Nature Friday ~ December 1, 2023

Elsa🎵 Oh give me a home…where the buffalo roam and the deer and the antelope play…🎶…oh, hi,ya remember me? Elsa here and after a long time away, I’m back from the Thanksgiving Day break visiting Mom’s Dad in Southern Colorado. It wasn’t intended to be  extended but Mom was  kinda stranded with poor cell phone coverage and no Wi-Fi. I don’t know what Wi-Fi is but it spun my Mom into a real tizzy. She’s not a techno-wizard type and really had a hard time dealing with all the behind-the-scenes machinations of getting everything back to normal and restoring the network so to say she was stressed out was an understatement, but I came to her rescue providing just the kind of Ninja support she needed…but no I didn’t chew anything up. After working 87 hours and a few days on getting the network up and running with lots of crossed paws…we think everything is ok. We’ll be talking with Grandpa later this morning to make sure nothing fell through the cracks.

So here we are, the first Friday of December and that means we’re going to some views of Mother Nature from the past week or so. As always, we’re joining our friends, Rosy and Sunny from LLB in Our Backyard to share photos from Nature this week from time spent in southeast Colorado over the holiday. You ready for this?

Before Mom went to PW, she saw a rare sight in late November-a butterfly on a walk before the weather turned cold. It startled her when it popped up but true to its nature, stayed fairly low to the ground and hung out on the fallen leaves. They’re super skittish and didn’t linger long before flying away.

Autumn butterfly
Mostly likely an Orange Sulphur Butterfly

A rare November snow storm hit Pueblo West on Thanksgiving while the extended family gnawed on turkey, ham and all the trimmings. Mom’s sister and her family drove up from Texas and her grandkids enjoyed the little snow that Nature kindly provided. The adults weren’t quite as enamoured as the kids were, but everyone enjoyed being together, eating, laughing, playing games, watching football and yes eating again. Talk about a food coma!

Tiny snowman
A super tiny and rarely sighted snowman on the prairie in November

Mom can’t stop gawping on and on about the view of Pikes Peak, the prairie and sunrises. She never gets tired of seeing one of Colorado’s most famous peaks. On the other hand, I’m happy to sniff for bunnies when I’m there, but it’s more like I can take it or leave it. Mom says I’m missing out on all the teeming wildlife. I keep telling her unless she’s actually letting me chase a bunny or two or better, prairie dogs instead of watching sunrises and wide open spaces, I’m more…meh.

Pikes Peak
Snow on Pikes Peak before storm hit the plains
Sunrise
Early morning sunrise
Pikes Peak sunrise
Sunrise on Pikes Peak
Sunrise
Pink sunrise to the east

Mom says she could watch the sunrise every morning and always takes a jillion pics as it goes from intense colors to pale as the sun rises. She raves about those pink and orange skies. I, on the other hand, am more interest in seeing prairie dogs, bunnies, deer and antelope. Talk about curious creatures. Those prairie dogs stay well away from the ‘jaws of death’ and as soon as they see me, they scurry their chunky bodies down into their burrows. I’m surprised they can fit. Those were the chubbiest prairie dogs Mom’s ever seen. Guess with the rain this summer, the grass was in abundance. I told Mom it wasn’t fair they’ve been celebrating Thanksgiving for months if their  little chubby tummies were any indication. This guy is hard to see as he was pretty far away and Mom only had her cell phone with which to capture him so sorry for the crummy pic. They don’t pose for long before diving into those light tan burrow mounds.

Prairie dog

Even deer avoid getting close, preferring to stay far enough away from humans and dogs. That said, sometimes they come close to the road in evening hours and end up paying for it. Nature is nothing, if not cruel.

Deer
White-tailed deer in distancer
Deer skeleton
White-tailed deer skeleton next to the road

Still don’t know why she wouldn’t let me have that antler. I could have chewed on that puppy for ages.

On a morning walk before the snowstorm, Mom captured the Spanish peaks far to the south. Usually they’re pretty pale bumps from Grandpa’s house since they are over 102 miles way to the south of Pueblo West even though they range in height from 13,623 feet (4,152 m), to 12,708 feet (3,873 m).

Spanish Peaks
Spanish Peaks with Greenhorn Mountain on the right

We’re waiting for a couple of new fronts this weekend that will likely include a flurry or two. Seems like a good time to stay inside and may pull out some holiday decorations. This is the time of year where the house is filled with the scent of hot cocoa and evergreen boughs. Whatever you do, we hope you have a lovely weekend and spot some scenes from Nature. Stay safe and warm.

Nature Friday

Live, love, bark! 🐾

 

Nature Friday ~ November 10, 2023

Welcome to Nature Friday where we join our friends, Rosy and Sunny from LLB in Our Backyard to check out scenes from Nature around our ‘Hood. Elsa here to bring you the latest hodgepodge from the 303. So come along with me on a recent walk and check it out for yourselves. And while you’re at it, don’t forget to click on the link to see what others have shared.

This past week’s commitments kept Mom from taking very many pics but we decided to share a few recent ones before the weather changed. She’s starting noticing that folks are [finally] putting their Halloween decor back in their storage sheds and even though Thanksgiving is next up on the holiday calendar, waaay too many people have catapulted directly into Christmas. What the dog, people? Can’t we enjoy a few pumpkin pies and some tasty turkey first? I say we need to acknowledge gratitude more than ever these days and what better time than at the holiday recognizing it…Thanksgiving.

Let’s get started, okay? We walk by this house every day and have shared an image before of that rooftop creature. But on its last day being out (they were getting ready to take everything down), it was such a nice morning, Mom took another photo that was much better than the other one. Needless to say, it creeped me out. I swear that thing was watching me like a hawk and I was just grateful it didn’t fly down after me, though I was prepared to go all Ninja on him.

Halloween

Creepy, right? Guess some people just like macabre. There’s so much decor in this yard though, I can’t walk passed it quick enough. It tires my eyes out just walking by. After leaving this block and heading toward the old Elitches carousel, we noticed this scene. Mom and I rolled our eyes. Umm…seriously? A Christmas tree pop-up lot…this early in November? Ugh.

Christmas tree lot

At least some things we walk past transcend seasons. Mom discovered this carved tree when she first moved into the neighborhood over twenty years ago and it always delights her though it could use another coat of weatherproof stain. It’s about 10-12 feet tall and Mom always wonders about what the tree looked like before it was recreated into this art piece. She had to chuckle at the round rocks placed at the feet of the eagle to resemble eggs.

Carved treeIt sure beats seeing this Silver Maple that didn’t fare nearly as well, with the owners cutting it all the way down. As you can see, the interior is quite hollowed out and even carving probably wouldn’t have made a difference. This is the biggest problem with Silver Maples here and the city has all but declared war on them and having homeowners remove them. Still, we can’t help but mourn the loss of any mature tree.

