Nature Friday ~ May 8, 2026

~ Tails Around the Ranch ~ 39 Comments

Greetings mates, tis I, Wilson your friendly neighborhood House Pony. Boy have I got some photos to share with you showing Mother Nature at her best or her worst, depending on your opinion. It’s been a wild week but let’s dive in shall we. As always we’re joining those cute pups from Adventures of the LLB Gang for their weekly nature blog. Don’t forget to click on the link to see what others have shared from around Blogville.

Wilson in snow

Wilson: Mum…why do I have to bundle up? I mean keeping me dry is one thing, but you know how I feel about snow boots. Ugh.

The Mum: What? Come on, you look adorable in your booties. And you posed so nicely wearing them…

Wilson: {interrupting while raising his voice} E-nough. I should think that expression says it all. Wearing those hideous things is humiliating, Mum. I hate them.

The Mum: But they sort of keep your feet somewhat dry, well at least drier than if you were stomping around with your furry paddles…and without anything to protect your paws you’d need either a session with a hairdryer or a serious and lengthy mopping up with towels before coming back inside the house. I mop the new floors enough as it is because you’re a such drool machine.

Wilson: Yeesh…you cut me to the quick, Mum. We could argue discuss this all day long. But I’ve got photos to share and we should probably just move along. So as you were able to tell from our discussion and the first photo, it snowed this week (Tuesday and Wednesday). I know a lot of you will be aghast at the thought of snow in May but it’s not all that uncommon in the Rocky Mountain region. The irony to that fact is we received the most snow in May for over 20 years. Look at some of these snow depths through Wednesday.

The Mum: The total in Arvada really surprised me. We all knew a storm was coming but I only expected around 4 inches or so. Fortunately it was a nice wet snow with lots of moisture. I think we received nearly as much moisture over those two days as we’ve received to date this year. We’re still down and the drought is nowhere near gone but this was a nice dent toward improving things.

Wilson: Do you think plants were adversely impacted by that heavy snow?

Early morning view of our trees – the shrubs were buried for the most part

The Mum: I won’t sugar-coat it, the storm did a fair amount of damage to trees. Cottonwoods which are softwood trees, were particularly hit hard as were many ornamental pear trees around the neighborhood. I went out every 3 or 4 hours to shake off our crabapple trees but along the trail we walk every day, a lot of large and small limbs were broken. Yesterday I was impressed that the city crews were out early cleaning up around the pathway. Most of the larger branches that fell far away from the pathway will be cut up and left to provide habitat to the area’s critters, while those closer to the trail were removed. And a lot of plants were flattened but by yesterday when we were in full melt, they were rebounding. Even these peonies didn’t seem to be worse for wear but they are somewhat protected by the trees around it. Yesterday’s high  was 72F (22C) and more than half of the snow had melted. It was totally crazy. The forecast for the weekend will be in the 70’sF and we may even reach the low 80’sF by Monday. The temperature whiplash is in full force.

Wilson: It was absolutely beautiful when we walked and even more quiet than normally. Funny how people don’t want to get out and walk around in it. I’m glad you don’t mind, I just wish I didn’t have to bundle up from head to paw but it was fun checking everything out. The smells were quite remarkable.

The Mum: Even our newly blooming Bachelor Buttons in a large pot survived.

Wilson: Nature is pretty amazing. But somewhat selective, isn’t she?

The Mum: Pretty much. What other photos did you want to share?

Wilson: Well…how about some photos from the pathway? It was so beautiful and the quiet was palable.

Along the southwest side of the golf course
The canal was filling up from its previously low levels
Along the creek

The Mum: You managed to curate a fairly representative batch of photos. Well done, House Pony.

Wilson: Thanks Mum. See, I’m not just a pretty face. I can put a few pics together to show off how Nature is truly amazing. I see that Mother’s Day is this weekend and we want to wish everyone a very Happy Mother’s Day. We know not all of you have two feet kids, but you have fur babies so I think you deserve to enjoy the day as well as mums to them. Are you doing anything special for your mum? Whatever you do, we sincerely wish you a wonderful weekend and hope you are able to spend some time enjoying the many sides of Mother Nature. Have a good one, everyone.

