It’s another day in the cluster known as the coronavirus epidemic, but (and only after I looked it up on the calendar–heh, heh…and many people thought paper calendars were obsolete), it appears we’ve reached the day once known as Friday. Today is also the last Friday of what seems like the longest April ever. Today is where we happily join our fur friends, Rosy and her brothers from LLB in our Backyard to check out what Mother Nature managed to dish up for us.
While last week’s storm brought a fair amount of snow, it melted quickly with mild temperatures and sunny days. With that much snow, you never know what will or won’t bloom so this week was a nice surprise. A few daffodils were brought indoors to bring a cheerful spot of nature inside.
How nice to not have any shovel snow with a nice break in white stuff, giving the landscape a chance to wake up. Trees are for the most part have barely begun to leaf out, but I have noticed shrubs and perennials are definitely yawning and stretching toward the sun. Let’s look at what a visual difference a week makes after a nice drink of water.
We took a different walking route a couple of days ago and came upon a front lawn in bloom with thyme. Pretty little purplish blooms that are easy to maintain.
In my own garden which always tends to be late waking up, the lupine, poppies and peonies are beginning to wake up. Blooms can’t be too far off.
After snow every week this month, it’s a welcome sight seeing flashes of phlox in borders along our daily walks.
My luck with growing tulips in the past has been a definite gardening disappointment. For years, tulips have been deliberately avoided but then I planted a package of mixed bulbs a few years ago which included a few tulips figuring if they didn’t grow, they would at least provide a some compost to the crummy clay soil. They have performed surprisingly well despite their reputation for being finicky after spring storms. I wasn’t sure if these guys would bloom as they were just forming buds late last week when they were dumped on. In the past, tulips have not been particularly forgiving with spring snows but these surprised me. Imagine my delight as I walked around the garden early this morning and noticed they are blooming.
Even some red columbines were starting to bloom much to my delight. They became very unhappy with me last summer when they were ‘somewhat’ neglected during a hot spell. [Note to self: don’t forget to water the columbines this year]. Another surprise that wasn’t white.
The Ranch is still sheltering in place despite some restrictions being lifted beginning on Monday. It should be ‘interesting’ to see how many bazillions of haircuts are given next week. I’ll probably be wearing a hat for the foreseeable near future.
Any plans this weekend? Whatever you plan to do, we hope it includes loads of smiles with bits of nature sprinkled in for good measure. Happy weekend!
Live, love, bark! 🐾
Pretty pretty pictures.
Thanks! Hope you had a great weekend.
It’s amazing how resilient the flowers are! Mother Nature needs to do better at cheering us up while we’re dealing with this pandemic. We are expecting snow tonight, and that is NOT going to work for me! LOL
Whoa, I’ll trade you-it’s gonna be in the upper 80’s much of this upcoming week.
Charlee: “Nice to see you are finally having some signs of spring! It’s been a long winter, I hear!”
Chaplin: “Our Dada got tired of his hair getting longer and longer and finally ordered a set of clippers. He used them this week and boy I’ve never seen his hair that short.”
Lulu: “You don’t think they might try to use those clippers on my furs, do you? Should I be afraid?”
Chaplin: “Yes, Lulu, be afraid. Be very afraid.”
Charlee: “Don’t listen to Chaplin, Lulu. Dada thinks your furs are perfect the way they are.”
Yes, spring is definitely here-next week summer arrives! yikes, not ready for 80+ degrees in April. Both Norman and Elsa share Lulu’s thoughts. Stay safe!
Mom ordered a hat on amazon the very day the salons closed. You are both ready to dig in for the long haul!
Love and licks,
Cupcake
Your mom is a genius, Cupcake. Stay safe.
I already said I was not the best gardener and I really don’t have much of a green thumb. I always admire the ways in which other people can coax such delight from their garden. Someone gave me a whole bunch of Geraniums. I bought potting mix and planted them, so we will she how they progress. There is talk about easing of restrictions here, but only a limited easing. They eased restrictions in NSW, opened the beaches and people just went silly. The restrictions were re-imposed.—— Hairdressers – I remember them from the old days in 2019.
Hairdressers! Ha…talk about something from the good ole days. Indeed. 😇 Have a great rest of your weekend.