Dead tree

One thing we’ve noticed lately have been the brilliant sunrises. Mom was in awe of waking up to this scene on consecutive mornings.

Sunrise The orange light was stunning, if I do say so myself. Now if I can just get Mom to get some software to edit out those doggone electric and cable wires. What are you going do with moms some days?

Well, that’s about it for today. Like I said, Mom has been busy  and it didn’t help she had to spend significant time trying to coax a stubborn Wi-Fi signal back to life on a couple of days. I’ll leave with one more pic showing the latest fad we’ve seen this autumn, blue pumpkins. What’s your take on these non-traditionally colored pumpkins? I think I prefer the traditional ones.

Pumpkins

Have yourself a swell weekend and don’t forget to go for a walk and take in some of the beauty Nature leaves for you to check out. It’ll be good for your health and you just might see something pretty unique.

Nature Friday

Live, love, bark! 🐾

Nature Friday ~ November 3, 2023

Welcome to the first Friday of November. My goodness, any idea as to how in the dog did we got to November already? As always we’re joining our friends from Adventures of the LLB GangMake sure you click on the link to see what else was shared.

The Mom: Yoo-hoo, oh Elsa…time to share pics from this week for Nature Friday.

Elsa

Elsa: Nope, not coming out. I’m still recovering from the humiliation I suffered from wearing that ridiculous Halloween outfit.

The Mom: Aww come on, everyone thought you were cute.

Elsa: Cute?? Baby ducks are cute! I am a Ninja.

The Mom: Ahh sweetie, I’m sorry if you’re feeling bad about your Halloween photo. I was super proud of you for posing so nicely. You did well, Ninja.

Elsa: Of course I did well. Remember, I’m a total professional.

The Mom: And professionals don’t pout. They lift their head, put their big girl pants on and get back to doing what they are extra good at.

Elsa: Nope, I told you already…I’m not doing it.

The Mom: {begging while pulling out the extra high value treats from the cupboard} Please? For me? {crinkling the package}

Elsa: Oh man, you don’t play fair, do you? You know I can’t resist those dehydrated fish skins. They are so addictive and I absolutely love them. Ok, but you better keep ’em flowing if you expect me to share this week’s nature looks from around the ‘Hood. Got it, Kemosabe?

The Mom: Deal! So other than Halloween, what have you been up to this week?

Elsa: Well, there was that 6 inches of white stuff that hit us over the weekend. That was kind of an adventure. And then there was the cold that followed. But I gotta admit, I’ve been having a blast eating my weight in snow on our walks.

Elsa eating snow

The Mom: Yeah, you have been obsessed with chewing snow along our walks. What’s up with that?

Elsa: IMy new job-I’m on water quality control recognisance. Denver Water contacted me to check it out for dogs everywhere in the metro area.

The Mom: Uh-huh…sure. I don’t think that’s a real job.

Elsa: It is for me. I can’t let snow that’s built up next to sidewalks go un-tasted. Plus, I’m keeping hydrated-very important for us canine ninjas.

The Mom: {eyes rolling} Maybe we ought to move along. So what would you like to feature this week?

Elsa: Well, let’s go with the obvious. Like I said, it snowed about 6 inches of white stuff but then it also added about 87 inches of green stuff.

The Mom: Don’t remind me. The Silver Maple and the Catalpa trees didn’t appreciate the weather and kinda went crazy shedding leaves.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Elsa: Thanks for raking them up from the sidewalk…you know how much I despise walking on them…although I noticed they aren’t crunchy, but they are gross and mushy. Still…no bueno in my books.

The Mom: I agree, they stick to my shoes and your paws and we both end up dragging them into the house. Definitely no bueno. Vacuuming every 12 minutes is not my idea of fun and games.

Elsa: You’ll get no argument from me on vacuuming. That noisy beast scares me.

The Mom: And then as if on cue, the wind came up and dropped another ton. I need to figure out what to do with them in the interim since it’ll be next week before the city will collect leaves for the compost project. Sigh.

Elsa: Ugh. Don’t tell me things like that. I’ll worry my pretty little head off.

The Mom: Oh no, don’t do that. It’s just that it is that time of year where leaves fall; we just have to accept this part of Mother Nature.

Elsa: {boo…hiss} I vote no.

The Mom: Sadly, it won’t make a difference on that kind of vote.

Elsa: Harumph…so much for democracy.

The Mom: {shaking her head} Oh sweetie…what else you got?

Elsa: Well I was thinking we should share pics of those funky critters we encountered. I still can’t believe why some uprights put this kind of stuff in their gardens!

The Mom: The first one really cracked me up. Everyone around here has jumped on the Colorado Buffaloes bandwagon and their notorious Coach Prime…aka Deion Sanders. Lo and behold when I walked over to the Post Office, I came across this new sculpture. It took me a second to realize it’s a buffalo! Interesting metal work, don’t you think?

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Elsa: Hmm, not sure I get it but this just goes to show art is in the eyes of the beholder. I was pleased to see you were brave enough to walk up the stairs to photograph that giraffe but glad you captured it quickly. That guard dog was none too pleased with us scoping out his giraffe. Speaking of giraffe, isn’t that the one we saw through the trees back in August? You can see that post here.

The Mom: Good memory, Ninja. Yes, it was obscured through all the brush but I decided to get closer now that most of the leaves have fallen. I really do like that piece. So unusual.

Elsa: Well as long as I don’t have to give that guard dog a piece of my mind, I guess it’s ok. Sheesh, not very hospitable was he? You should have let me teach him some manners.

The Mom: Umm, no..that’s fine. Besides, he was just protecting his giraffe. That’s his job and you wouldn’t want to deprive him of his job, now would you?

Elsa: {pondering for a moment} Yeah, you’re probably right but I was ready to go Rocky on his butt. Nobody talks to my Mom like that and gets away with it.

The Mom: Aww, aren’t you sweet? So I went back to Sloan’s Lake a couple of days ago to see how things looked after last week. All the gold and reddish colored trees have dropped their leaves but the cattails were kind of interesting. I also noticed the squirrels and birds should get nice & chonky this month with pumpkins and fruit setting on trees.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Elsa: Mt. Evans in the distant with the snow was kinda cool. Too bad you couldn’t get a better angle from the hill. It was much prettier than this pic lets on.

The Mom: Sometimes you just gotta go with what you can get. Still, it was a pretty morning looking west from the lake instead of toward downtown.

Elsa: Well that’s it from me. So…got anything cooking for the weekend? I think we’re just gonna chill (though it will be nice around here for a few days). Whatever you do, we hope you get outside and check out what Nature’s got going on. We realize it’s that time of year where things get busy as folks gear up for the holidays, but trust me…it’d be good to look around and see the beauty out there. Have a ‘wagnificent’ weekend.

