Welcome to the best day of the week-Friday where we join our ‘fur-iends’, Rosy, Sunny, Arty and Jakey from LLB in Our Backyard on their weekly blog hop. Be sure to click on the link to see what others have shared.
While the calendar says autumn is less than two weeks away, Mother Nature apparently hasn’t seen the memo and continues to bake the Mile High City with summer temps (it’s supposed to be near 100 today), dry conditions and smoky skies. Ozone levels have been abysmally high and exploring various elements of nature have been limited. Still there was a surprise guest in the neighborhood. While there are miniscule signs that maybe, just maybe the autumn colors might begin their annual change, autumn been slow to get started with a couple of exceptions.
Maple leaves are always a favorite this time of year. When walking the dogs yesterday morning, I found this lovely specimen though never did see the tree from which it came.
Here we have a smidgeon of color. Notice the leaf stress from the hot, dry conditions? Far too many trees are struggling and I can’t help but wonder if there will be more trees lost if we don’t get relief soon.
This week has been filled with lots of goings on my schedule every day and with the high ozone alerts, my time outside has been limited to very early morning walks with the dogs.
As we prepare for our second pet therapy evaluation later this morning, I realize we’re probably about as ready as we’re ever gonna be. The bathroom however is still recovering after Norman’s required bath (bathing this hunka furry real estate is quite the exercise in dog wrangling and achy backs but boy does he smell great!). I’m certain he’ll do just fine. As always, my biggest worry for this pet therapy team continues to be me as the weak link and can only hope I remember all the details critical for a successful pet therapy team. Fingers and paws crossed we can report back success next week with a few smiles for nurses and patients today and tomorrow.
We did manage to see one particularly unusual sighting this week. As I’ve mentioned before, encountering bunnies are not at that unusual but the frequency they’ve been spotted every day this week is. We typically pass through the backside of Sprouts grocery on our route noting the hotbed of activity in the early morning hours as vendors’ trucks line up with the day’s fresh produce. Seeing bunnies daily this week had me wondering if there isn’t a special time set aside for senior bunnies to ‘shop’ for discarded veggies. I saw 3 yesterday morning alone in different spots.
It seems odd that this week we encountered more wildlife than I saw in last week’s adventures in the mountains around Glenwood Springs. With all the development and traffic in Northwest Denver these days, foxes who used to be seen, have moved away to less inhabited areas. A fellow dog walker gave me a heads up that a fox was spotted ahead. Appreciative of the head’s up I gripped the leashes with white knuckle determination to keep the nearly 150 lbs. of prey driven paws by my side. I figured the chance of seeing it were likely Slim to next to nothing with Slim having left town before we’d get there but lo and behold, a red flash galloped across the street. A shy but leggy fellow dashed across the street. I stopped to admire the beauty of this fox and realized how much I’ve missed them when they frequently frolicked under my bedroom window ages ago. Forgive the poor quality of the image I had to really stretch the capabilities on the zoom of the cell phone but I think you can see how handsome this guy was.
The dogs were more than ‘intrigued’ so I tried to slowly walk away and then realized he was sizing us up. We stopped to admire this good looking boy while he no doubt hoped we’d keep moving along. That face!
How fortunate was that? Well I can only say I haven’t seen foxes in my ‘Hood for close to 15 years.
So much for this week’s nature in the ‘Hood. Have a great Friday and an even better weekend. For my fellow Westerners, stay cool. For those on the East Coast, try to stay dry.
Live, love, bark! 🐾
At our previous home, we used to have fox families that would sit just outside the dog fence and watch the dogs play!! That’s one drawback to having chickens, we now have to discourage some wildlife from visiting our yard, and it’s not a happy thing to see a fox! At least we can still enjoy the deer and wild turkeys. 🙂
Yeah, while my daughter loved seeing the foxes they were not nearly so welcome when she married and started raising chickens. They (and the bears) were constantly trying to get into the chicken house.
I’m seeing a lot of dried up leaves on the ground, too. I wonder if the fires are driving some of the wildlife your way. That fox looks at least as big as Xena!
He seemed pretty leggy to me. There used to be foxes here when I moved in almost 20 years ago. Development has dramatically changed the neighborhood with far too many people/car traffic. 😕
Purrty Maple leef Miss Monika…our dwarf Maple “Lil Red” went thru leef distress last month so BellaSita shlepped hose an watered him efurry nite till hee reecovurred. Now we gettin rain twice a week so Lil Red iss doin guud!
