Happy last Friday in the month of May. As always, we’re joining our fur-pals, Rosy, Sunny and Jakey from LLB in Our Backyard for this week’s Nature Friday blog hop. Be sure to check out what others are sharing by clicking on the link.
Hiya, it’s us Ranch Hands bringing spots of nature photos from this past week. Elsa: Remember not to pee on stuff, brother, ok? Norman: Tsk. I’m nothing if not a proper gentleman, Ninja.
You may recall that last week we received some snow showers on Friday and Saturday and boy did it cause some damage to several of the neighborhood trees. Elsa: Luckily it wasn’t as bad as some storms but it’s taken all week long for the cleanup. Here are a few pics from our walks.
Norman: I rather enjoyed watching it fall from the sofa while I had my ball. Elsa: Your ball? Ha, don’t you wish!
Norman: Mum dressed us up in our jackets so we could ‘enjoy’ the weather first hand. Elsa: It wasn’t that bad, you big baby. Norman: Can I help it if I don’t like wet? Elsa: {eyes rolling} Oh good grief, you’re such a wuss. When I lived at the puppy mill, I was outside all the time. This was nothing. Norman: Well, I came from a warmer climate and became used to kinder conditions. Elsa: Oh cry me a river, will ya. Let’s get on with it and show our readers some more pics, ok?
Elsa: As you can see, the amount of snow wasn’t all that much, only about 4 inches max. It melted nearly as fast as it fell but it was unusual to get snow this late in May. And we managed to not get the below the forecasted freezing temps too. Norman: Mum was happy about that; she was worried about her peonies which were just forming buds. Elsa: Yeah, she had to tarp a good deal of the garden. For a while there, it looks like a bit like Sanford & Sons but that seemed to save them and the ready-to-pop irises.
Norman: The lupines didn’t seem to suffer all that much either. A few were a bit floppy from the weight of the snow but they are all blooming nicely.
Elsa: We walked past some wildflowers after the storm who seemed to be thriving from the nice drink of water they received.
Norman: Nice one, Elsa. I took a nice long sniff at those yellow charmers. Elsa: Yeah, I remember mum trying to drag you away so you wouldn’t pee on them. Norman: {huff} Must you always bring that up? I’m required to check the canine bulletin board to see if there are any messages to pass along to you. Consider me a sort of chaperone for your delicacies. Elsa: Bwahahaha, delicacies? Who you trying to kid, I’m about as delicate as a panther, dude. Norman: {miffed} I’m just trying to be gentlemanly about protecting my unappreciative sister. Elsa: Ok, I’ll give you that. Thanks, I think.
Norman: You’re most welcome, dear sister. So do you have any other photos people might like? Elsa: As a matter of fact I do. Mom found a new cactus plant that didn’t seem to mind the cold or snow. Norman: Yeah, mom won’t let me remotely near those plants. I prefer plants with soft leaves but it is rather pretty if I say so myself.
Norman: Why not show one last photo of another iris we pass on our walks? Elsa: Happy to oblige. You know this sharing the Nature Friday thing isn’t so bad with you. You’re a good boy, Norman. Thanks for letting me have the last pic.
Norman: Heh, heh…I’m actually going to get the last word/pics by sharing that mum received an award this week when we visited hospital staff and patients. She was quite shocked to see she’s logged over 500 hours since she embarked on being a pet therapy chauffeur. Even though the majority was with her beloved Sam, I think it still touched her. But we all know who does the real work, don’t we? Elsa: You’re going to pay for this, dude.
Norman: So worth it, little sister. Sooo worth it.
Ranch Hands {in unison}: We hope you enjoyed our pics of Nature in all her gore and glory. She can sometime exact a heavy toll for sharing her beauty with us. We hope you make sure to get outside and enjoy some of it this Memorial Day weekend. Have a safe and happy ‘howliday’ as the unofficial start of summer begins.
Live, love, bark! 🐾
Oooh Norman and Elsa crack me up! The “community bulletin board” …and he did pull one over on Elsa, LOL! By getting to share the great news! Congrats for your large caring heart in reaching out to care for others with your beloved Sam and now Norman! Way to go! ❤❤
{Blush, blush} Thank you. I never really considered my driving being all that significant but knew my guys brightened up a whole lot of folks’ hearts. 💙
Very welcome and it wasn’t just your driving my humble friend! You showered your precious dogs with love which enabled them to share their love on others!
You’re so sweet. Thank you!
You are sooo welcome! 🥰
The snow was nicely WET! Since we need as much wet as we can get, I didn’t mind covering my seedling veggies. The apple trees had just finished blooming, so I hope they didn’t get frost-bit. Congratulation ones the award!!
Well that was indeed a lovely nature walk, thank you so much for taking us along. But Elsa, really, you are a bit hard at times on poor Norman. Some of us pups do feel the cold!
Toodle-oo!
Nobby.
Thanks, we try to make allowances for Elsa’s rather crabbish banter. She’s a puppy mill survivor who also has epilepsy. When I found her at the poodle rescue, she was lovingly sweet around other dogs. At times she tries hard to be Norman’s pal but think he’s quite terrified that she’ll turn in Mr. Hyde for no apparent reason at the drop of a hat. He tries hard to avoid confrontations. He’s such a good boy and far more patient than I might be. He could easily put her in her place since he outweighs her by over 20 lbs. yet always acts like a proper gentleman.