Nature Friday

Live, love, bark! 🐾

Nature Friday ~ October 27, 2023

Elsa

Well, well, well…lo and behold…it’s  Friday. Elsa here, your intrepid blogging queen with another episode of Nature Friday where we join our New Mexico pals, Rosy and Sunny from LLB in Our Backyard. Don’t forget to click on the link to see what else has been shared.

Elsa: It’s been one of those beautiful autumn weeks with mild temps, blue-bird and cloudless skies and then Nature sent out a memo now that autumn isn’t going to last forever and to get your affairs in order. All our walks have been punctuated with the sound of psst as sprinkling systems were getting shut down.

The Mom:  Right. Last night’s freeze was a rather rude awakening, wasn’t it?

Elsa: Sheesh…rude doesn’t begin to cover it. Even with my luxurious furs, I can tell you straight up that I won’t mind wearing a coat on the morning walk. And the forecast of 1-3″ of white stuff for the weekend with highs in the 30’s…yikes! Oh sure the changing leaves have been terrific, at least the trees received and actually read the memo that ‘things be a-changing,’ but what’s up with all the roses in bloom right now? Oh sure, I expect mums to be blooming this time of year, but what the dog are the roses doing by giving nature the middle thorn and blooming all over the place?

The Mom: {interrupting} Excuse me…middle thorn??

Elsa: Yes, I was being metaphorical.

The Mom: Well, let’s not be quite as crudely metaphorical in the future okay, kiddo?

Elsa: There you go again, harshing on my mellow. As I was saying before you crushed my flow, there have been ooodles of leaves that have turned and started their annual drop although these looked like apple slices to me.

Leaves

The Mom: Yeah, wasn’t it fun to walk through them? Crunch, crunch, crunch {squealing with delight}.

Elsa: Umm, yeah, no. You may enjoy that crunching but I’m barefooted, or did you forget?

The Mom: Oops, I hadn’t really thought about it from that perspective. Sorry..

Elsa: Well I will concede the ash trees have been pretty amazing-they always are but I still don’t like to walk on their fallen leaves.

Ash tree

The Mom: Considering how bizarre the autumn weather has been, the ash trees really have been pretty colorful. Too many of the maples and elms have just turned brown around the edges and will, no doubt be on the ground once the snow arrives. I noticed this spruce tree where fallen leaves ‘decorated’ the boughs like it was some sort of Christmas tree all dressed up. I’d never seen a leaf garland like that before.

Spruce tree and leaves

Elsa: Nice, but did you get a good look at that ornamental plum we passed by? I almost needed sunglasses it was so bright and colorful. The light was just amazing.

Plum tree

The Mom: Yes, I stopped dead in my tracks because of that beautiful color.

Elsa:  Trust me, I did notice that. There I was happily sniffing through the leaves and {imitating screeching brakes} you just froze. You know our walks are for my olfactory pleasure not for your visual delight.

The Mom: Oh, excuse me. I just got caught up in the moment. Sorry.

Elsa: Ok, just this time. So can you explain why all the roses are going bonkers blooming? For a summer flower, I guess these guys decided to go down in a blaze of beauty. I sure hope Miss Rosy likes these babies.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

The Mom: They sure caught my eye too. But nothing like what I saw in the dog run. I saw these weird, swirly tracks in the dirt and couldn’t for the life of me, figure out what or who left them, and then I found the source. A big worm made them. I moved him back toward where he started out because he was quite a bit away from the initial swirls for that picture, before relocating him permanently.

Elsa: I think he was stoned or worse, high-neither one of us could make any sense out of his path or those swirls. Then again, maybe he just was trying to stay dry after a light shower we received but I’m no worm expert. I’m glad you ended up gently placing him in the front garden to hide in the mulch-maybe he’ll do some aerating before the cold/snow gets him. I think I’m going to name him Jake. Yup, Jake, the Snake…er, worm.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

The Mom: I have my paws crossed for him too. You’ve named him, I see. Oh brother.

Elsa: Doesn’t everyone deserve a name? I mean you named the mouse that lives in the compost bin.

The Mom: {stuttering} Er, umm, well okay, maybe we’ll keep our eyes open for ‘Jake’ in the future.

Elsa: Thought you’d see it my way. So I noticed you were going through the box that houses the dog costumes and hats. I know Halloween is next week. You weren’t thinking of dressing me up now, were you?

The Mom: Umm, me? Uh, probably not.

Elsa: Yeah…I heard you giggling as you found some of the stuff you used to dress up Norman and Sam. Please, I beg of you…don’t do it. No self-respecting poodle wants to be dressed up like that. I’ll be the laughing stock of Blogville and I’ll look ridiculous and be totally humiliated.

The Mom: {innocently whistling while looking the other way} Umm, I’ll think about it.

Elsa: Mom, please, I’m begging you {making sad puppy dog eyes…desperately pleading}. People will think I’m a sell-out.

The Mom: You worry too much. {changing the subject} So…got any plans for the weekend, Ninja?

Elsa: With the snow and temps in the 30’s? Umm, yeah, lots of cozy naps while this storm blows over. I’m no ordinary fool. Throw in couple of toys for a good old fashioned chew-fest and I’ll be good.

Elsa

The Mom: Well whatever you do, we both hope you manage to enjoy whatever Nature has in store for your region. Make it a great weekend.

Elsa: Yeah, what Mom said.

Nature Friday

Live, love, bark! 🐾

Nature Friday ~ October 13, 2023

Tra, la, la, la, la…doh, dum, de, do….Greetings, peeps, Elsa here to share this week’s Hodge-Podge Friday scenes from around the Ranch.

The Mom: Umm, sweetie…it’s “Nature Friday” not Hodge-Podge Friday. Would you like to correct that so we can get started  as we join our pals, Rosy and Sunny from LLB in Our Backyard.

Elsa: Nope, not happening. I’m calling it Hodge-Podge Friday because none of the photos you took have any real theme. I looked up hodge-podge in the online Oxford Dictionary and it specifically defines it as, and I quote, a confused mixture. So nope, it stays Hodge-Podge Friday.

The Mom: Ahem…well ex-cuussse me. Jeez, you’re pretty scrappy today. What’s got your backside all up in arms?

Elsa: Nothing special. My blog, my post. Now can we get on with it? I got things to do.

The Mom: Bwahahaha, what do you have to do today?

Elsa: I’m a dog, there’s always something to do. We are always busy, even if you don’t think so.

Sleeping Elsa

The Mom: I see…so is that what you consider as ‘so busy?’

Elsa: Erm…I’m thinking…this blogging thing is harder than it looks. Now can I get on with it?