There iss “Cindy Lou Bunny”!!! Bindy an Mindy told us Cindy Lou was inn Collyrado butt they not know where!! An there shee iss! Pleese give her Couzinss Bindy an Mindy’ss reegardss with thanx!
An yore mew Foxy frend iss so cute! Yore gettin lotss off wildylife there!
Sorry it iss still *not* an smokey…UCKY! Wee hoped your State was cleer an nice once again…
***purrss*** BellaDharma an <3 BellaSita
Pee S: Xtra ***nose kissess*** an ~~head rubss~~ to Sweet Norman <3
Thanks, your regards were passed along and well received. We need cooler days for sure. And until the wildfires get under control, we’ll have smoke/ozone alerts. This how it goes in life these days. *Sigh.
What a beautiful fox with such a fluffy tail with the white top! Here Mother Nature thinks it is October.
Thank you for this great walk!
Thanks for ‘walking’ with us. I wish Mother Nature would realize the calendar says September, not July. *Sigh It was 37+C yesterday!
Maybe she needs glasses. 37 C is really much, we have it about once in ten years and normally in July.
She needs to read the memo about it being time to transition to cooler weather!
And here a little bit warmer.
Paws crossed!
Yes a lovely leaf, well captured. I like foxes. I think they are graceful animals. I know they are really not popular, but I still like them. I also liked the shot of the bunny. We very rarely see foxes as far north as this – the arid lands are really not their ‘ thing’ and I haven’t seen any bunnies for a while.
I’m with you, John. I love them! They are beautiful, clever and ever so entertaining. How they manage to survive in the big city is quite remarkable.
Hoping the therapy sessions go well…..! We see red foxes often in our neighborhood and the more we SEE them, the fewer bunny sightings we have sadly. Some few signs of Fall here…..dogwoods are changing and one or two maples dropping some pretty leaves but mostly things are still green. We’re excited about Fall falling though! A favorite time of the year here.
Hugs, Pam
Thanks Pam. It went very well. Norman was a star and a big hit. And I didn’t embarrass myself too badly either. 😉 Autumn can’t come soon enough; I’m so ready for sweater weather!
I hope the pet therapy evaluation went well. I’d be shocked if it didn’t!
That’s so kind of you to say. Norman did great and he’s starting to do fair in the elevator (which is huge)!
So glad to hear he’s conquering that dreaded elevators. And I’m glad the eval went great!
Thank you. He did great snd I didn’t embarrass him. 🤣
Foxes return, nature is OK again.
Sadly, not even close.
Foxy Lady! (hat tip to Jimi) I can relate to the maples under stress. We planted a Japanese maple this spring but it is barely hanging on thanks to the crushingly hot summer. I dug it up and put it in a big planter that I moved into the shade of the patio cover but am not sure it will recover. Crossed fingers.
🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻 To lose it would be a real shame. They’re such lovely trees. Stay cool (hopefully the AC will take good care of you) and have a groovy weekend.
Sushi tonight! AJF b-day celebration. You, too, have a good weekend!
Have a birthday toast for me with my best wishes to her.
She said she’d rather have a drink than toast. Language issue I think.
Quaff away then!
Cute fox! Good luck to Norman, we’re rooting for him!
Thanks. We just finished up and he did very well.
Yay!!!
Our tree is looking fall like too.
Is that fox waiting around for that bunny? I hope not.
Have a fabulous day and weekend. Scritches to the pups, a smooch to Norman and a hug to mom. ♥
That fox would be better off trying for the jillions of squirrels around. The bunnies are pretty clever themselves and squirrels are probably easier to catch I think.
Aww on the fox, I remember being so surprised by one at the beach a couple years ago!
LOL about the bunnies having a secret time, welll those bunnies are smart you know. 🙂
Sure hope you get Fall temps soon or at least not 100 degrees!
Sorry about the air quality outside right now. UGH!
Have a great weekend in spite of the temps and air quality. Snuggle up to your adorable fur babies. <3
It’s 97 as I write this 🥵 and can’t help but wondering when/if autumn and cooler temps will arrive. Have a great weekend.
Sounds like ice cream is needed again!! 🍦🍦🍦🍧🍧
At a minimum!
😊 Hope the A/C keeps working
🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻
Temps in the mid seventies are great for this time of the year. We love it, and the windows are open once again…ahhh, makes for good sleeping.
