Well, we’ve gone and done it…managed to survive 2025 (presuming we can get through the next two days but we’re trying to be optimistic). It was a bit touch and go there for a while but look what doggedness will do for you.
I’m personally not into the whole resolutions thing and Wilson seems to echo my sentiment telling me…and I’m quoting here…”None of this New Year/new me bollocks. Last year I was floofy and fabulous and this coming year I’ll be floofy and fabulous.” Period.
Well ok then…I guess he and I won’t be having that conversation reviewing/reiterating the house rules. Though I still will continue to try to enforce cajole the barking rule. Wish me luck.
Since we’re not party animals it’ll just be the Floof and me ringing in the new year. I personally will be taking a hard look at went well last year and reflect on how it lines up with my goals. None of that resolution thing but we will try to be hopeful for 2026 and hope however you ring in your new year, it’ll meet all your resolutions/expectations. Best wishes for safe and Happy New Year from the Ranch, erm…Barn. Happy Monday.
Limited decor but happy to have enjoyed a small tree
{Yawn, s-t-r-e-t-c-h} Here we are after spending a quiet day in our new home. Not sure why but Mum overslept this morning (she didn’t do a lot of much yesterday after having her son and partner for a little brunch-sadly without images…clearly the time she’s been away trying to get us settled in has left her a bit deficit in proper brain function…i.e. she forgot to take photos) but I nudged her out of bed with my legendary “quilt” move where I jump up on the bed and smother her. But enough about her shortcomings, I love still her. It was a good day for just hanging out, getting chin scratches from the visitors and a great walk along the creek. I’ve reminded Mum the best way to settle in to the new home is to take loads of walks liberally enhanced with loads of treats for making me feel more comfortable in the new environment. We hope those of you who celebrated the Christmas holiday had a day that was merry and bright with lots of tasty snacks and good cheer.
Today we’re climbing back into the blogging saddle and joining our friends at Adventures of the LLB Gang. Be sure to check out what others shared for their Nature Friday blog hop. While Mum is trying to open her eyes with a second cup of coffee, let me share a few of the things we’ve seen over the past three weeks since our big move.
Wilson: First up…here’s the ‘before’ reveal. A real hellscape and something that had Mum wondering what was she thinking. But despite being a bit OCD about stuff being in its proper place, she put her paws in front of one another and made daily progress. Notice how hard I am working snoopervising the move in.
Wilson: A real mess, right? And that was just the downstairs! It was worse upstairs. Well, I’m happy to report her doggedness has paid off, everything downstairs has now been put into its proper spot and you can actually walk about without stubbing a paw on a bin or box. Thank dog! The language I’ve heard over the past 3 weeks has been shocking and I’m not one to blush.
The Mum: Hey, that’s not fair…I noticed you howled a couple of times yourself.
Wilson: Oops, hi Mum. Thought I was doing a solo today. Ahem…sorry about that characterization. Since misery loves company, Mum reminds herself that this is a community that’s still under construction and more folks will begin to move in and enjoy the move in process that we had {snicker}. We already met the couple at the end of our lane. Mum shakes her head-those folks have managed to complete all manner of projects since moving in (i.e. painting their garage walls as well as painting the garage floor and power-washing all the mud from the sidewalks. They make her back hurt just watching these two eager beavers. I tried to make her feel better by saying there are two of them and she’s only one person. Sadly, she hasn’t been overly dissuaded about her feelings of inadequacy (she continually refers to it as slug-ness) so I’ve reminded her that envy is the thief of joy but she usually just stomps upstairs with an armload of things for the studio, grumbling with each step.
The Mum: You’re right about the theft of joy. I’ll try to do…
Wilson: {interrupting} Well I say a good place to start would be to bust open those presents of treats for me that Santa Paws delivered and stop being so stingy with dishing out the goodies he left me. And for heaven’s sake, be grateful for all you’ve done and accomplished. Sheesh, Rome wasn’t built in a day.
The Mum: I’ll try to keep that in mind. Obviously the dude in red thought you were a pretty good boy this year and not just a pretty face.
Wilson: Well I could have told you that but you were too busy being consumed with thoughts of inadequacy. At any rate, enough about the move…we could fill volumes but I have a few photos from the neighborhood around us to share.
The Mum: Yes, you’re absolutely right. What have you got for us, House Pony?
Wilson: Well, my daily walks are a veritable sniff fest. I’m beginning to think I might even be part bloodhound who’s tracking a burglar. It’s. been. awesome!
The Mum: Yes, I’ve noticed you are enjoying sniffs along our regular route. Haven’t seen as much wildlife as we’d hoped yet for but the wildlife habitat that we walk through might have provided more than just the thousands of Canadian Geese we see/hear along the trail. But there have been loads of dogs, walkers, bicyclists that we’ve passed and it has been interesting seeing so many dogs in strollers with elderly owners pushing them along. The demographics of this neighborhood range from little ones to seniors and is a nice mix of folks.
