finds the oddest places to put flowers, doesn’t she?Blue flax

The Mum: Well I don’t mind, it’s rather fun finding what she thinks is a good spot for flowers. Last week it was the Gaillardia (blanket flower) and this week, it’s this flax. Nature sure has an interesting way of moving things around.

Wilson: Nature provides us with some beautiful sights, like last night’s sunset. The clouds gathered up and swirled and it looked like it might rain a bit. But alas, it was just a tease. Still, it was very lovely. Well, that’s it for us. Please make sure you get outside this weekend and have a great weekend enjoying all that Nature shares with us. Since Mum is busy again today with picnic preparations for the rescue’s fundraiser, we may not be able to respond for a while but she’ll do her best. After the picnic, she’ll be getting ready for her sister from Texas to come visit next week. No rest for the wicked and the righteous don’t need it, right. So which one is she? Have a great weekend.

Sunset

PicnicThe Mum: Wish us lots of luck at the picnic! It’s always interesting herding all those Floofs.

Nature

Live, love, bark! 🐾

Monday Musings ~ June 1, 2026

~ Tails Around the Ranch ~ 82 Comments

Whoa, welcome to the first day of June…I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around that little facct. Since the temps will be rising this week, I guess it’s safe to say we’re cruising in overdrive toward summer.

We had quite an encounter with a coyote Saturday morning. I think it was a female being protective of her pups; she went after a couple of folks with little dogs along the path. She took one look at Wilson and said, “umm, exit stage right.” It was definitely interesting and if you were slightly sleepy, it was quite a wake up call. Everyone kind of laughed it off but I think it would be safe to add coyotes to the “what outsiders think” column particularly in spring when there are new babies everywhere. Including Canadian geese…which makes them even more dangerous.Monday smile

Here’s hoping all your wildlife encounters this week are good ones.

Live, love, bark! 🐾

Nature Friday ~ May 29, 2026

~ Tails Around the Ranch ~ 42 Comments

WilsonWelcome to this week’s edition of Nature Friday where we join our pals at The Adventures of the LLB Gang. Clicking on the link will take you to see what others have shared this week. This week’s post is mostly about one topic-cottonwood trees. Ok…let’s get started.

Wilson: ‘Morning mates, here I am sitting nicely in front of one of the wildlife habitat area’s huts created along the Ralston Creek Trail where we walk. They provide habitat for the area critters on both sides of the path. Along the path and creek are gobs of cottonwood trees and lately they have been very active as the leaves emerged.

The Mum: It’s been as if it’s snowing as jillions of cottonwood seeds are floating all over. I realize it’s a bit hard to see them but all those teeny little white specks are cottonwood tree seeds.

Floating cottonwood seeds

Wilson: They float on the breeze. I had to chuckle when they flew up your nose a couple of times. But you’re right, Mum. They are EVERYWHERE and stick to wherever they land.

Cottonwood seeds

The Mum: I’m constantly pulling them off the few potted plants in our yard and some of the window screens.They especially seem to like sticking to the hairy stems on the potted tomato plant. They are a nuisance and potentially damaging when they stick to air conditioning units. Removing those seed heads will be part of this weekend’s chores around this barn of a house.

Wilson: What else can you tell us about cottonwood trees?

The Mum: They are one of the more popular tree species in the world and often grow to more than a hundred feet tall. They provide loads of shade along our creek bed. Cottonwood trees are dioecious, meaning the trees grow male and female flower parts on separate trees with the male flowers appearing first and the female buds emerging about a month later. The male plants produce pollen, while the female plants produce the seeds or fruit. Cottonwood trees are rapidly growing trees, growing as much as 6 feet a year and are hardy in Zones 2 through 9.

Wilson: We weren’t 100% positive if the fluffy seeds would follow the male catkins which began to emerge in April, but expected they probably would. We didn’t have many of them in our old neighborhood so Mum didn’t keep any photos of them when they started to drop and fall on our pathway last month but found the following image online. Leaves emerge from those catkins and then the seeds begin to form from separate trees about a month later.

