Greetings and salutations, sports fans. Elsa and Norman here to welcome you to the first post of March. After surviving the longest month in winter history {ahem…oh sister, may I remind you that February is actually the shortest month of the year}…Yo brother, please stop throwing shade on my post!
Norman: Sorry to have interrupted you, I just wanted to make sure you (a) understood that you made a misstatement and (b) I didn’t want our readers to think you were unsophisticated as to not know that February is the short month. By the way, you neglected to mention we’re joining those cuties over at Adventures of the LLB Gang for their weekly blog hop.
Elsa: Big deal…it was just a euphemism, fur ball. Sheesh, you can’t lighten up even a little, can you? And yes, we’re joining Rosy and Sunny. Are you happy now?
Norman: Of course I’m happy. You know how much I love those little pups. That said, I just want our posts to be factually correct so we can keep our integrity intact.
Elsa: {shaking her head and mischievously wagging her tail} W-h-a-t-e-v-e-r. As I was saying before you so rudely interrupted me, we managed to slam close the door on February and now are more than ready to welcome March. You know in two weeks, we’ll be celebrating a ‘green’ holiday, right, Mr. Precision?
Norman: Of course I do. Being a dog whose breed originated from the British Isles, I’m keenly aware of the “National Holiday of Ireland which is celebrated throughout the UK, Canada, US, Argentina, Australia, South Africa, and New Zealand, particularly among the Irish diaspora, as well as the territory of Montserrat.”
Elsa: Oh lord, you’ve been on Wikipedia again, haven’t you? Anywho, we began to notice subtle signs of greening yesterday that I thought we might share. You ready, dude?
Norman: Right-o, lass. Mum has been looking for signs that Spring is headed our way and said she’s hopeful that things are beginning to shift now. Just look at this garden art she found on her walk. It’s not the greatest composition (please don’t tell her I said that) but she stopped and went back to snap this pic because she saw…gasp…actual green grass, not the usual straw colored stuff we typically see in Winter around here.
Elsa: Hey you said it, not me. Yeah…but you’re so right, it IS a really crummy pic but you gotta love the green grass which I plan to start munching on the next time we walk by. I love grass-those tender, fresh new shoots {smacking her lips}, it’s the best fiber around.
Norman: Umm,. hard pass on the grass, sister. After this week’s health scare, I’ve been strictly forbidden to eat ANYTHING other than what’s in my bowl.
Elsa: Yeah, I was going to ask you how you’re feeling now? You sure scared Mom-she was panic-stricken.
Norman: I know she was but am so grateful she acted quickly getting me to the vet. Getting poked and prodded is not my idea of a jolly time. The vet said my tests showed signs that I had a small case of pancreatitis but I’m feeling better now. Boy, let me just say, avoid pancreatitis if at all possible. I was one sick puppy for a few days and even had to cancel my hospital visits. Which really was unfortunate since I got all spiffed up and groomed to visit my friends at Lutheran. Oh, and before I forget, thank you for staying close and repeatedly nose-nudging me while I was recuperating. It was more than a bit disconcerting but think you were just trying to make sure I was ok so I appreciate your gentle care.
Elsa: {blushing} Well, I know I don’t show it very often but I do care about you and am glad you’re doing better. I’m not ready to be an only child.
Norman: Thank you, lovey. Very sporting of you…
Elsa: {interrupting} Yeah, yeah, don’t go all sentimental on me. Let’s get back to seeing other signs of green nature, ok?
Norman: Ok, let’s not dwell on the past. Mum found some little tulips along her walk. She told me these are very pretty when they’re in bloom and I, for one, am looking forward to seeing them in bloom. But of course, I won’t do anything more than sniff them-bulbs are toxic to us canines.
Elsa: Count me out on eating bulbs. I have high standards as to what I eat {snorfing heard in the background from Norman}. I noticed some green around the Ranch as well. Achillea x ‘Moonshine’ (Yarrow) is beginning to show signs of waking up. It looked pretty grim with brownish dried-out sticks and leaves until Mom cleaned it up a tad yesterday. It still has a l-o-n-g way to go, but that spot of green is a good sign.
Norman: She also noticed her hyacinth bulbs survived despite being repeatedly buried with snow. And the bearded iris and even some naturalized snapdragons are showing signs of waking up.
Elsa: All good signs, I’d say. But the pièce de résistance this week had to be these magnolia blossoms from a nearby neighbor’s garden. Mom says they’ll likely be hit with frost before they fully emerge but with that trademark blue sky, it was a lovely sight to behold. I’m not sure which was more welcome, those blooms or the clear blue sky. Mom isn’t a fan of gloomy grey skies.
Norman: Mum and I have that in common. Enjoying a nice sunny clear day is good for the soul, isn’t it?
Elsa: Right you are, dog-breath. So do you think we’ll get to enjoy some new adventures this weekend when the temps should be in the upper 50’sF? It’d be great if Mom took a different route on the walk so we can sniff new and different smells. The ground is nice and damp from the snow melting this week so it should be pretty doggone awesome for our olfactory systems.