Live, love, bark! 🐾

Monday Musings ~ May 4, 2026

~ Tails Around the Ranch ~ 71 Comments

And so the ongoing battle between the 80 lb. quilt continues. I swear this dog rather enjoys ‘busting a move.’ On top of me.

Here’s hoping all your moves this week are pawsome. Happy Monday.

Live, love, bark! 🐾

Nature Friday ~ May 1, 2026

~ Tails Around the Ranch ~ 58 Comments
Pepperweed

Happy May Day, mates. Wilson here and as always I’m joining our pals from Adventures of the LLB Gang for this week’s Nature Friday blog hop where participants share slices of nature. Be sure to click on the link to see what they and other have posted. As I noted above, today is May Day where traditionally we celebrate the return of spring. May Day, like other early holidays that originated from ancient times, has its emphasis in celebrating the arrival of spring, the season of renewal. Festivities were filled with song and dance with doorways and livestock decorated with yellow May flowers. Historically, children would hold on to colorful ribbons, and dance around a maypole which symbolized fertility and the renewal of life. People would “bring in the May” by gathering wildflowers and green branches, and weave  floral hoops and hair garlands. I told Mum there would be no ‘decorating’ my glorious floofness after she saw a wide swatch of pepperweed which has sprouted near the Ralston Creek trailhead. Thankfully she didn’t argue with me.

According to the Old Farmer’s Almanac, May Day has its roots in astronomy since it’s the halfway point between the spring equinox and the summer solstice. It was one of the Celtic cross-quarter days, which marked the midway points between the (four) solstices and equinoxes of the year. Since we don’t have a maypole, we’ll just celebrate by admiring flowers in bloom that we pass on our walks. Mum hasn’t planted anything yet because the risk of frost is still possible but her naturalized Bachelors Buttons are full of buds ready to display their bright cornflower blue flowers soon.

The Mum: Good morning, House Pony…Happy May Day, buddy. After a couple of cloudy days that had a few sprinkles but mostly soft misty conditions, we woke up to clear blue skies but cool temps.

Wilson: Did you encounter rain yesterday when you traveled to Pueblo with your brother to see Grandpa?

The Mum: We did encounter some rain, but nothing too heavy mind you, but every drop was welcomed up and down the Front Range. What I wasn’t expecting was seeing a little bit of white stuff at my brother’s house with more on Monument Hill between Denver and Colorado Springs. It didn’t last long.

Wilson: I was glad I stayed home with your son, even though he keeps accusing me of snoring loudly. I. Do. Not. Snore. I rest peacefully. You know that, but why he keeps telling you I snore is beyond me.

The Mum: I think he just likes to tease you. And even if you do/did snore, so what…you’re snug as a bug snoozing comfortably and that’s all that matters.

Wilson: So we didn’t take a lot of photos this week but we did capture a few photos of some ducks. That was pretty exciting since I know you’d never seen Wood Ducks in person before. The males are really colorful but they are very shy and didn’t seem to want to get to know me very much so I was left out of the photo shoot.

The Mum: I am totally fascinated with Wood Ducks. The colorful males don’t seem real. We still haven’t seen any babies yet but hope they’ll be showing up soon. The males have stunning multi-colored iridescent plumage and red eyes, with a distinctive white flare down the neck. The female are less colorful with a white eye-ring. Both males and females have crested heads. Like other ducks, they do not mate for life but tend to stay seasonally monogamous. I could have watched them for hours but they were very nervous with my presence so after taking a ton of photos, I slipped away and let them feed and swim in the shallow canal.

Wilson: I just don’t understand why ducks don’t like me. Even the Mallards are skittish whenever I’m around.

The Mum: I’m sure they view us both as predators. After all, there are hawks, coyotes and bobcats who make their home along the trail. Don’t take it personally. I had to sneak up on this Mallard and he kept turning away from me keeping a nervous side eye on me. I only managed to capture a couple of pics and they were fairly similar so I only included this one in a sunny spot along the creek.

Wilson: Even though the mornings are still cool (in the mid-30’sF 1.66C) we should reach 60F (15.55C) today and are expected to stay sunny all day. The weekend forecast should be dry with perfect temps for celebrating May Day, as well as watching the 152nd running of the  Kentucky Derby and seeing local Cinco de Mayo festivities. So this weekend will showcase lots of fun. What will you celebrate this weekend? Whatever you do, we hope you enjoy and take opportunities to get out in Mother Nature.