Catkins
Photo courtesy of Jim Chatfield of OSU Extension

The Mum: With our breezy conditions most days and the recent snow and rain, a lot of branches and twigs came down. Cottonwoods tend to have soft wood and breakage is a constant threat. The pathway was littered with the evidence that indeed we were going to have lots of floating seeds. Notice how they start out as little necklace-like strings of the seed pods that eventually release millions of white, cottony seeds into the air. Cottonwood trees are a member of the poplar family similar to Colorado’s quaking aspens, but unlike aspens, cottonwoods do not clone themselves from a single root system. They can readily re-sprout though if broken or cut down from the cotton seeds after they emerge. Cottonwoods thrive at lower altitudes (3,500 to 6,500 feet), on the Eastern Plains and along riverbanks. The male trees grow reddish-purple flowers.

Cottonwood seeds

Wilson:  Are there any advantages to these trees?
The Mum: Well, their fast growth and wonderful shade are reasons enough to like them but they have other positives. According to the Colorado State Forest Service, they reduce erosion, capture and filter sediment, provide wildlife habitat, slow flood water runoff and increase water infiltration. The leaves have flat stems, which make them shimmer and rustle in the wind making them eye-catching and distinctively attractive. The tree offers strong fall color, with leaves fading to glowing shades of gold. The National Forest Service often use them to stabilize stream banks and they may act as a natural waterway filtration system to reduce sedimentation. They colonize and form groves that can act as natural windbreaks though as I’ve experienced, the leaves and twigs are constantly falling all year long. I thought after I moved from the old neighborhood with all of its silver maples, I could leave that behind me. Instead, I’m constantly picking up little twigs and gobs of leaves that fall in the wind. Sigh
Wilson: Well I don’t mind the cotton snowing on us-it’s pretty and when it begins to heat up next week, maybe we can imagine cooler temps with that ‘snow.’
The Mum:  With those warmer temps slated for next week, I’ll try to envision snow. In the meantime, I guess we’ll just need to endure all the cotton floating in the area and stacking up along the pathway.
Wilson:   Anyway, let’s share a couple of images of something other than the cottonwood seeds. We found this hydrangea getting ready to bloom. Look at the beautiful pink color that’s beginning to emerge. And finding a Blanket flower along our walk through the wildlife habitat area was a nice find. It’s like Mother Nature was moving ‘furniture’ around.
Hydrangea Blanket flower
The Mum: That’s a good way to describe how Nature decorates sometimes. I saw a few other spots where blanket flowers were beginning to pop up and whenever I see a flower showing up like that, it makes me smile.
 
Wilson: Thanks, Mum. Well that’s it from us. We hope you have a terrific weekend. Hard to believe this is the last Friday of May and June is on the horizon. Where has this year gone? 
Nature
Live, love, bark! 🐾

Memorial Day – 2026

~ Tails Around the Ranch ~ 59 Comments

Memorial DayToday is Memorial Day in the U.S. where we remember and honor all those who gave the ultimate sacrifice serving their country. Now a national holiday,  it was originally known as Decoration Day back in the years following the Civil War and only became known as Memorial Day in 1968 and Congress added it as a three-day weekend for federal employees in 1971.

On May 30, 1868 General John A. Logan, head of a Union veteran association spearheaded the decoration of the graves of fellow comrades who died in defense of their country. Many of the Northern states held commemorative events and reprised the tradition in subsequent years so that by 1890 each one had made “Decoration Day” an official state holiday. Still bitter about the loss in the Civil War, many southern states refused to officially recognize the day until after WWI and many southern states (Texas, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, South Carolina, Louisiana, and Tennessee) held separate days honoring their Civil War hero’s. Memorial Day did not become the preferred name after World War II.

Memorial Day is also the ‘unofficial’ beginning of summer and as is often the case, been turned into a shopping fest. We however, will mark the day with quiet reflection. Have a safe holiday.