What beautiful “after the snow” flower collection. Our lupines have just starting to bloom here.
They’re one of my garden favorites-can’t wait for them to start blooming!
Good Saturday Morning! Your flowers are all so pretty! Our trees have sprouted their leaves big time, and the azalea on the side of the house is still partially in bloom. Haven’t seen our crocus though. I have a feeling the brat next door pulled them up again. (I’ve caught her at it a few times over the years, and she always claims she didn’t know they’re on our side of the property line – right at our driveway.)
Whoa…that’s not very neighborly. Hope they’re just late and not absent. Have a wonderful weekend!
A lioncorn with panties over its face. I’ve now seen it all….
Just proves the virus is not discriminating. Plus we’re all about sharing unusual around here. 🦁
Oh, I loooooves the blooms! ONe question….that isn’t a snake comin’ outta the phlox is it??? I said it was a stick or something, butts Ma said it looked like a snake! BOL!
Anyhu, yuppers, we are still on lockdown. No end is sight. had an increase of deaths yesterday, so that’s not lookin’ good. Bein’ in a hot-zone sucks! Wells, I gets to keep Ma around ALL day , which means I can’t gets into troubles as much. that sucks too! BOL!
Stay safe, and keeps those paws washed!
Kisses,
Ruby ♥
No, it’s not a snake, it’s a seed pod from a catalpa tree. They’re all over the place from a few windy days. Whew, right? ☺️
So sorry your area is still in the throws of big numbers. While our state is relaxing some restrictions, the city extended its restrictions and remains tightly locked down until at least May 8. Rather be inconvenienced for a while than dead and just hope people don’t let irrational impatience extend the madness. Stay safe, stay strong and keep making your mum smile, dear Ruby.
I don’t know if it would work in your area, but you might try rosemary along with your thyme. Then all you need is parsley and sage. Simon and Garfunkel will be right over.
Ha! Rosemary only works in a pot and must be brought inside over the winter. It just gets too cold for rosemary. 🙁
Gosh – your flowers are brilliant. Tulips and daffodils are my favorites – and yours look so healthy and gorgeous. We are about 30 days behind you in terms of spring most years so I know what we have to look forward to! (Our county has extended the stay at home order so there are no changes happening here next week).
You may be behind the city’s sori g bulbs but your wildflowers put the bulbs to shame. Hancock extended Denver’s shutdown until at least May 8. I hope people don’t go crazy on Monday.
Wonderful flower pictures. Our phlox has already bloomed and gone. My mom has some really pretty tulips – they’ve already bloomed and gone too. I’ve never tried to grow them. Love the columbines. I have a lot of wild geraniums in the woods surrounding my house and some wild crested iris, as well as Trillium. I haven’t checked to see if the Trout Lilies are blooming yet. They are short lived, so I may have missed them already. I may have to go on a wild flower hunt tomorrow if it’s not raining.
Thanks. The bearded iris were flattened from the snow but I looked at them yesterday and they’re standing straight up now, basking in sunshine. Their blooms can’t be far behind. 🤞🏼 Here’s to a dry weekend.
Our weekend has been chilly, wet, and blah. I think the plants like it though.
Wet would be nice. 7″ of snow last week, upper 80’s this coming week. Guess I better break out the hoses.
The weather seems to be crazy everywhere this year. A couple of days we are supposed to get into the 70’s next week, but still be pretty wet. It makes it hard to mow the lawn and get the flowers cleaned out and planted.
I know just what you mean on trying to mow when the lawn is wet. Good luck-hopefully things will dry out for you (or you could just send the rain my way 😁).
This was definitely a fun post. Love the lion statue with the face mask! So those flowers are called phlox…now I’ll know what to ask for when I go to Lowe’s. Have I ever mentioned how terrible I am with plants? I’ve just noticed that the phlox in the neighbors’ yards always look pretty, hardy and – mostly importantly – low to no maintenance! They’re annuals, right?
Phlox are perennials. I don’t bother with annuals around the ranch, preferring perennials. Phlox are nice as a low maintenance shot of color and make for great border plants and they’re easy to grow. 😊
🐬Splendid post 🐬photo treats owing to your great eye🐬thanks too to all for the warm civility shared along these ranch trails🐬 so noted on this day … once known as Friday🐬
The plants are already in blossom, so beautiful. Spring is always so great!