 

Live, love, bark! 🐾

Monday Musings ~ April 27, 2026

~ Tails Around the Ranch ~ 67 Comments

Wilson has found a new treat that he likes. Although he would rather it would have been an apple slice from the charcuterie board leftovers, he was more than game to try a slice of cucumber. What treats do your dogs like?

Whatever snack you prefer, we hope it adds to a ‘pawf-fect’ Monday for you.

Live, love, bark! 🐾

Nature Friday ~ April 24, 2026

~ Tails Around the Ranch ~ 62 Comments

Welcome to the last Friday of April. I’m still wrapping my head around the fact that April is nearly over. Where did the month go? Wilson here and I’m joining our pals from Adventures of the LLB Gang for their weekly Nature Friday blog hop where participants share slices of nature. Don’t forget to click on the link to see what others have shared. The good news is we haven’t blown away but these daily Red Flag Warning days are becoming a bit ridiculous. Yes, I’m a floof but for the love of all that’s holy, floofs gotta see and I constantly have hair in my eyes. Yes I know one remedy is a haircut but you know how I feel about grooming sessions. Mum suggested we put my hair up into a ‘pineapple’ top knot. {SHUDDER} I put my paw down and said unequivocally, “umm, no thank you.” Guess I’ll just keep rubbing my face on the sofa to get the hair out of my eyes.

The Mum: Oh come on, at least you’d be able to see easier…

Wilson: {interrupting} No way, Jose. I’m not wearing a rubber band or scrunchy on the top of my head to get the hair out of my eyes. End of discussion.

The Mum: Alrighty then. So what do you have to share today.

Wilson: Wait…what?  I said no and you caved with no attempts to urge a different outcome? I better pinch myself…I figured you’d spend a lot of time arguing trying to cajole me into looking like a pineapple landed on top of my head. Not to say I’m suspicious…but I am a bit suspicious, Mum.

The Mum: Not to worry, House Pony…I don’t mind giving you some agency about minor things like that.

Wilson: Minor? Trust me, that’s not minor, Mum. Wearing my hair up in a top knot would make me the laughing stock of Ralston Creek. You know I have a certain “je ne sais quoi” to maintain.

The Mum: Oh my gosh, you are so dramatic! It was just a suggestion to help you see better until your grooming appointment in a few weeks. Lighten up.

Wilson: Harumph…I just wanted to get things out in the open and on the record. I think we should probably focus on slices of nature we encountered this week instead, now that the pineapple strategy is dead in the water. How about it, Mum?

The Mum: {rolling her eyes} Yes, let’s change the subject and move on. I know where you stand and won’t bring it up again.

Wilson: Thank dog! Now that we’ve settled that, let’s share a few slices of nature from our house before we hit the trail outside, shall we? Figaro is looking pretty doggone good. I can barely get around him. He’s going crazy, Mum. I think we should put him outside.

The Mum: He is getting pretty big but since there still can be overnight freezes, we’re going to have to wait until that threat is gone so you’ll just have to co-exist with him for a little while longer. And I beg you to be careful as you’re racing to the front door which is just a few feet away.

Wilson: Hey there, I’m always careful! I can’t help it if he takes up too much space.

The Mum: Right…{eyes rolling again}. You’re about as careful as a bull in a china shop. Delicate you are not.

Wilson: Now, now, Mum. That corner of the entry must have some really good juju because your Christmas cactus is in bloom again. While not nearly as full of blooms at it was at Thanksgiving and Christmas, it does have a few bright blooms. Even the Christmas cactus that rarely blooms and nearly died a few months ago has some buds on it. Are you doing something special with the cactuses?

The Mum: Nope, not at all. That last cactus has more blooms than it ever has! It lost a fair amount of its branches and I almost considered letting it go. I just think they like the light in the entryway-it’s not too severe or bright. But whatever it is, I’m pleased that they’re in bloom again and setting leaves and flowers. It’s very exciting and even the newest one (on the lower right) is joining the ranks of bloomers. It came from Dad’s house and is also setting buds. Color me happy.