The Mom: Fine by me. What ‘cha got?

Elsa: Well I know you went to another Dragon Boat Race last weekend, this one in Broomfield. You must really like those races. Not sure I’m on board with all that water activity but whatever floats your boat. I will give you the fact that it was a pretty autumn day. Are we through the hot temps…finally?

Broomfield park

The Mom: Well you know Colorado. I’m sure there’ll be a day or two in the 80’sºF over the next couple of weeks, but it’s probably safe to say, most likely.

Elsa: You sure know how to slice the hair in half. Is this from all the years you worked in the legal field, quibbling over terms like ‘may’ as opposed to just stating a fact?

The Mom: Ahem…I don’t quibble. But I am just trying to express the possibilities that may or may not happen.

Elsa: See, you did it again!! What the dog, Mom!

The Mom: Oops, I guess I do tend to equivocate sometimes. Sorry.

Elsa: Whatever. Just wanted you to be aware that I’m keenly aware of how you do that. So I noticed one dog at least tried to compete with the boat racers. What was up with that knucklehead?

Dog in Water

The Mom: Whaddu mean? He was just enjoying a simply swim and there weren’t any Canadian geese to race against the boats.

Elsa: Swim and enjoyment are mutually exclusive in my books.

The Mom: {eyes rolling} To each her own, right? Remember we talked about this thing called tolerance, Elsa.

Elsa: Ugh…I just want people to know how dumb it seems for dogs to actually jump in water and swim. You wouldn’t catch me doing that…not for all the bones in Denver.

The Mom: But some dogs DO enjoy it so let them have their fun.

Elsa: Sheesh…so where’s an actual picture of a race? I know this was not nearly as large an event but let me see for myself.

Dragon Boat Race

The Mom: You’re correct, it was a smaller venue but I mean…Dragon Boats! It was fun watching folks compete and it looked like they all had a good time. I especially enjoyed the entertainment from a couple of dance groups from the Asian Pacific community. Such colorful costumes on kids as young as 10 years old dancing for the small crowd.

Elsa: You think it was small because they’ve only been doing it for the past 3 years at that park? Seems a shame considering how many thousands experienced the one at Sloan’s Lake back in July.

The Mom: Could be, but I’m sure more folks will start attending. It wasn’t even close to hot which was a huge plus. The drawback was I couldn’t walk to the venue and it seemed like so far though it was only about 20 miles away. I just rarely drive that far.

Dragon Boat Race

Dragon Boat Race

Dragon Boat Race

Elsa: Ooh, I’d love to chase those twirling skirts and I’m sure that littlest girl would love to have me lay my head in her lap. Maybe next time, I’ll go.

The Mom: Umm, hate to break it to you, even though dogs are welcome to the event, they aren’t allowed on stage. So, no…that ain’t gonna happen.

Elsa: {ruckus…rats…%$&#} You just never let me have any fun!

The Mom: I’m sure if you learned to dance, they’d allow you on stage, but I don’t make the rules.

Elsa: I notice our neighbors are getting into the Halloween spirit full bore. I heard you tell the lady you’re making them Instagram stars.

Skellies

Skellies

The Mom: {snicker} Well I wouldn’t say Instagram stars but a lot of people sure seem to enjoy my posts and have contacted me to get the address so they can see them in person. The theme this week was ‘camping.’ I had to chuckle, though with the 2 dozen Skellies they must have, it must take an entire weekend to dress and set the props for the scene. It makes me smile whenever I go past that house.

Elsa: I saw that one dog who started barking at the big skellies, growling with raised hackles. What a rube!

The Mom: Now, now, Elsa…Halloween can be scary for some dogs. You used to bark your head off whenever Trick-er-treaters rang our doorbell in costume.

Elsa: Those were serial killers, I was only protecting the Ranch.

The Mom: {eyes rolling} Oh Elsa…you slay me sometimes.

Elsa: Glad I can be of comedic entertainment for you. Just don’t come crying to me when something bad happens. I take my security duties quite seriously. So is there anything else autumnal, this week?

The Mom: Well as a matter of fact, yes. Leaves are s-l-o-w-l-y beginning to change. A few here and there. This one was all aglow when we walked over to the library.

Changing leaves

Elsa: Pretty, yes, but the crunching leaves kind of bother my feet. The jury is still out on this whole autumn thing. But I do appreciate the cooler temps. And what the dog was this guy doing sashaying along the sidewalk this week?

The Mom: I know, right? There were 4 dogs in the nearby vicinity and he just waltzed past us. Blew me away. Usually they dash so fast I can’t get any kind of pic that close.

Fox

Elsa: Did you see my jaw drop open? I don’t know what he was thinking walking past us and the other dogs. I’m still flabbergasted.

The Mom: It was one of the more unusual encounters we’ve had. Seeing foxes always makes me smile.

Elsa: Me too. I think I could be a good friend if only they’d let me.

The Mom: Probably not, but it’s a nice thought. Well that’s it for this week. It wasn’t too bad, was it?

Elsa: Hodge-podge, Mom, definitely hodge-podge. So what’s on board for your weekend? Got anything going on? Whatever you do, we hope you get to see some of the pretty things Nature is serving up right now.

Nature Friday

Live, love, bark! 🐾

Nature Friday ~ October 6, 2023

ElsaDoh-de-do-do…”leaf your worries behind,” I always say, because it’s now October. Oh hi, Elsa here to share some 411 about leaf peeping with scenes from around the ‘Hood and our state. As always, we are joining our pals, Rosy and Sunny from LLB in Our Backyard. Don’t forget to click on the link to see what else has been shared.

So a ‘funny’ thing happened this week. We didn’t see it but heard about it on the news. The weather people were saying if you planned to catch any “gold in them thar hills,” you better get a cracking because some white stuff dusted a few mountain peaks and snow always makes leaves fall quickly, from what I’ve been told. White stuff? What the dog?! Sure, I go on and on about the brutal summer temps but I wasn’t inviting Mother Nature to take me so seriously. Eek…I take it all back, Mother Nature. Can we do a quick rewind? We’re not quite ready for that drastic of a change, though Mom said it’ll be back in the 80’s before we see white stuff. ‘Course, I reminded her we do tend to get bouts of nasty weather around Halloween just to mess with the Trick-or-treaters. Time will tell who’s a better forecaster but you can bet your life I’ll be barking it in her face if it’s me.

Snow and changing leaves
Courtesy of Denver Channel 7, Alaine Nicole
Mountain Splendor in autumn
Courtesy of Denver Channel 7 website

Although it was pretty shocking to see snow in gold leaves on aspens, these are some of the prettiest photos Mom and I have ever seen of the changing colors. I think the first one is from somewhere around Crested Butte and the second one may be near Telluride (or vice-versa). Gotta admit though, you’d be hard press to find anything prettier than that lake reflection photo.