Wilson - Memorial Day

Live, love, bark!  🐾

Nature Friday ~ May 22, 2026

~ Tails Around the Ranch ~ 54 Comments

Wilson - LoraxGreetings mates, Wilson here sporting my best Lorax poise. I woke up with a bit of bed head but you can be sure while I’m not small or orange, I am mustachioed and I do speak for the forest by making sure I water trees every chance I can. Mum laughed at me but I couldn’t figure out why. Then I looked in a mirror. Egad, that must have been quite the dream I was having. All I remember was I received a rather heavy handed shove. Apparently I was in the midst of a dog pile early yesterday morning. Mum has been complaining about waking up and being at the bottom of the pile. Doesn’t she know I need to be right next to her though I prefer being on top of her.

The Mum: You have been a bit too much lately. As in heavy as all get out. There’s nothing like waking up unable to breath because there’s a House Pony crushing your throat or chest.

Wilson: Oh Mum, you’re exaggerating. A little. Ok, so you’re accurate but I love you and want to show you how much.

The Mum: Being the object at the bottom of the dog pile is not my idea of a good time. We have to have a serious discussion about it. Your constant squashing has reached a point where we need to set up some rules about it.

Wilson: Rules-shmules. I love you and am just showing you my affection.

The Mum: Well perhaps you could love me just a teeny tiny bit less? I’d be very grateful and might even consider relaxing the “no dogs on the sofa” rule in effect in the living room as a compromise.

Wilson: {grumbling under his breath} You’re being too dramatic, Mum. Why can you just enjoy all my beautiful floofy love?

The Mum: You mean enjoy the fur in my mouth or an elbow in a rib or your head across my throat? Gee, what was I thinking?

Wilson: {shaking his head} Blimey…Mums can be so persnickity. Anyway, we can do all that negotiating behind the scenes. I’ve got slices of nature to share. As we always do, we’re joining the gang from Adventures of the LLB Gang and encourage you to click on the link to see what others have shared from their neighborhoods.

The Mum: Fine, we’ll discuss this politely later this afternoon. Just know it’s spring, the pollen count is high and I have a hard enough time breathing. Just something for you to consider as we come to an agreement about this ‘dog pile’ thing.

Wilson: {ignoring the last comment} Well, we received some rain this week and boy howdy, was that something. It rained all night and all day on Monday, and sprinkled during different parts of all the other days. I looked a little bit like a drowned rat even with my rain jacket on and you trying your level best to keep me under the umbrella which scared me.

The Mum: Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you, I was just trying to keep your head as dry as possible. We both got pretty soaked Monday but our other rainy walks weren’t as bad. Everything is lusciously green and because I protected the herbs and potted tomato plant, they all survived the freeze warning we had earlier in the week.

Wilson: Things do look quite lovely. As the neighborhood Lorax, I’m glad to see everything got watered without my help. Just look at Exhibit A.

Iris

The Mum: Those iris clumps are planted along the strip between the sidewalk and street around the neighborhood and I love the pops of color. This was one of the few moments where we had decently sunny conditions. Most of the week was shrouded in clouds. We’re headed for a bit of a warm up for the Memorial Day weekend but have been told there is potential for more rain next week. I remain somewhat skeptical but we’ll see. If it happens, we’ll gladly accept any moisture.

Wilson: I enjoyed sniffing through the wildlife habitat area at the golf course. You couldn’t ask for a more sniffable landscape. The ground smelled of moisture with lots of decayed leaves. It was awesome. Mum tried to hurry me along to keep from getting too wet but my snooter just couldn’t get enough. There’s nothing like damp conditions and decaying leaves. The aroma was practically peaty. Mum frequently tries to get in some parkour on this log but I was too interested in sniffing around it. Those grass seed heads were way too interesting for me to think about climbing up on that big log. Don’t they look like they’d make a cool woven piece of artwork?

Grasses

The Mum: Our walks were so delightful. There wasn’t anyone out walking on the rainiest day so we wandered to our hearts content without being an obstacle along the path. It was terrific.