Wilson: Way to go, Mum. Did you see the new neighbors? I haven’t met them but hear them every day.

The Mum: Spring is always an exciting time in the world of birds. I’m keeping my eyes peeled to see new baby ducks and Canadian geese which we’ll likely see before any of the birds who nest in trees.

Wilson: We’ve seen some blooming wildflowers along the Ralston Creek Trail this week. This first one looked a lot like the lupine we had in our old garden. I looked it up and it’s  a Thermopsis, a herbaceous perennial and legume and commonly known as goldenbanners or false lupine. When I looked it up , I discovered it’s quite toxic so I guess we won’t be walking close to it. Apparently there has been some research about the toxicity of T. rhombifolia (which I think is the variety we found along the creek) with the highest concentration in young plants. We just found them blooming this week so they are likely fairly young.

The Mum: It’s a good thing you aren’t much of a taster of plants. I was shocked to read about the toxicity. I’ve been missing the lupines from the old garden so was happy to see something that looked like the old garden plant (although I discovered a hitchhiker that started to grow in a planter that had bachelor buttons in it which will like bloom over the next week). Maybe we’ll get some new seedlings to start a fresh lupine garden at the new house. Fingers crossed.

Wilson: I’m sure that’d would make you happy. So what’s this plant? It was next to the sidewalk on the street I walk along every day toward the creek trail.

The Mum: Ahhh, that’s a parrot tulip. Just look at that pretty ruffled flower. It sure is quite colorful but I think it needs some fellow tulips to create a nice spot of color. Hopefully it will naturalize.

Wilson: Guess yellow is this week’s main color outside. We found another yellow blooming plant along the creek trail. This one is a biennial herb called, Barbarea vulgaris, commonly known as wintercress or yellow rocket. Native to Eurasia and North Africa, it has naturalised in many parts of North America. It prefers fresh or moist places, along  roadsides, rivers, and on slopes and in ditches, up to an altitude of around 8,000 ft. It apparently doesn’t mind clay soil so it should do well here. I don’t think Mum has ever found more clay soil than here. Along the trail it was interspersed among grasses and near a few sporadic blooming flax plants. Mum wasn’t able to get any photos of the flax, it didn’t show up very well in the grass.

The Mum: It’s been a week of discovery of the local wild plants and I’m enjoying what grows well around here in the wild. It’s fun to see critters among plants in natural settings. It’s so different from our old neighborhood so this has been quite the adventure.

Wilson: Speaking of adventures, what plans do you have for the weekend? Anything exciting going on. Mum is meeting up with another old colleague to catch up with her before she retires. Mum was saying she probably wouldn’t know too many people still at the firm, they’re all retired now. I tried to tell her that’s normal for humans. They move on but they hang on to the past too often. They should be more like us dogs who know how to live in the moment. Whatever you do, we hope you have a great weekend and can find spots of nature to enjoy.

Live, love, bark! 🐾

Nature Friday ~ April 17, 2026

~ Tails Around the Ranch ~ 74 Comments

Welcome to this week’s edition of Nature Friday. As we always do, we’re joining Rosy and Sunny from Adventures of the LLB Gang. Wilson here with today’s offering. Last week I shared a PBS link about the orphans of the Retiti  Rescue Center. You may have seen Part 2 this week on PBS, but if not, I encourage you to click on YouTube link, if you love animals and happy endings in Nature, you’ll be glad you did. I know I sure did. Those baby elephants will steal your heart.

Wilson: Oooh, Mum…that was so good. I’m glad we got to watch part 2 of that Nature episode this week. It was reaffirming watching humans work hard for years trying to save multiple species of orphans and to meet the next group as they work toward re-wilding each of them.

The Mum: It was a very touching conclusion to the first episode. I hadn’t realized there was  a second one and it made me realize we need to record more episodes of Nature on PBS. We love that it shows elements of the natural world that we don’t get to see every day and highlights some of the pitfalls many animals face in a warming planet.