Meanwhile up on Quanella Pass near Georgetown, a mere 56 miles west of Denver, the leaves did what was expected of them this time of year…as in wow visitors and locals alike with their exquisite beauty.

Changing leaves
Courtesy of Denver Channel 7 website ~Quanella Pass

Pretty stunning, huh? Gotta love Colorado for it’s autumn gold. While we may not have the brilliant oranges and reds  typically seen out on the East Coast, I’d put our aspens up against them any day of the week.

High country roads have been filled tourists and looky-loos so Mom and I wanted to see if there was anything around our patch to avoid the cluster of driving I-70 after the recent trip to Glenwood. Turns out there are actually some spots of color around the ‘Hood with more showing up each day.

Flowers

Mom spied some red on a plant when she was scanning for weeds in a part of the yard that neither of us rarely go out to since it’s on the North side of the house. Initially she thought it might be a piece of trash that blew in on one of the windy days this week. But nope, it was an actual leaf trying to imitate some East Coast flora. Whoa…Mom thought that was a nice present from Mother Nature and I couldn’t disagree with her.

We also found some pretty maple trees just starting to change colors on one of our walks. Hmm…maybe Colorado does have a few reds and oranges but I know they’re nothing like what’s found back East.

Maple leaves in autumn

Late Wednesday, Mom had me pose for her in the Plumbago out in the garden. Regrettably I couldn’t find a plausible excuse not to, so I put on my most bored face and sat there like a lump on a log. Mom was making all kinds of weird noises to try and get some kind of reaction out of me…other than me just turning and waltzing away. Heh, heh, heh. Doggone it though, she grabbed me and put me back in a sit/stay position. Can’t pull the wool over her eyes often enough. She loves the Plumbago since it flowers those pretty blue flowers beginning in late August and turning a lovely shade of mahogany on the leaves as autumn moves forward. Those plants are filling in nicely too like a good groundcover should; in fact she’s had to pull some out of the middle of the flagstone path after they’d migrated where they didn’t belong. I think she should give them a sit/stay command so they don’t go wander off the reservation but again, she didn’t ask me.

Elsa in the Plumbago

I’m sure trees will begin changing in earnest here in the city soon. Hopefully we’ll have more to share next time before we have to start raking them up. Till then, we hope you all send strong, healing energy to Blogville favorite, Brian who’s battling a nasty infection (click on the link to send him your healing thoughts and prayers). He looks like such a nice kitty and could use the collective energy of Blogville to feeling better. I can totally relate and sympathize with him since anesthesia is a bad thing for me too because of my epilepsy. It’s probably why Mom totally freaks out at the slightest little thing.

Purrs for Brian

Well, that’s it from me this week. We hope whatever you do this weekend, you get outside and enjoy the fabulous autumn weather and see a few leaves turning colors. I’ve got my paws crossed for you.

Nature Friday

Live, love, bark! 🐾

Nature Friday ~ September 29, 2023

ElsaWelcome to the last Friday of September and the latest edition of Nature Friday, where we join our pals, Rosy and Sunny from LLB in Our Backyard. Don’t forget to click on the link to see what else has been shared. Elsa here to share some glimpses of autumn. Not so’s you’d know it here in the Mile High…it’s been warm and dry although the mornings are delightfully crisp. Mom says I’m practically giddy ‘boinging’ along on our morning walks. But Mom’s prone to hyperbole, so I’m not sure we can trust her on that observation. I have no idea what she’s talking about…she’s so weird sometimes.

Our family got together for a wedding this past week in  beautiful Glenwood Springs in the Roaring Fork Valley of Colorado near Aspen. You couldn’t ask for a prettier setting at a prettier time of year for a wedding. Let the leaf peeping commence.

Aspen leaves

Crystal blue skies dominated the weekend and the aspen leaves were just beginning to start changing colors, being somewhat delayed by extended summer temps. But what has changed did not disappoint.

Glenwood Springs

So let’s look at the area historically speaking. Ute Indians originally occupied the region and were nomadic hunter-gatherers who seasonally used the natural hot springs lived in the area. Glenwood Springs, originally known as Defiance, was founded by Isaac Cooper in the late 1800’s. Established in 1883 as an encampment containing tents, saloons, and dare I say, ahem…brothels. Like so many other Wild West towns, gamblers, gunslingers, and prostitutes made it home.

Surrounded by red colored sandstone cliffs, Glenwood has been visited by some famous peeps over the years, including President Teddy Roosevelt. Doc Holliday of the O. K. Corral fame, spent the last months of his life there as well as the outlaw gunman, Kid Curry, who was part of the Butch Cassidy’s gang, are both buried in the Pioneer Cemetery.

Glenwood Springs

Did you know that Glenwood Springs was one of the first cities in the US to have installed electric lights. That says something, doesn’t it? Situated in and around narrow mountain valleys where the Colorado River and the Roaring Fork Rivers meet, the terrain is steep and has some well known geothermal activity (hot springs). Glenwood Springs

Glenwood Springs owns some of the oldest and senior water rights to the Colorado River and has implemented a good conservation plan, so it continues to sufficiently serve its residents. The town itself lies outside of the Colorado Mineral Belt, with no mineral, oil and gas resources near the town so the watershed is clean and pure. Glenwood Springs has none of the typical legacy of pollution like many mountain areas  that had mines did.

Glenwood Springs

People in the valley are avid fishermen (and women) and those lucky enough to live on or near the river are always prepared. Mom said you never know when a 20″ long trout will ‘greet’ you. Even if catch and release is the norm.

Fishing, Glenwood Springs

While walking down to the creek, Mom stumbled on this scrub oak leaf. She seemed pretty jazzed. I’m not sure what the big deal is but I guess it’s pretty. Sort of. Looks like leather to me. Say, isn’t leather good eating? Asking for a friend, mind you.

Leaves

On the drive home, Mom spied a waterfall on the side of I-70 near Vail. It was nice to see something pretty because traffic was heavy and moved at a snail’s pace. Guess leaf peepers gotta get home to go back to work. Mom wished they would have just stayed in the area and not clogged up the highway. Oops, was that my out loud voice? Sometimes you get lucky to see something beautiful and surprising. Way to go, Mother Nature.

Waterfall, Vail

One last slice of nature that caught Mom’s eye this week was the last Super moon for 2023.

Supermoon

Sometimes things in the city can be as beautiful as in the mountains.

And because I’m such a sentimental schloob, here’s a pic from the wedding of Mom’s nephew and his new bride. Nice setting, isn’t it?

Wedding

So, have you got any exciting plans for this weekend? Are the leaves changing in your neighborhood?

