Elsa: We gonna get this show on the road or what?
Norman: Patience little one. I need to set this up first. You know that we had to go see my Grandpa, right?
Elsa: Yes, I know that.
Norman: Well our readers, didn’t so I’m ‘setting the stage’ as to what went down. Ok? Can I proceed now?
Elsa: Fine then. Knock your socks off, dude.
Norman: Well apart from hitting the road, it was quite the week. I think we ‘enjoyed‘ all 4 seasons. The place where my Grandpa lives broke a 133 year old record for most rainfall in a 24 hour period. And at our house, there has been lots of wind. Again. Which means crunchy leaves showed up and needed to be raked. One day even had rain mixed with snow. But it’s official though, spring has sprung. Just check out these tulips.
Elsa: That’s pretty spring-like. I know you and Mom like the pink ones but we haven’t seen too many of those. Red seems to be the number 1 color of tulips we see on our walks, like this one.
Norman: Mum was afraid the snow that fell last weekend might damage some of the flowering trees but this crabapple seems nonetheless harmed. They sure are pretty when they’re exploding with buds. And the bees sure seem to love them at this stage.
Elsa: I thought that one evening before the rain began was almost eerie, much like at Halloween but much better than all those leaves that Mom had to rake up. I mean, who ever heard of raking leaves in April? Mom regretted not having her big camera with her when she saw the clouds around the moon but at least was able to capture the mood.
Norman: We managed to see all kinds of clouds on our trip and some of the more eerie ones were when we drove past the federal SuperMax prison located just outside Florence, Colorado. Did you know this is the most secure prison in the U.S. prison system and houses some high profile inmates? It was a foreboding scene with those clouds hanging over the prison where such notorious prisoners reside such as “Shoe Bomber” Richard Reid, Terry Nichols of Oklahoma Bombing fame, Ted Kaczynski, the Unabomber, and Thomas Silverstein, the former Aryan Brotherhood leader and convicted murderer who has been in solitary confinement longer than any other U.S. prisoner (since 1983). Silverstein was one of the reasons the ADX SuperMax was designed following his uncontrollable activities committed at other prisons.
Elsa: Yikes, those are some bad hombres for sure {shudder}. I’m glad we didn’t stop there for lunch!
Norman: No, we managed to dodge the bullet there but Mum did find a window display she thought was creepy in a funny sort of way in the town of Florence.
Elsa: Oh sure, pick on us poodles.
Norman: Well on the bright side, they were displayed eating some tasty looking food.
Elsa: You’re always thinking about food, you big oaf!
Norman: {indignantly sniffing) I’m not even going to respond to that unfair accusation.
Elsa: Unfair? You clean out my bowl after every meal. I’m surprised the stainless steel is still in tact.
Norman: Ahem…getting back to nature, sister, Mum saw her first blooming Bearded Iris yesterday. It’s quite early for them to be blooming. Apparently its southeastern exposure mimics more Summer-like conditions. See, I told you all we had all 4 seasons in one week!
Elsa: That’s just nuts…blooming Irises in April. What is this world coming to?
Norman: Can’t answer that but hope that’s not an indication of an extra hot Summer ahead. I can barely tolerate it as it is. I may need to get a haircut sooner than I had planned.
Elsa: Tell me about it, I’m a black dog, do you have any idea how hot sunny conditions feel on my back? No siree, pal…not looking forward to a hot Summer OR a bath and groom, come to think of it. Definitely count me out.
Norman: Now, now, don’t get your knickers in a bunch. Mum will be gentle and make it as easy as possible. Just don’t make it harder for her, okay.
Elsa: Ha, me make things hard? Surely you jest.
Norman: {snickering under his breath} Right-that’s me, Mr. Jester. No doubt I have you confused with a different Ninja. Anywho…the weekend is upon us and I hope it means we all get a chance to get outside and enjoy some of the lovelier elements of Mother Nature. Do you have anything special or exciting planned for the last weekend in April?
Live, love, bark! 🐾
Loved the flowers – all of them. Sorry Elsa but I thought the poodles in the window were really something else – I liked them. However, you are still my favourite Ninja
Thank you. FYI, Elsa appreciates your comment. 💙 She enjoys being the favorite.
Java Bean: “I give Dada that exact same look over the back seat of the car when I am ready to go and he is still putting things in the trunk!”
Why does it take them so long to get ready? They need to be more like us dogs.
Beautiful tulips and crabapple blossoms and the early blooming iris.
Thanks! That blooming iris really surprised Mom; she couldn’t believe it. It’s way too early for it to be blooming even with the sunny exposure! Have a super weekend.
Mee-yow what purrty Tulipss an Crabbyapple Blossomss an those Bearded Irisess are deevine Sweet Norman an Elsa!
THE Supurr Jail soundss ummm….well terryfyin….mee glad youss’ not stop there!
Wee had all 4 seesonss heer two. An now wee back inn Rainy Seeson fore next 4-5 dayss…..
No flowerss yet….wee just have to wait mee thinkss…..
Happy Weekend to youss’ <3 BellaDharma an <3 BellaSita Mum
Thanks sweet kitty, SuperMax was quite foreboding and not just because of the rain. Four seasons in one week seems very strange. Nature is truly messed up.