Norman: Oooh, I can’t wait. I need to check out the neighborhood bulletin board. So what plans do you have for the first weekend of March? Anything exciting planned? Whatever you do, we hope signs of Spring are showing up around your neighborhood. This is the time of year where nature renews itself so be sure to get out there and find it. Have a bonny good weekend.
Live, love, bark! 🐾
beautiful pictures
Many thanks for the kind comment.
I loved your post! It made me laugh. I had posted, once or twice, the “thoughts” of my two dogs, and I don’t know if this happens to you, but I found it to be fun and very easy to write. Loved it!
Thanks! Trust me, those are fairly accurate voices of these two. 😉
I believe you
Chaplin: “We are glad you’re feeling better, Norman! You have to be careful what you eat! Eating the wrong thing can cause lots of problems!”
Lulu: “Yeah like the time I ate a gopher and then threw it up in the living room. Mama had to clean it up and she didn’t enjoy that one bit.”
Chaplin: “That is NOT what I had in mind …”
Yup, he proved it’s super important watching what you eat and although Norman enjoys a healthy diet but we’re even more focused on things he might need to cut back on going forward.
So glad you’re feeling better, Norman, we were also worried, because we didn’t saw a new bloggie. Now listen to your mommy, she knows what’s good for you🙏Spring is coming, sweet doggies, but we’re in a storm again…So wish it was Summer🌞Healing Pawkisses to all of you🐾😽💞
Thank you for the well wishes. Norman is feeling better with each day. Today is a chilly day-we’re staying inside and staying cozy snuggling together but hope the weather gets better for you and us soon. 💙
So glad you are feeling better Norm! Don’t scare your Mom like that again! And sorry, I am sure it was unpleasant for you.
Hopefully better days are on the way. Spring is! Love the promising signs of bulbs and green! 😊
Thank you. He most definitely did! And he seems to be feeling a little better with each day.
I’m so sorry that you and Norman spent time at the Vet hospital. Pancreatitis is not a pleasant issue to have. So glad to hear Norman is getting back to his old self albeit slowly!
Thank you. It was a tough week for the big guy. I’m just grateful he’s feeling better. 💙
Glad you are feeling better Norman.
Thank you!
Green is ALWAYS a good sign.
As is a Friday when the best reporting team in the biz gets to tell us the what’s what in their neck of the woods. Woof!
Have a great weekend
You’re too kind. Thank you. They tend to get a bit carried away but we’re nonetheless grateful for something other than brown or heaven forbid, white.
No more of the white stuff!
Gosh Normie – so happy that you’re feeling better buddy! It sure is nice to see some green stuff coming out of the ground isn’t it….our brown lawn has lots of green in it now and we hope it keeps it up! Mom’s bleeding heart plants are sticking out of the soil and hopefully we won’t have a bunch of late freezes although they seem to be pretty hardy. Happy almost Spring!!!!!
Hugs, Teddy
Thank you for the well wishes. Holy cow…bleeding hearts are coming up?! Wow. I noticed the oriental poppies are about 3+ inches tall of green this morning. I think Spring might actually arrive. I was becoming rather cynical for a bit with all the snow we’ve received. LOL
Wow, Norman…that was a scary time for you and of course, your Mom and sisfur. Glad to read that you are feeling better, and POTP to you!
Lets hope and pawray that doesn’t happen again.
Pretty signs of impending spring. Wednesday we saw our snowdrops were blooming, butt right now they are covered in a thick heavy blanket of snow…maybe 6 or more inches. We can’t even see them, not the tulip leaves that were peeking out.
The March Lion roared and melted the clouds so they fell down on us, LOL!!
Thanks for the kind wishes. Oooh…snowdrops! I always forget about planting them in October and regret it in February. So pretty. This year I’m definitely adding some. Here’s hoping you guys aren’t too waterlogged and can dry out enough to check out the early Spring sights. Have a lovely weekend.
Wow, Norman, don’t worry us like that! Glad you are feeling better and Ninja was consoling. From this post I can see you are both back ‘normal!’ 😉
Normal, eh? Oh boy. 😆
Poor Norman…you must have been so worried.
I truly was. Luckily he received great care quickly and is doing fairly well. Though it did take the wind out of his sails.
if you need gardening advice, contact my peeps, They are experts in growing weeds.
I suspect everyone is good growing them.
Pancreatitis, wow. I can imagine how worried you were, and am glad he’s ok…he IS ok now, right? I remember standing on a chair at a gala for the theater cast and loudly saying, “Please do not give ham to the schnauzer!”
We have “high” winds today, but it’s really, really warm.
And as for this weekend, tomorrow is my younger son’s 44th birthday and we’re driving up to Cleveland, TN (just 45 min) to pick up his brother and go eating and shopping!
Thanks, Amy. Yeah it was not pretty. Luckily it wasn’t as horrible as it could have been. On board fluids and the meds he got made all the difference. Oh yes, fatty foods are definitely a no-no with pancreatitis. If memory serves me correctly, don’t Schnauzers have a propensity for getting it?