Wilson: Sounds good to me. But in other news, it happened again…we got hoodwinked into believing our weather forecast which called for a couple of inches of white stuff with cold temps. As usual, we received the cold part, although it was not quite as cold predicted in the 20’sF approximately -6C, with a freeze warning. The temps hovered slightly above freezing but featured what we are beginning to accept as normal around here…windy conditions. And not a flake in sight. In fact, the sky is only cloudy in our neighborhood so maybe precipitation will happen later {fingers crossed}.  Mum brought in the herbs she had purchased earlier in the week, just in case. She probably didn’t need to bother but she didn’t want to take a chance and below freezing temps may occur tonight.

The Mum: I’m going to start taking weather forecasts with a grain of salt. Being off a few degrees is one thing but to get people all wigged out about impending precipitation is a bridge too far to cross. The only thing we can definitely count on being correct are windy conditions.

Wilson: Well, in the good news department, you were able to attend a fundraiser at the neighborhood’s premiere garden center last evening and what a great batch of flowers you saw. Just look at some of these photos.

Black Mounding Petunia
Another Mounding Petunia-just look at that beautiful veining!
A Topiary troll greeted visitors near the front of store

The Mum: It was a totally amazing array of unusual plants which I especially love to see. I’m not a big fan of the big box stores with their limited selection of unusual plants, so this was quite the treat. And because it was a fundraiser for a good cause, there were vendors of all manner, much like a farmer’s market so my friend and I were able to sample various tasty treats and see an outstanding selection of craft items. It had been years since I last visited Echter’s and I was blown away by their selection. They bill themselves as carrying many unusual varieties of flowers not typically found at other garden centers. With over 70,000 square feet of indoor space, they carry over 2500 different varieties of flowers every year and their plants are not sold at other locations. In addition, they offer trees, shrubs, houseplants, garden art, houseplants, birdhouses and bird seed and all manner of supplies to beautify and take care of your garden. They also are a big supporter of the community and offer their facilities for events at no charge. They also host a quilt show, a glass and art show so I plan to attend more events in the future.

An unusual variety of Lobelia

Wilson: Just look at these beauties! Mum loves interesting and unusual plants and these bi-colored geranium leaves qualify and she was blown away by the gorgeous Ranunculus, a massive Delphinium, a speckled Rose and of course, our gorgeous state flower, the blue Columbine to name a few. The pond area was very zen-like as well.

The Mum: Yes, it was such a lovely evening walking about the enormous greenhouse and outside grounds. Oohs and ahhs came from every single row of flowers. It was such a lovely evening spent with a former colleague from the law firm. We hadn’t seen each other since we both retired and we recently learned on Facebook that we lived a mere 5 minutes away from each other. It was a lovely evening that allowed us to see interesting and beautiful plants and get a bit caught up on the personal front since our mutual retirements. We’re hoping to get together again soon. It was such fun.

Red polka dot plant
Foxglove
A massive Alpine Delphinium

Wilson: What a strange creature, Mum. What was that last topiary?

The Mum: Not 100% sure but it looked mostly like an elk. Whatever it was it was pretty cool. So how was your week? Do you have anything planned for the weekend? Whatever you do we both hope you are able to get outside and check out all the beauty nature provides. Have a wonderful weekend and if you’re like us, you’ll ignore the weather forecast-it’s probably way off.

Live, love, bark! 🐾

 

Nature Friday ~ April 10, 2026

~ Tails Around the Ranch ~ 65 Comments

Hello mates…top of the morning to you and welcome to another segment of Nature Friday where we join Rosy and Sunny from the Adventures of the LLB Gang for their weekly blog hop. Don’t forget to click on their link to see what others have shared. Although it looks like I’m a somewhat sleepy, but I’m actually hiding from Mum. But I’ll wake up enough to share the plateful of delish slices of nature so let’s get started, shall we?

It’s been a lovely week and we’ve enjoyed a slower pace this week to catch up with things around the ‘Barn.’ I’ve got some diverse photos showing some of the nature we encountered for your pleasure, so let’s get started, shall we?

Our exposure to some of the beautiful springtime things we were able to experience began last weekend when we celebrated Mum’s great granddaughter’s 2nd birthday. How in the dog did that happen? Two years of laughter and joy with that little munchkin {happy sigh}. We went to her house to watch her play on her slide, and pop bubbles all over the backyard while BBQing. It was a lovely day. While watching her have a blast, we notice their snowball Viburnum bush was in full bloom. Oh my heavens, what an absolutely divine scent. It added a lovely accent to all the birthday festivities.