Forebodin iss a guud werd fore Supurr Max Jail….makess mee shudder!
An Nature iss furry messed up. Wee had Monsoon rain heer today….it was freeky! 🙁
I was also raking leaves, my least favorite activity!! Now I have to weed! Yuck
The rain acts like super fertilizer for weeds. I’m trying to catch them when they’re little before they get a change to sink deep tap roots back in the dog run but have definitely lost the battle in the front garden. Sigh. And I hope to stop raking leaves! Dang, where are they coming from…St. Louis? LOL
You have captured your full year of seasons all in one post! Our weather is all yo-yo-y like yours. All our pretty weeping cherry blossoms and most of the areas magnolia trees are looking shabby after wind snow and buckets of rain. Today was a washout…at least it was NOT snow!
Nature has definitely been cruel to the flowering plants this spring. Blue skies returned today as well. So grateful for that! Have a wonderful weekend.
That window display is…..well…..creepy! Hope Grandpa was OK…..too much rain – not enough sun – too much wind – not enough SPRING for us here and I think everyone has been wondering what happened to counting on the weather????!!!! Love the photos – especially the moon shot!
Hugs, Pam and Teddy
Thanks. The weather gets more weird with each season. Head shaking…we’re hoping for some excellent tulip weather…and soon!
We’ve had yo-yo weather too and it will continue through next week. Someone needs to turn on the heat!
Turning on the furnace in April makes our Mom go into a tailspin. The sun is supposed to take care of ambient temps and it was MIA for a few days. At least there was some outstanding moisture not in the form of white stuff but sweatshirts were the apparel of the day(s).
Oh yeah, heat back on. Contemplating turning on seat heaters in car. Argh!
Eek…that sounds like some serious cold. Thank goodness for hot mocha lattes.
1. Hope your Dad’s OK, Monika.
2. Those tulips are beautiful.
3. In the picture with the moon, it looks like the wicked witch is riding her broomstick just above the moon! *shudder*
4. Did not know about the prison. The guards must be pretty hard-core, too.
5. I’m grooming most of the weekend (again), but no complaints!
Hope you have a good one!
SuperMax is very hard core. They have tiny rooms (7×12 ft) with a small TV that only shows recreational, educational, or religious programming with little to no visitors. Currently there are 322 inmates. Each cell has a desk, stool, and bed, constructed almost entirely of poured concrete. It’s a grim place, just driving past gave Mum the willies.
Thanks for the kind thoughts for my Dad. We thought there was a witch in the sky too! This year has been a pretty good year for tulips for some reason. Usually the daffodils do better because they can withstand snow and bounce back. Tulips…not as much. They flop an never come back. Doggone floppers! Enjoy a mellow weekend.
Yay Spring, but I am still cold!
Our mornings are still around freezing with the days warming up to anywhere from 40-65. It’s bloody yo-yo temps!
Here in Maryland we had one day with an 80 degrees temperature. Could you believe that? This week the temperature is the same as yours.
We know exactly what you’re talking about-one day we set a record temp and then 36 hours later, it snowed. Whaaaaattt? 🙂
Wow!
It looks like it is still snowing there.
At the higher elevations, yes, a fair amount of the white stuff that’s needed to fill reservoirs and fulfill downstream needs.
Wow! So much wonderful nature this week….the skies have been beautiful here too!!
xoxo,
Sunny & Rosy
Thanks. Spring does amazing things to skies in this part of the country. Have a super weekend.
What lovely blooms you have! Our crabapples have not even begun to think of blooming yet. A tulip here and there; lots of daffs and crocus, of course but hey, I know they will be here, too, eventually 🙂
Happy Friday and I wish for you all a wonderful weekend!
Hopefully Spring will arrive sooner than later. It’s odd now come to think about it, we’ve not seen a whole lot of daffodils and only one of ours has bloomed so far. Hmm. 🤔
Spring is here for us. Still no lilacs but that’s okay – something to look forward to!
Daffodils are plentiful (not my fave but nice to see) though mine are still flowerless – maybe they know how I feel? And some tulips have popped but the full on display is yet to come.
Ironically daffodils seem to be shy in appearing this year. Tulips however have taken center stage.
That’s just cray-cray!
I thought so too at first then realized everything needs its own special spotlight.
Which makes perfect sense, of course.
omd the poodle skeletons!
Aren’t they hilarious?
Well, in spite of your crazy weather, it’s looking quite pretty there! Max always cleans out both his own and Copper Sue’s bowl quite thoroughly. We usually have to take the bowls away, he’s even put dents in the stainless steel!
You sure he’s not part Old English Sheepdog? LOL Have a great weekend.
Not sure whether comment got through….this new computer is killing me.
It did. WordPress seems to stroke out during the day and delays comments from being seen. Apparently the ‘Net highway is more like a dirt road. 😬
Mum thought it was funny. There used to be a large mob presence in the area and perhaps stems from that. Seems more appropriate at Halloween than springtime. Have a lovely weekend.
Lovely spring flowers…..and there is no way I would try that restaurant – goodness only knows how i would end up!