Sorry to see the snow damage but happy to see the beautiful blossoms.
It’s a small price to pay for such terrific moisture. 😉
Lulu: “Ooh, those cactus have such pretty flowers, but they have ‘Do Not Touch’ written all over them!”
You’re quite right, Lulu. Do not touch, do not pass Go and definitely do. not. sniff. cactus!
Concatulations on your well deserved badge, Norman😸 What a storm you had, and so cold…here it is cold too, we hope that there’s no snow coming this way🙏Loved your walkie talkies Norman, Elsa and Monika. Pawkisses for a Happy Sunday to all of you🐾😽💞
Thanks, Binky. Shortly after the snow, the temps went directly to summer which will like head in your direction soon. Have a pawsome weekend.
500 hours of being a medical hero, WOW!! You deserve that recognition, my friend!! Yes, Sam and Norman did most of the actual therapy; BUT without YOU, they would not have been able to get where they had to be. So, congrats to you!!! 🎉🎉🎉
I love all the flower pix! The irises are my favorites, but the others are pretty too. Mother Nature has been doing her best to mitigate the damage caused by us humans, so we can’t complain too much. (But being human that’s what we do.)
Thank you for the kind words. I’m grateful to be able to share such sweet dogs with others who need a few minutes of peaceful calm.
Nature will probably ‘charge’ us a lot more since humans have not taken very good care of her. Sigh.
O, those poor broken trees…but the blooms seem to be resilient and yes, they do appreciate water in any form!
Our irises are just now starting to bloom, we only have the regular purple ones, and some white ones, and some very old fashioned yellow and brown ones that have been here since before we got to be living in this ancient house.(1983…) (House is from 1907.)
That is a spectacular cactus! No sniffing please…LOL!
And congrats on all those hours of service. Thank you!
Thank you. There are several others who who twice as many hours.
Irises can last forever if they’re divided regularly. Most of mine are blue with a couple of peach colored ones. I always am drawn to the dark purple especially if they have white or speckles (have one of those that I planted when I first moved in 20 years ago. 😊 There’s an iris ‘farm’ about 3 miles away that have some of the most gorgeous irises around.
That must be a bit disheartening to have all your pretty spring flowers blooming and then have a snow storm come along. You did great at saving them. It was also very nice to hear it from the pups’ perspectives. And somehow, we knew you’d get the last word and the Ninja would not be happy about it! We’re (Mom, Lucy and Xena) at our best friend’s, 3 hours away from home, taking care of (and playing with/hanging out with) our besties, Ella and Achilles and the pig, too, cause there’s been an urgent family thing their folks had to leave town for. Guess Mom will be posting about that later. XOX Xena and Lucy and the Mom
With the drought being so pervasive, any moisture is welcome, although Norman isn’t as much a fan as the rest of the Ranch residents. 😉 Springtime in the Rockies is not for sissies but it was a bit surprising to have that storm hit so late in May though. Have a blast with Ella, Achilles and the piggie. Hugs and tail wags to all of you.
Wonderful pics and congrats on the 500 hours! That is super impressive. 🙂
Happy Friday (what’s left of it!)
Thanks, I wasn’t going to post anything about it but then figured why not (though there are several folks who have 3 times the number of hours that I logged 😲). Here’s to a ‘wagnificent’ weekend!
Yes, post it. Who cares who has more. We are super proud of you. xoxo
🥰 You’re too sweet.
I speak the troof!
💙💙💙
Congrats on reaching 500 hours of service – well done M, N and S!
Snow in May after the leaves are out is downright wrong… not nice, Mother Nature!
Mother Nature sometimes requires a heavy penalty for our ongoing abuse. We mostly dodged a bullet…this time. Thanks for the kind words-it was all Sam and Norman.
Elsa and Norman are the best.
The snow? Not so much.
It gave us a nice deposit on the moisture chart so, I’m good with it. Besides, it was completely melted by Sunday afternoon…and no shoveling. Win-win in my books!
That works too!
Congratulations on the recognition! Loved the post…I could almost hear them.
Many thanks, Helen. I debated about Shari g it since I’ve always believed it’s the dog who do all the work. Have a good weekend.
Wow, guys…congrats to your mom on her impressive achievement! The flowers look like they appreciated the moisture and Norman you are adorable with your fuzzy toy!
So many pretty flowers…but none of it beats the beauty of cheering up medical heroes!!
xoxo,
Rosy,Jakey and Sunny
Aww, thanks, guys-that’s very kind of you to say. We hope your weekend is simply ‘pawsome.’
Congrats to your Mom Norman! YAY for her wonderful work. What a bummer on that surprise snow but it seems your Mom had your yard pretty well protected – it still looks gorgeous.
Hugs, Teddy and Mom Pam
Thank you, sweet Teddy and his Mum. She knows who’s the real star in this pet therapy team but was surprised at the recognition. We hope you guys have a terrific holiday weekend.
Beautiful post filled with wonderful conversations. I sure wish I could love on Norman. You know I would.
Have a fabulous day and weekend. Scritches to the pups, a smooch to Norman and a hug to mom. ♥
Aww, thanks, Sandee. Norman sends his best ‘howliday’ wishes and both Ranch Hands hope your weekend is pawsome!