Wilson: The potted hibiscus Mum received on Mother’s Day was a pretty happy camper too. Mum is always amazed how much more beautiful plants are when they receive even a little bit of rain. Rain makes everything look so much better so we were quite chuffed on that day when we received a nice gentle, soaking rain.

Hibiscus

The Mum: It really is quite remarkable seeing how much of a difference a little rain can impact plants. A couple of days ago we found some beds that had been recently planted with annuals at intersections in the golf course community. I’m a big fan of ornamental cabbage so I’m looking forward to seeing this all summer long. They’re small now but this week’s rain will give them a good start.

Ornamental cabbage

Wilson: You’re so right, Mum…a little bit of rain makes garden plants look fantastic.

Fountain

The Mum: Even the snapdragon seeds that I sprinkled in a pot earlier this month managed to germinate and are doing nicely. These little plants will provide a nice pop of color by the back door area and the potted Roma tomato appears to be in good shape with a couple of tiny tomatoes emerging this week.

Snapdragon seedlings

Tomato plant

Wilson: Well, that’s about it for us this week. It’s Memorial Day weekend in the U.S. and we will honor all those who paid the ultimate price for serving their country. You can read our post from last year here for a historical background. Memorial Day is the unofficial start of the summer season. We’re planning a low key get together with the family. With gas prices so high, we aren’t planning on doing much driving any time soon. What are your plans for the holiday? Did you have a good week? Whatever you do, we hope you are able to enjoy some slices of Nature. Have a safe holiday and enjoy the long weekend.

Nature

Live, love, bark! 🐾

Monday Musings ~ May 18, 2026

~ Tails Around the Ranch ~ 71 Comments

Monday smileGood Monday morning greetings, peeps. Today’s smile pretty sums up what we’ll be dealing with this week. After experiencing 80+ degree temps last week, we are under another freeze watch in effect until tomorrow where the high may reach 49F (9.4C). Never let it be said the weather isn’t interesting in Colorado. The only downside to it are the dreary grey skies that resemble thick soup. In the immortal words of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow who wrote in a poem 1842, “Into each life some rain must fall.” But in the parched West, we’ll enjoy it while we can.

Wishing you a Happy Monday.

Live, love, bark! 🐾

Nature Friday ~ May 15, 2026

~ Tails Around the Ranch ~ 74 Comments

WilsonWelcome mates…Wilson here. Notice a thief stole my fur. Mum said I was beginning to look like Sasquatch and needed a bath so she took me to the grooming shop for a bath and groom. P{lease also notice my disapproving look. Miss Sydney is always very sweet and loving but I just don’t like baths. I guess if it keeps Mum happy, I’ll get over it but in the meantime, I’ll cry like a baby and shake like a leaf. Mum says I’m overly dramatic. You might remember that we had a pile of snow last week (if you missed it, you can read about it here) and this week we’ve been in the upper 80’s. These yoyo weather patterns are going to give me a stiff neck. What the dog?! The forecast is calling for some moisture this weekend but we’ll see if any materializes. Anyway…as we do on Friday’s, we’re joining our friends from the Adventures of the LLB Gang blog. Make sure you click on the link to see this week’s slices of Nature from around Blogville.

Wilson: Last week we were going to post a few photos of various plants that were in bloom at the time but then had to switched gears because the snow buried us. Remember those peonies that were in showing buds ready to bloom? Well the 7 inches of snow we received didn’t seem to bother them one bit. Just look at how lovely these beauties continued to bloom this week. You can almost smell their sweet fragrance, can’t you?

Peonies

The Mum: Ahhh, peonies…the queen of the garden is my favorite spring flower and this bush is so very luscious and full. They’re only shortcoming is they don’t bloom long enough for me.

Wilson: They’re quite beautiful, Mum. It looks like Nature boosted many of the flowers with the snow. Just check out these two clematis plants that continue to bloom along our walking route. The purple one is particularly vigorous.