Happy birthday to your son. You must have been 2 or 3 when you had him. Enjoy your weekend.
Yes, I was barely walking. It was a miracle birth. 🙂
You are absolutely correct about the schnauzers.
So many beautiful signs of Spring!!
What a wonderful job you both did showing us around this week. We are hoping the warmer weather coming next week will help things start blooming around here!
Thanks so much for joining Nature Friday this week!
xoxo,
Rosy and Sunny
Thanks for checking out our pics. Mum didn’t have a lotta luck finding great pics but she was excited to see a couple spots of green. So much nicer than brown or worse, white!
I’m glad Norman is feeling better. Thank you for the lovely tour.
Thank you. It was a scary time for a couple of days but so far {knock on wood} he’s doing much better. Have a great weekend.
So glad you are feeling better Norman!! ❤️❤️don’t scare your mom like that anymore!
Thank you. I’ll keep that in mind. 💙
Our spring bulbs are coming up too. We had a saying that it has to snow on the daffodils three times before it’s really spring. So far it’s only one!
IOne down, two to go, huh? Good luck.
what caused the pancreatitis? eeek
Norman you needed a hospital visit yourself! Elsa the nursing poodle was there
We don’t know for certain. Could be he’s more sensitive now after bloating before. The vet said it’s hard to tell. Norman got his hospital visit in, just not the one we were prepared for!
https://www.9news.com/article/weather/weather-colorado/denver-coldest-winter-history/73-a9ea8073-0519-4a4e-9cea-b27e6088e17e
Thanks. Aren’t you just a fairy of good news. LOL Actually I expect it in March and April, but never during January or February. Nature is more than hormonal and judging by the storms on the West Coast will likely be more unusual. Hang on to your hat (and mittens), it’s likely to be a rocky road ahead full of up’s and down’s.
We saw some hyacinth and tulips poking their noses up on our walk today. Yipee!
And in answer to Dale’s question, according to 9News, this has been the 14th coldest winter in the Colorado weather records. They’ve been keeping records for 150 years, so that puts us in the bottom 10%, temperature-wise.
It’s times like these when I’m grateful for not living in the Montreal area which is more northernly and generally colder (and definitely more humid) than our high mountain desert.
Brown is out and Green is in, Elsa & Norman. Just the fact St. Patrick’s Day is in view is a sign Spring is almost here, but most certainly so are those magnolia blossoms. And, a blue sky as well! Norman, so glad you are on the mend now…and Elsa, great job of keeping Norman’s spirits up while he was recuperating. Happy Weekend!
Many thanks, Bruce. Appreciate your kind comment and good wishes. After February, we weren’t sure if Spring was ever going to arrive and grateful beyond measure Nature decided to gift us with blue skies. With 300+ days of sunshine a year, we’re spoiled. Hope you have a swell weekend!
wow your tulips are faster than ours… they are magic, right norman?
They back up to a fence facing west so get pretty good sunshine. They’re still a bit short but should start getting taller soon. Have a great weekend.
It’s greening up nicely!
…and we couldn’t be happier. Brown is not our favorite color.
We live in different worlds, Norman and Elsa. Yesterday it snowed aaaaaaaaall day and any chance of seeing any growth of anything is just impossible to imagine (even though I know that day will come). It has warmed us since this morning’s -8. It is now +9. Still a shivery cold, if you ask me. However, the sky is blue (more icy than yours) and the sun is shining so I might just bundle up and go into town. I have to visit my daughter so I might as well add – if I can find parking, because after snow? Montreal is a b*** to park in – a little walkabout. We shall see.
Until then, enjoy your beautiful Friday!
We had a skiff of snow on Wednesday so yesterday’s sunny skies and upper 40’s was most welcome. I’m sure we’ll be joining the ranks of getting hit by spring snowstorms. March and April are the wettest months. Although January and February are supposed to be the driest, they clearly were not so we’ll see what nature has in store for us. We’re sending good parking vibes your way. Have a good weekend.
I am curious to know if we have had more than last year. It sure feels like it. March is when the doozies usually hit! Only good thing about March snowstorms is they don’t usually last long – I mean the ones that arrive after all the snow has melted, that is…. And I thank you. I do not look forward to that part of my day!
Thank you 🙂
I’m a big fan of spring storms. They dump a ton of white stuff, leave quickly and melt even quicker. Enjoy your visit;’ hoping the parking gods are decent to you.
Yes! They are especially good for your area that is too often too dry.
I figure I’ll be lucky near the centre where my daughter is recuperating but downtown? Ugh… I may have to fold and pay…
Sending healing thoughts to your daughter.
Yes, we never turn down moisture.
Thank you. So far, so good. 🙂
Very glad to hear that! 🥰
Yeah. She’s happy. It’s a painful thing (she had bottom surgery in her transition journey) at times but so far, manageable.
So very glad to hear that. It’s a big step; hopefully everything will go well as she recovers.
It is a huge step and one that will need maintenance for the rest of her life so no light-hearted decision, let me tell you…
I can’t begin to fathom but wish her and you all the best.
Thank you, my friend.
💙
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