It’s the season of rebirth after long dark winters. It renews our spirits that perhaps life is not all doom and gloom these days. Have a great weekend, Kosmo.
Thank you, and a great weekend to you, too.
Cheers to those spring flowers. Hopefully that snow was the last of the season. I’ve seen some reports giving thumbs up to the Broncos draft picks. Stay safe.
Thanks. Does that last comment mean you watched the phantom draft?
I watched the first pick … Also commented with Marco throughout the night. Saw some headlines about the Broncos.
I’m reserving judgment on their picks. Not since the days of John Ralston have a majority of picks proved worthy of hype. They have so many areas to focus on to even remotely approach the glory days. With lots of turmoil going on with management, it remains to be seen how it plays out, or even if it plays out this season. With Von Miller acknowledging his positive status of the coronavirus, it’ll be interesting to see how the league addresses the pandemic for reopening. Now if only there was a way to get rid of Roger Goddell.
Yep . . I’m not convinced there will be an NFL …. On the other hand, the NFL is high on the arrogance scale.
Boy, talk about an understatement!
Always love these beautiful flower pictures…much appreciated!
Truly my pleasure. It’s been one of two colors for so long (brown & white) it was nice seeing some color for a change. Have a great weekend.
the BEST photo of all is the last one! I am grateful that our Governor is having things move EXTREMELY slowly. We are still under stay at home til May 15th (at least). She only granted permission to nurseries, and big box stores that sell garden supplies to now offer curbside or delivery. People can golf if they don’t use golf carts. Landscapers can resume working if they follow certain guidelines. Everything else is the same. She also made it clear that she will be slowly opening different parts of the state on different dates……and…that she will go right back to square one if necessary. I adore Governor Whitmer and her logical, prudent and truly caring ways. BTW, she’s a Virgo like YOU! xoxo
That lion statue just made me laugh! So glad your governor is moving forward thoughtfully. I fear too many people will go crazy as restrictions get lifted. Have a super weekend!
Mew mew mew yore Lion statue wearing a mask iss so funny!! Thanx fore a guud laff Miss Monika!
Elsa an Norman you sure have sum purrty flowerss there! Miss Monika you all wayss cheer us up with yore flower fotoss! Many thanx….wee appurrciate all you do!
***purrss*** BellaDharma
We can all use more smiles and cheer especially these days. Have a great weekend!
Your flowers look great, Monika. My plans for the weekend? I’m going to take a trip to the back yard. I’m all packed and ready to go. Should be fun. Have a great weekend.
Bon voyage! At least you won’t have to mess with any TSA agents. 😆
Hahaha, So true.
The flowers are so beautiful, Monika. We hope the snow stays there where it belongs and doesn’t come back earlier than next Winter. The columbines look great, we have never seen that colour, but it sure will look great when they are all open. Ours are open now too. It’s such a pleasure to be surrounded by all the beauty in the world. It makes you forget about the less pleasant things 😸Clean Pawkisses for a Happy Furriday. Stay Safe Healthy and Yourselfie🙏🐾😽💞
Never had much luck with the blue ones. You’d think I could, given they’re are state flower! 😊
Yikes on all that snow. Love all the spring flowers though. Our trees are all green now and I’m happy about that. Now if we could just go to the boat and enjoy that.
Have a fabulous day and weekend. Big hug. ♥
The big surprise was all that snow was gone in just slightly more than 24 hours and gave everything a nice drink. Love it when things start to green up. Enjoy your weekend, even if you’re landlocked. 😍
Spring is punching back on winter at this point. Those flowers are lusciously vibrant, Monika.
We roll that way in the Mile High. 🤣
You guys are so cool.
{blush…blush} Thanks! We think you’re pretty cool, too.
🙂
I’m impressed with all that’s blooming for you! We haven’t had snow and I only have bluebells and a pond plant doing it’s thing. I tried tulips here too but we have deer. Deer think they are chocolates. Even after we put the fence in, I didn’t have the interest to try again. The foliage looks like crap after they bloom and you can’t cut it down. They only bloom for a few years too.