Clematis Clematis

The Mum: That reddish pink one really caught my eye. They both flank a driveway we walk past every day and they wind their way up brick pillars. Those pillars create for a beautiful welcome to visitors and passersby alike.

Wilson:  Just down the lane we found this version of our state flower, the Columbine.

Columbine

The Mum: This Trumpet Vine is starting out the season with a few pretty blooms. In no time, this baby should fill in nicely along the iron fence. It was just a few feet away from the lilac bush below and was the very last bloom on the bush and practically begged to have its picture taken.

Trumpet honeysuckle

Honeysuckle comes in coral to reddish colors and is a great attractor for hummingbirds and other pollinators. Songbirds may eat the berries. The leaves and stems are waxy and the plant can reach 20 feet long, with sturdy support. I learned the plant is very flammable and not recommended for planting near structures. Honeysuckle is cold hardy and can be drought tolerant if the soil is good so it makes for a nice addition to the Colorado landscape.

Lilac

Wilson: Like I mentioned earlier, it’s been pretty warm this week and one evening it started to cloud up. We had hoped for a tiny little sprinkle but it was too warm for any rain to reach the ground. It did however provide for a lovely sunset. There’ll be another six weeks of extended sunshine and then it will begin to grow darker, about a minute per day until autumn begins. Till then we’ll enjoy what Nature shares with us.

Sunset

The Mum: Spring is a lovely time of year but it can be cruel. Just off the golf course we walk through, we came across this robin egg on the ground. I can be sure what happened, perhaps windy conditions made it fall out of the nest. I think it’s the part of spring that may not be kind and gentle.

Robin egg

Wilson: {interrupting} Well, you know what I think, Mum? I think a squirrel probably knocked it out. You know how naughty they are.

The Mum: I’ll admit that’s a possibility. While squirrels are mostly considered  herbivores, they are quite opportunistic omnivores given half a chance. Raiding nests can provide them with much-needed protein, fat, and calcium. It’s a sad reality.

Wilson: It is sad and yet another reason for me to despise them. This just proves they’re total brutes.

The Mum: Calm down, House Pony. Unfortunately, it’s Nature’s way. On the plus side, the shell will eventually break down and add nutrients to the surrounding ground so it’s not a total loss.

Wilson: Sorry Mum, I’m not persuaded. I still don’t like them. Bloody tree rats.

The Mum: Well I understand your strong feelings, I’m certainly no fan, but there’s not much we can do about it now. We can only enjoy the birds that grow up, the flowers that bloom and the beautiful sunrises and sunsets that Nature shares with us.

Wilson: I guess. Still, it was sad. I vow to avenge that little fella’s existence…

The Mum: {interjecting} Ummm, let’s rethink that strategy. Remember revenge is a dish best served cold. I’m sure Nature had a plan and it’s important that we not try to change it. Besides, remember I’m old and need my shoulders to function, thank you very much.

Wilson: Well okay, but only because it’s you. I’ll try to contain my loathing of those vile creatures. So that’s all I have this week. We hope you enjoyed a lovely spring week. Wait…what the heck was that that dashed across our back porch?

The Mum: And just like that, the morning calm is broken as a squirrel ran near the back door and all hell broke loose. Sigh. So much for the earlier promises. We hope you have a wonderful weekend and how no squirrels cross your paths. It’s hard to realize Memorial Day is just two weeks away. Where did May go? Have any fun plans for the weekend?

Nature

Live, love, bark! 🐾

Monday Musings ~ May 11, 2026

~ Tails Around the Ranch ~ 62 Comments

We hope all you upright and pet moms had a lovely Mother’s Day. Wilson said our family BBQ was a huge success, in fact, he’s started tracking for the next family get together. Notice he had the dinner timer at the top of his smart watch although I would have expected him to rank the squirrel finder higher.

Monday smile

Here’s hoping your week tracks beautifully. Happy Monday.

Live, love, bark! 🐾