The Mum: That shrub was so heavenly that I’ve put it on my list of plants to possibly add to the new landscape. So intense, sweet, and spicy, it’s often described as a mix of vanilla, cloves, and baby powder…a perfect scent for an outdoor birthday party for an adorably little girl who loves being outdoors.

Wilson: Don’t get too excited, Mum. Viburnum tends to favor moist soil so it might be difficult to get one established with our water restrictions.

The Mum: Good point, but I’m still leaving it on my list of plants to consider. Maybe not now but eventually, presuming the forecasted El Niño is full of moisture. Just think how lovely the air would be with a bed of these colorful babies surrounding it.

Wilson: That Hyacinth sure is colorful and like the Viburnum, possesses quite a fragrant addition to the garden. We’ll plant that hyacinth once it’s finished blooming but in the meantime, it provides a nice pop of color on the back patio along with lovely perfumed air.

The Mum: With the temps moderating to what we normally would expect in springtime, we took the opportunity to get in an extra walk yesterday afternoon. The clouds had built up and we had a tiny smattering of raindrops but mostly it was just cloudy. Our forecast has a tiny chance of rain in it but we suspect it will only cloud up and not actually provide any relief. Still, we’re enjoying the uppers 60’sF (20C) over last month’s 90F (32C) any day of the week.

Wilson: While the canal is way down in water levels, you can imagine how mind blowing it was to see this Blue Heron standing in a shallow puddle. Mum couldn’t believe her eyes! She frightened the poor bird with her squeal but we walked farther down the canal and luckily found him again. Mum was really bummed she wasn’t carrying her big camera with her as she’s lately begun to carry it to better capture the wildlife along the trail we walk. This photo was from her cell phone. It’s not great but better than a sharp stick in the eye and it made her happy to see that cool bird.

The Mum: It was so exciting to come across that fella. I’m glad we decided to walk along the canal banks rather than take our usual route on the Ralston Creek Trail. The unpaved path along the canal recently had some serious tree trimming and has allowed us to see some of the exposed undergrowth. Check out this Golden Currant bush that was exposed and in bloom, so it was a terrific and scenic walk.

Wilson: The new smells were so fascinating for my sniffer and I was quite happy to slowly take in all those amazing scents.

The Mum: It was a very fun walk for both of us. When we returned home, I noticed you were happy to watch an episode of PBS’s “Nature – Baby Steps | Becoming Elephant.” It never ceases to amaze me how much you closely watch animals on TV and when this episode  featuring the Retiti Elephant Sanctuary came on featuring a young calf named Long’uro  who had part of his nose removed due to a hyena attack. His disability will impact his life forever in ways that were quite striking. You were riveted throughout the episode (you can see it below) until the fundraising pitch came on and then you lost your focus. But as soon as the animals returned, there you were watching intensely. I half expected you to pledge online.

Wilson: {excited animation} Mum it was so cool listening to the sounds that elephant made. I couldn’t take my eyes off him. What a great episode. I do hope you support PBS…we will have to watch that program more often!

The Mum: Yes, House Pony, I’m a support of public broadcasting but will make an extra donation so we can guarantee seeing programs like that in the future. It’s fun to watch you take in programs with animals that capture your interest and I smiled the whole time you watched it. It was hilarious that you repeatedly lost interest during the fundraising breaks but resumed watching in earnest when they went back to broadcasting the episode. You know you’re too funny, right?

Wilson: Mum, I’m simply a naturalist at heart. Well that’s it from us. We hope you have a wonderful weekend and are able to find some amazing sights that Nature shares with us. Have a great weekend!

Live, love, bark! 🐾

Monday Musings ~ April 6, 2026

~ Tails Around the Ranch ~ 58 Comments

We hope your holiday weekend was ‘pawsome.’ Anyone who owns a pet knows the drill when it comes to taking care of the water bowl. All I can say, is it’s a good thing the ‘other’ bowls all have lids.

We hope your water bowl (as well as the week) remain clean and fresh. Happy Monday!

Live, love, bark! 🐾