Live, love, bark!  🐾

Nature Friday ~ September 15, 2023

ElsaGood Friday morning and welcome to another edition of Nature Friday where we join our pals Rosy and Sunny from LLB in Our Backyard. Remember to click on the link to see pics from others.  We got a late start today after a lovely shower last evening. We both slept so well that we were a bit lazy this morning.

Elsa: {Yawn…stretch} Yo, Mom, thanks for letting me sleep in this morning. This walking at oh-dark-thirty is for the birds. Wait…what am I saying…even the birds aren’t out when we take our morning walk.

The Mom: That’s pretty accurate. As we’re moving faster and faster toward the official arrival of autumn (for those keeping track, it arrives in just a week), the days are not nearly as sunny at that time of the day and no doubt contributed to our sleeping in this morning.

Elsa: Probably but then again, I know you didn’t really have a plan for today’s post anyway. Is that what’s called procrastination?

The Mom: Umm, erm…well, uh…maybe. Things have been rather hectic…

Elsa: Hectic? Just admit it, Mom…you just put it off. You should have worked on our post yesterday but noooo, you had to run errands all day. Come on, just admit it.

The Mom: {stuttering} I, er, wait…I’m not going to deny I had some commitments yesterday that took up most of the day, but even when I got home, I just wasn’t up for composing anything. Can’t a blogging mom take a break?

Elsa: Sheesh, a girl just can’t get good help. If I had thumbs, you’d likely be fired but alright…I’ll give you a pass this one time, but let’s not  make a habit of it, okay?

The Mom: {clearing her throat while rolling her eyes} I’ll do my best.

Elsa: Well, so waddu got today? I don’t recall you taking a lot of photos this week?

The Mom: You’re right, I really didn’t so today’s offerings are a bit on the slim side.

Elsa: Slim?? They’re practically non-existent. For being so busy this week, you didn’t get a lot done on the photo-taking part, now did you?

The Mom: Well, it’s that time of year where things aren’t blooming all that much unless you consider the fully in-bloom  Plumbago.

Plumbago

Elsa: Looks like the Hummingbird moth is still hanging around.Pollinators

The Mom: You’re so right; those beautiful blue blossoms must be pretty tasty; I’ve seen some of the Painted Ladies noshing on them as well but those hummers are really particularly fascinating to watch.

Butterflies

Elsa: You may think they’re fascinating to watch but I can tell you for a fact, they aren’t very tasty. In fact, I can absolutely testify they are quite bitter.

The Mom: Silly girl, you’re not supposed to eat them.

Elsa: I thought it was a windup toy, not some foul tasting thing that flits around.

The Mom: {giggling} Oh Elsa…maybe next time you’ll listen and pay attention to me.

Elsa: It’s not funny. Those things are just gross. You know what they say…paybacks are a…

The Mom: {interrupting} Now, now…let’s not get all worked up. Pollinators are our friends.

Elsa: Maybe your friend, but definitely not mine. I prefer more protein in my friends. And they usually have 4 feet.

The Mom: Yeah, we need to have a chat about that. You can’t be chasing protein on the run all the time.

Elsa: Ehh, a girl has to get her nutrition where she can find it. You know what I mean?

The Mom: You don’t say. So what was the motivation for this latest infraction?

Elsa strikes again

Elsa: Umm…fiber, yeah, that’s the ticket-fiber…I needed some fiber.

The Mom: Fiber? Oh for heaven’s sake. You eat more vegetables than I do! What are you talking about?

Elsa: {Erm, stammer…} Uh, I was bored?

The Mom: Harumph! Can’t believe you ate my Av’s coaster!

Elsa: You’d have preferred it if I ate one of the other local team coasters?

The Mom: No-absolutely not!! You’re not supposed to eat any coasters. Period.

Elsa: Sheesh, calm down. So how about you share something else instead of being fixated on coasters…which I might add, have nothing to do with Mother Nature.

The Mom: {steaming now} Ahem…fine. How about this oddly shaped Pfitzer Juniper bush? Kind of looks like a hot-cross bun, doesn’t it?

Shrub

Elsa: {head shaking} That was deliberate? Seems like just another example of how weird you uprights are.

The Mom: Weird…you think we’re weird? Who circles 87 times before pooping? Huh?

Elsa: {flustered} Umm, moving along. Remember that unusual cloud formation we saw yesterday morning? You drug me around an entire block to try to get a pic without power lines in it. When we first saw it, it was a perfect “X” but then by the time we came back from around the block, it had changed. Still it was kind of cool.

Clouds at sunrise

The Mom: Yeah, it struck me as pretty unusual. Just goes to show it pays to look around when you’re outside-you’ll never know what you’ll find.

Elsa: All I know, is I had to walk an entire block to satisfy your fascinating with those clouds. Next time, let’s walk an extra block to follow trash pandas or foxes or something actually cool like that.

The Mom: Extra steps never hurt anyone.

Elsa: Said the person who drags me out in the dark of night to chase clouds. Ok, I see how it goes.

The Mom: So what did you think about this leaf we came across this morning? A reminder that leaves are about to change and is just around the corner.

Leaf

Elsa: True enough. I noticed the leaves were most green last week when you went up to Golden. Clear Creek Trail and Park neat sight.

Golden, Clear Creek

The Mom: Non changing leaves for sure, but the light had that golden glow about it. Haha…golden light in Golden, Colorado. You see what I did there?

Elsa: {ugh} Don’t quit your day job, Mom. You might think that was clever, but I can assure you, it’s lame.

The Mom: Jeez, so harsh! Anyway, hopefully this next week there will be more to offer. I’ll be heading up to the mountains to attend the wedding of my nephew and it’ll be a few days of celebration with the entire family.

Elsa: Celebration? What about tomorrow’s celebration. It’s my 7th Gotcha Day! That means I’m at least 9 years old, maybe older. Can I have a rager of a party? How about a keg? It isn’t everyday a puppy mill survivor and epileptic dogster gets an opportunity to have a blow out party.

The Mom: Keg? Umm, let’s just stick with a quiet day of celebrating, shall we?

Elsa: So long as there are treats. Plenty of treats. Got it?!

The Mom: Fine, treats galore and some extra special attention. We hope our readers have a great day and an even better weekend. Don’t forget to check out nature in your ‘Hood.

Elsa: Right you are, Mom. I’m all in. And I hope there are some roaming critters to help me celebrate my Gotcha Day while we’re at it. Paws crossed.

Nature Friday

Live, love, bark! 🐾

Nature Friday ~ September 8, 2023

ElsaElsa: 🎵 🎶 {humming and breaking into the song The Farmer In the Dell}…”oh, a hunting we will go, a hunting we will go…hi-ho, the derry-o, a hunting we will go…”

The Mom: {check on the Ninja} Good morning, Elsa, what in the world are you doing?