Wilson: Somehow I don’t see you being able to push me anywhere. We are both entertained with the vegetation, mostly dried grasses (the best sniffs) and downed logs along the creek which is very dry as we’ve experienced temps in the 60’s & 70’sF since after the day we moved in when there was 4 inches of white stuff on the ground making the move quite the challenge. We’ve been told the gravy train of unseasonably warm temps will run out this weekend and temps will be back in the normal range-30’s & 40’s with the possibility of some accompanying moisture. We can only hope. The sunrises have been spectacular and I can’t help but recite the old adage…”red skies in morning, sailor take warning-red skies at night, sailor’s delight.”
The Mum: The sunrises have been pretty spectacular. The above photo was taken the first morning we woke up in the new house and has been repeated numerous times during last week’s power outages amidst the hurricane force winds. Christmas was the most unusual we’ve ever experienced-it was 70F (21C).
Wilson: Well I know you’re constantly grossing about it being too dry but I’ve enjoyed these fair weather temps. You’ll get no complaints from me.
The Mum: You and a jillion others around the region but skiers and environmentalists continue to worry about the unseasonably warm weather.
Wilson: Well, I say we enjoy it while we can. January and February are coming up and they are the coldest, driest months. But there’s still lots to enjoy.
Flying geeseStill water
The Mum: Indeed, for a few days this week, I couldn’t help but wonder if the mallard couples may have blown away because we hadn’t seen any in the canal along on the trail this week.
Wilson: It has been mostly quiet on the trail, with only a few of the many Canadian Geese populating the nearby golf course.
The Mum: Here’s hoping everyone has a great last weekend of 2025 and a Happy Kawanzaa. We’re looking forward to ushering in a New Year next week. Which reminds me, guess I’d better get cracking on putting up shelves this weekend to better utilize the remaining time in this year and to pack up the Christmas decor now that we’ve enjoyed our first Christmas in the new house. Have a great weekend.
Wilson: And don’t forget to enjoy every single minute along your own trail.
We’re baaack! And hopefully for good after our return to Blogville following the big move was delayed by a few days last week when Xcel Energy decided to initiate ‘preventive power outages’ after high wind alerts were forecast which added a layer to getting settled after quite the moving day experience (I cannot recommend being up 24 hrs straight on moving day for anyone, much less someone my age-the first few days I was stupid exhausted). It finally feels good to sit at the keyboard in my own home wearing sandals without being surrounded by (a) too many boxes around or (b) having to drive to a nearby bakery to charge devices, filch a WiFi signal to catch up with the world and (c) nosh on scrumptious pastries and drink regular coffee. Notice, I mentioned sandals…we’ve experienced unbelievably warm temps and set a few records. Today we’re looking at reaching another record temp with low 70’s. In December!
I can’t begin to thank the family-owned bakery folks who welcomed me during the power outage and gave me a place to hang out using their WiFi while charging my devices. I told them they could claim me as a tax deduction for all the graciousness that the entire Meyer family provided me. Thanks to them, I wasn’t completely removed from the modern world (at least for a for a few hours a day) but will admit life without electricity is no bueno and definitely not for the faint of heart. I now have a deep and abiding appreciation for electricity that is typically taken for granted. If you’re ever in the Denver area, please go by and enjoy their kindness and tasty confections at Das Meyer Fine Pastry Chalet. Judging by Saturday’s non-stop crowd coming in all morning long to pick up their Christmas cakes and other treats, they are beloved by many in the metro area. Plus they have fresh eggs for $5 a dozen. I haven’t seen eggs that price since forever.
After trading our ‘Ranch’ in for a ‘barn’ (more about that soon), let’s get back to our regular routine and enjoy a smile or three, something we’ve desperately needed these past two weeks.
I couldn’t agree more with these next two smiles. Sadly, both come from personal experience.
Not an exaggeration
However you celebrate this holiday season, we wish this week fills your heart with loads of Christmas spirit and ushers you forward to a wonderful New Year.
Well, we’ve gone and done it…managed to survive 2025 (presuming we can get through the next two days but we’re trying to be optimistic). It was a bit touch and go there for a while but look what doggedness will do for you.
Wilson: A real mess, right? And that was just the downstairs! It was worse upstairs. Well, I’m happy to report her doggedness has paid off, everything downstairs has now been put into its proper spot and you can actually walk about without stubbing a paw on a bin or box. Thank dog! The language I’ve heard over the past 3 weeks has been shocking and I’m not one to blush.
We’re baaack! And hopefully for good after our return to Blogville following the big move was delayed by a few days last week when Xcel Energy decided to initiate ‘preventive power outages’ after high wind alerts were forecast which added a layer to getting settled after quite the moving day experience (I cannot recommend being up 24 hrs straight on moving day for anyone, much less someone my age-the first few days I was stupid exhausted). It finally feels good to sit at the keyboard in my own home wearing sandals without being surrounded by (a) too many boxes around or (b) having to drive to a nearby bakery to charge devices, filch a WiFi signal to catch up with the world and (c) nosh on scrumptious pastries and drink regular coffee. Notice, I mentioned sandals…we’ve experienced unbelievably warm temps and set a few records. Today we’re looking at reaching another record temp with low 70’s. In December!