Yup, tulips are like a gourmet salad bar for hooved rats. My daughter who lived in the foothills west of the city found that out, the hard way. These splashes of color have been so welcome in a month that has alternated between brown and white. Tulips are pretty, but definitely not my favorite spring bulbs given their temperamental nature.
Yup. The standing joke is March had 31 days, April had 360 days and May lasts 5 years. I like the Uni-Lion!
That statue made me chuckle out loud. Some funny (albeit clueless) people around the ‘hood. Have a great weekend…however long it lasts!
The rainy season is stuttering into being and the plants have just seemed to come to life – living and thriving rather than existing.
We are forbidden to take our car on the roads on Saturday…but have to do so as Leo has a hospital appointment! It just makes no sense…they tell him to stay home and then call him into a major hospital!
They must have heard from a certain orange boob. Just don’t let them try to give Leo any disinfectant to inject or ingest. 😳
We barely had a “smattering” of snow this winter – Spring has been TRIPLE WET though to make up for no snow. Rain day after day. That’s a PLUS for the grass which is prettier than ever – more azalea blooms and pink dogwood blooms are lasting longer than usual. The squirrels dig up every tulip I plant so I gave up on trying! I love phlox – those streams of candy colors make me smile. Yep – another week down the drain (rain drain that is) and let’s hope maybe next week won’t be so dingy dang LOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG!
Hugs, Pam
March and April have been a toss between brown and white. Squirrels have certainly been unhelpful when it comes to tulips-in the past I either planted them too shallow or too deep. These have been planted Goldilocks perfect for blooming and to keep the salad bar closed for the tree rats. 😈
Such a lovely bunch of flowers, Monika! I can imagine they are a welcome relief from the white stuff. I have been watching my front “garden” – green shoots that I am rather sure are tulips though not a bloom in sight as yet. I could be wrong but they sure look like it. I also have smaller shoots that are yellow at the base – no clue what they will be. The fun of living in a new house, not knowing what to expect!
Our Quebec premier is talking about presenting a calendar next week for the gradual reintegration… I dunno. Half the cases/deaths in Canada are here in Quebec. I hope they don’t jump the gun.
Hope you have a fabulous weekend.
While recognizing economic issues surrounding the epidemic, Im with you hoping they don’t jump the gun and we have to endure a second wave. While the governor relaxed some restrictions, the mayor say, fat chance and his executive order would still be in place. Can you say too many cooks? Here’s to being surprised by the new garden plantings!
That’s the biggest issue… that second wave. It’s been proven time and again that there is always a second wave when premature reopening.
Way too many cooks!!
Cheers to the new discoveries!
Stay safe, my friend. 💖
And you! 💖
we had no luck with tulips either…. probably because of the pups … fortunately they are no longer as precious as they were once, to buy them at the stock market of the netherlands would be an expensive dog toy LOL
I think I planted bulbs too deep or too shallow in the past. Tulip bulbs have been an valuable currency over the ages but you’re right, no need for tulip dog toys. 😆
even statues are wearing protective masks… but not the jokers in our ‘hood. I wish they would.
our snow melted in the growing heat too. can’t seem to get much to grow around here so I like seeing your colorful lupines and columbines. The trees are budding though… just as if there weren’t a threat to all hiding behind every breeze. The grass is greening up.
Our infection numbers are still climbing despite a “lock down’ quarantine, which I put in quotes because many people ignored it. I wish the gov. would order everyone to wear masks i public instead of lowering restrictions.
I too am letting my hair grow, snipping it myself around my eyes. It’s fine really, I don’t have to do any runway shows this month lol
The governor’s most recent relaxation of restrictions continues to urge Coloradans to keep up their social-distancing efforts and mask-wearing, and to stay at home as much as possible even as they’re no longer required to do so. The mayor however has extended the lockdown until May 8. I’m sure with people wanting to get back to normal as quickly as possible, there will be a free-for-all to get out of houses. The health dept. stats suggest cases have dropped since the peak date on April 8 but yoyo numbers don’t bode well for the at-risk population. Luckily I no longer need to impress anyone with hair that needs trimming and besides, I have a decent number of hats. 😁