Elsa: Just singing a little ditty I heard the other day…

The Mom: You realize that you changed the actual lyrics of the song?

Elsa: Ahem…my blog, my lyrics/songs.

The Mom: {rolling her eyes} Oh dear, we haven’t even begun to write this week’s post and already you’ve starting in being a pill.

Elsa: Like I said, my blog. How many times do I have to remind you? Sheesh, I wish you’d get it, Mom.

 The Mom: Ok, ok, {throwing her arms up in defeat}…I surrender. But you need to introduce us, first.

Elsa: Oh yeah, oops, I forgot. {Clearing her throat} Welcome to another edition of Nature Friday where we join our pals Rosy and Sunny from LLB in Our Backyard. Don’t forget to click on the link to see pics from around Blogville. There, you happy now?

The Mom: Better now that you’ve told people what’s going on. If you’re going to be a writer, you need a introductory beginning, you just can’t come waltzing into a room humming and singing without setting the stage. By the way, what’s this hunting thing that you’re singing about anyway.

Elsa: {getting excited} Well I just heard a story about the tarantula migration in Southeast Colorado and I thought, let’s go hunting for those buggers!

The Mom: Umm, hate to break it to you, but you do know we don’t hunt tarantulas?

Elsa: Wait, wha…why the dog not?

The Mom: Sweetie, first of all, this migration is near La Junta, Colorado which is not that close to us. It’s even further than Grandpa’s house. Second, why in the world would you want to disrupt the males in their annual nature crawl across southeast Colorado for their mating season?

Elsa: Hmm, good point, I’m not sure I want to ride all the way down to La Junta. I mean they do have the very best cantaloupe around, but watching a bunch of horny tarantulas skitter across the highway ain’t my idea of a good time. Besides, I can get my cantaloupe fix from the grocery store. I hear there’s a pretty good crop this year and did I mention cantaloupe is my favorite special treat? Hint, hint.

The Mom: Yes, I know, I’ll pick you up another one this weekend but you can still share a photo of the hairy legged spiders, who just happen to be more terrified of us than we are of them.

Elsa: Umm, speak for yourself but okay, I will share a couple of pics. I can just hear the howling from my readers. It may be the start of the Halloween season judging by all the gear I’m seeing in stores, but as a general rule, most people are not fans of spiders in general, and even less on tarantulas.

Tarantula migration
Photo courtesy of Channel 7 website

The Mom: I know, but they are quite fascinating creatures. My daughter kept a few of them as pets when she was in junior high. Did you know that very year, a mass migration of tarantulas shows up in southeast Colorado, with most of them being male tarantulas, looking to mate with females who burrow in the prairies.

gettyimages-459566208.jpg
News reports are saying this weekend will be peak viewing time. I know most people are afraid of the giant arachnids, but the Colorado tourism board put together a list of viewing tips, for adventure seekers saying the Comanche National Grasslands, southeast of La Junta, Colorado is the best place for viewing. Tarantulas may be creepy looking, but they’re mostly harmless to humans. They can bite but more than often they’ll fling their hairs as a defense mechanism that can irritate your skin. Tarantulas can be fast movers, usually moving about 4-body lengths a second on average when the temperature is 62 F, but nearly 10-body lengths a second when the temperatures are 100 F, which is incredibly fast. 

Elsa: Whoa…that is pretty fast. Probably scares the bejesus out of most people.

The Mom: Uh huh, true enough. Most of them in Colorado are the Oklahoma Brown Tarantula, with their mating season happening from September through October. Tarantulas are found throughout the southwestern United States, including southern Colorado. Those found in Colorado are usually dark brown to black and can travel as far as twenty miles in search of a mature female. Tarantula mating is one of the strangers animal reproduction rituals. It is unlike anything else seen in the animal kingdom yet the males don’t live long after mating while females can live 20 years because they seldom leave the area around their burrows while the males tend to roam around.

Tarantula trek
Closeup courtesy of Visit La Junta website

While tarantulas can bite, their venom is not fatal to humans and is comparable to a bee sting. More likely, they will defend themselves by ‘shooting’ body hairs, resulting in itching.

Elsa: Ok, so that is sort of fascinating so I guess I’m glad we’re not hunting them. But I doubt any of my readers want to hear you wax on about them anymore. It’s been a less than stellar week in terms of photos due to the heat but I’m going to do my best. Let’s move on from the creepy-crawly, shall we?

The Mom: Fine by me. You’re the one who wanted to go-a-hunting.

Elsa: Let’s not get technical, ok? First I’m going to share some photos from my visit with my Grandpa last weekend. It’s always fun to spend time with him and even more fun because it was his birthday. I guess his favorite gift was that his beloved Colorado Buffaloes upset TCU on Saturday. We’ve been coming down from that high all week. Talk about college football hype though. Seems like the whole doggone town has lost their minds hopping on the Buffs bandwagon.

The Mom: Yes, it’s been a ‘little crazy’ watching otherwise normal people go ga-ga. Tomorrow’s game against long time arch-rival, Nebraska will be c-r-a-z-y and a big test for the new coach We have our paws crossed. So what was your second favorite part of our Pueblo visit?

Elsa: Well it was a veritable sniff-fest the whole weekend! I mean I found LOADS of bunnies, quail, a rattlesnake carcass and my absolute favorite, an antler. Too bad it was attached to the skull. I noticed you got pretty choked up over that.

Antelope Antler

The Mom: I was mostly concerned when you tried to bring one of the rib and leg bones  home (not shown here).

Elsa: Yeah, that was not fair, I mean, I need bones to keep my teeth clean. What better way than chewing on a real live antler?

The Mom: Roadkill is not the way to go. But at least we saw a cool sunrise and a slug of sunflowers along our morning walks.

Sunrise-Pueblo West

Elsa: It was so early when we went out, I didn’t even get a chance to say wake up good morning to the mules and donkeys that live across the road from Grandpa. I’d rather have checked them out than some dumb sunflowers.

Sunflowers

The Mom: Stop being a brat, Elsa. Once we came home we did see a few signs than autumn is nearing. Take a look at this acorn.

Acorn

Elsa: I only noticed them because the squirrels have been going up and down this oak tree in our yard like maniacs. One of these days, they are not going to get away from me!

The Mom: As long I have you on a leash, they’re pretty safe.

Elsa: You’re such a killjoy, Mom, you know that?

The Mom: It’s for your own good. You wouldn’t want to get rabies now, would you? So what else do you have from around our neighborhood?

Elsa: Well there were a couple of flowers that I spied that were kind of cool. Can we give the wood rose to Rosy, huh, can we?FlowersWood rose

The Mom: I’m sure Rosy would like that pretty pink flower. Looks like the stores are gearing up for Halloween already judging by all these tiny gourds from the market.