We see an odd fox here, but also less often than when I came here over 30 years ago. Sometimes there are coyotes, more frequently than foxes. I hear them at night when I come home form work. Thank goodness for the tall fence we have.
Right now (as the temp reaches 97), I’d kill for 70’s. Most of the coyotes are gone-they try to avoid humans. Same with the foxes, though perhaps with the proliferation of city ‘chicken farmers,’ this one was coaxed out of hiding to order a chicken dinner or two. 😉
I loved the idea of a senior bunnies’ shopping hour….Beatrix Potter illustrations rising up in my head! That fox is a handsome lad!
He was quite striking. Especially after COVID began, those over 65 were able to do early shopping from the hordes that were jonesing for 87 rolls of TP. With the number of bunnies I’ve seen it seems the only explanation for their appearance every morning near the grocery. Have a lovely weekend and give the Thugs ear rubs from me.
Will do!
Bunnies are everywhere around here now….which is strange. Foxes however, are rarely seen. Great captures!!
Good luck on the evaluation!
Thank you. Norman was terrific.
Good luck with the pet therapy evaluation!
Are your leaves turning already? Here we’re still waiting. We’d like to see the Lost Maples again. Last year we were there a tad too early. Hopefully we can get permits for the state natural area as soon as they’re available [30 days in advance only] and a place to stay.
Have a great weekend,
Pit
Only a few here and there. It’s been so hot and dry, I think this year’s color changing won’t be quite as colorful as usual.
Thanks, Pit. Autumn maples make one feel like everything is right in this world. We’ll keep our paws crossed for you to see them down your way.
I don’t think I would be happy seeing that guy on my walk at all!!! Oh and we had TONS of bunnies this year…….a number of them were born right by our condo……it was a HUGE year for bunnies! I am certain your boy (and you!) will do just great at the hospital, no doubt about it!
Thanks, Caren. The number of bunny sightings has surprised me this year but am grateful since they’re so gosh darn adorable.
We had a fox family live very near my last house. They’d come through as a family in the morning and grab a squirrel for breakfast while I tried to explain to them that I had invested a lot of sunflower seed in that squirrel.
Oops, sorry ’bout that. I’d set out the china and silver if they’d nosh on the hoodlum squirrels in my garden!
Lovely maple leaves. Beautiful fox. We have them al over the place here. Have a super weekend.
Considering I’m only 3 miles from downtown Denver, it seems strange to say there are foxes in my neighborhood. Have a grand weekend.
True enough
wow leaves from maple trees… I haven’t seen that since we moved here, lucky you to have these trees. It’s going to be blistering hot again today here and for the next two weeks at least putting us into the end of Sept before the temps move to 70’s and 80’s in Aurora. Last year we had some flurries in /Sept. Missing fall temps and fresh air
If we don’t get some moisture (and lots of it), the silver maples may well join the ranks of the many casualties from the past couple of years. I’m so over the smoke and pizza oven temps. Have a lovely weekend.
Lovely, Monika. For some strange reason, the bunny pic is not there – just a big ole hole!
I’m sure Norman and you are up to snuff for your evaluation.
What a beauty of a fox. Only once, during my run, did I have one run along side me for a few steps before cutting across and heading for some woods.
I hope yesterday, in particular, was a lovely day 😉 xoxo
Well shoot. I ‘think’ I’ve fixed the problem. Not sure why it wouldn’t show up.
I love seeing foxes (and the occasional deer or coyote) in the ‘Hood. It keeps me sane enough to live in a far to rapidly growing big city. 😉 Happy weekend!
Many thanks for the kind wishes. As always, you’re too sweet.
Yes, a lovely bunny!
Foxes are so lovely. I would love to have one cross my path again. Happy weekend to you!
And hey, that’s what friends do 🙂
🐰
we hope your therapy time is a good one and you bring joy and you feel the same ;O) we like it when the leaves change their colors, but even colorful to have a ton on the lawn is …. welll… different LOL
Yeah, I’m not looking forward to the hours and hours it’ll take to rake up the leaves but they sure a pretty to look at. Have a great weekend.
Yes, I know how you feel. I have two eucalyptus trees at the far end of the yard and the place is constantly covered in leaves. Clean up – slightest breeze and the place is covered in leaves again. It’s never ending.
Silver Maples in particular suffer from leaf drop a good part of the year. The city is trying to weed them out and replace with other varieties of maples. Hate losing a mature tree and its lovely shade but in autumn particularly, I often contemplate it. 😈