Tiny pumpkins

Elsa: Yeah, I noticed our neighbor has started decorating early. He even put up a ‘suggestion box.’

Skellies

The Mom: Yeah, I always enjoy his yard decor. People come from miles around to see how he arranges them.

Elsa: It’s a clear sign we’re moving toward autumn when he drags out the skellies. Clearly he’s planning on upping their presence. I saw a new critter next to the suggestion box (out of view). A turtle…he was pretty cute.

The Mom: Yeah, he’s pretty clever. Should be a fun autumn. And because it’s the home opener for the local pro football team who shall remain nameless, we are sharing a cloud formation someone sent in to Channel 7. Looks a little like the horse head on their helmets.

Cloud

Elsa: We send our congrats to the Detroit Lion fans who came from behind late in the last night’s opener and beat Kansas City. You weren’t expecting that, were you?

The Mom: Truthfully, I wasn’t but was happy for them. Should be in interesting football season all around. We’re going to have to get through the CU game first before I’m in pro mood.

Elsa: Ha! You’re still counting the days for hockey to start, you can’t fool me, Mom.

The Mom: True enough. But it’s going to be a busy sports weekend around the Ranch. Anything exciting plans for your weekend?

Elsa: I’m just waiting for the cool front to arrive late Sunday, early Monday. We hope you have a good weekend. But more importantly than a football win, we hope you are able to get out there and enjoy a slice of Nature.

Nature Friday

Live, love, bark! 🐾

Nature Friday ~ September 1, 2023

Welcome to another edition of Nature Friday where we join our pals Rosy and Sunny from LLB in Our Backyard. Don’t forget to click on the link to see other photos from nature.

Elsa: 🎵 🎶 Do, dee, do, dee, dee, dum. 🎵 🎶 {then switching to humming}

The Mom: Whatcha, doing, Elsa?

Elsa: Just looking something up. Umm, let’s see now…

The Mom: Er, wha…{stuttering}…what evermore for?

Elsa:  Just wanted to see what the definition of au pair was…

The Mom: {interrupting} Au pair? Why in the world would you need to know the definition of au pair?

Elsa: Well, since it’s my blog now, I thought I should give out titles and didn’t think “Staff” was enough. From what I can tell, au pair seems like a better term. After all, I mean you’re from a foreign country, you’re living here in the States, and you have the responsibility for childcare, housework, you know…all the things an au pair does…so I thought you’d like something a little dressed up instead of just “Mom.”

The Mom: Umm, that’d be a hard “NO!” You’re getting a bit out of control since I said it was your blog.

Elsa: Moom…I’m trying to do you a solid and you get all bent outa shape. Sheesh. I mean if I’m supposed to be in charge, I need to organize and prioritize. We needed titles, that’s all.

The Mom: Um yeah, no. As in no titles, got that?

Elsa: Phooey. I don’t think I like your tone here so let’s just move on with this week’s post, shall we? {muttering under her breath…man SOME people!). Oh, before we (as in I) get started, I just want to give a huge Ninja birthday shout-out to my favorite Grandpa who turns 93 years old today! Woo-hoo, Grandpa. Well done. You look amazing. I mean I thought I looked good after my dreaded pawdicure and groom this week but man, oh man…you look fabulous! I thought I looked good for being in my 60’s in dog years but with your good looks and my intellect, we definitely make a pawsome team. Hmm, maybe I should give you a special title. I’m really looking forward to spending a few days celebrating with you. We could even do a ceremony whereupon I bestow a special title and…

The Mom: Elsa!! Enough with the titles.

Elsa: Oh alright. Sheesh. Moving right along…so unless you were hibernating, you may have heard about a ‘little’ celestial happening this week. A super blue moon event occurred on Wednesday night. None of Mom’s cameras did as good a job as one of the local TV channel’s website. She especially liked the downtown skyline view. I kept telling her to go to Sloan’s Lake but she wasn’t keen on walking that far in the dark so I needed to make concessions for the au pair. Maybe there’s a language barrier, you being foreign-born and all…?

The Mom: ELSA.

Elsa: Sorry Mom, I was just hoping you might have a change of heart. Clearly I misread that. Once we’re finished with this post, Imma gonna have to check to make sure your heart is working.

The Mom: {interrupting} ELSA!!! Knock it off.

Elsa: Um…sorry, I was just kidding. Mostly. {snickers}

Super Blue Moon
Photo provided by CBS4 ~ Credit: Eva Klein

The Mom: Oh for heaven’s sake. This nonsense has to stop. As in NOW.

Elsa:  My, my…a bit touchy, aren’t we? It’s ok, I still love you Mom, even if you’re grumpy. And to make it up to you, I’m going to let you post one of the pics you took. Well done. You even managed to capture a helicopter that probably was also trying to snag a pic. Wouldn’t it be funny if you took of pic of a reporter taking a pic?

Super Blue Moon

The Mom: {chuckling at that thought} Yeah, it was buzzing overhead and kind of annoying with all the frap, frap, frap noise hovering over the park. I took another photo on Thursday morning while we were out walking and it’s still a cool view a day later. So big and bright. And it was a whole lot quieter. I love our quiet, early morning walks.

Elsa: Yeah, me too. And I’m sure the wildlife appreciates it as much as we do since the zoo was apparently closed this week-as we only saw flashes of foxes escaping, and cottontail backends of little bunnies. Definitely not shareable. But in the critter category, you can count this dude enjoying a nice day sightseeing via his moonroof.

Moonroof

The Mom: Yeah, there hasn’t been much to capture critter-wise this week. But we did manage to see a few other things. How about you share them?

Elsa: Hang on to your knickers, Mom…I was getting to that. I wanted to showcase a different lake in our ‘Hood…Lake Berkeley. Located near Lakeside Amusement Park, Berkeley Lake is located a couple of miles from the Ranch and includes a nicely paved path surrounding the 34-acre lake. To our surprise, water lilies were blooming in three different spots. It’s not easy getting close enough to the water’s edge but it was kind of cool trying. Just glad you didn’t fall in around those marshes.

Lake Berkeley Lake Berkeley

The Mom: It sure was…in all the years I’ve been walking around that lake, I’ve never once seen water lilies before-only cattails. It was really exciting and I had to check them all out as closely as I could.

Elsa: Good thing you didn’t get wet. Leave it to you to find something like that. Well done, Mom.

The Mom: Thanks, Ninja. It sure was a great find as was this white rose. After July’s hail storms, it’s taken things a few weeks to recover. This one was a tad past its ‘best by’ date, but pretty nonetheless and appeared to have been chewed on by some bug, most likely Japanese Beetles who have been relentless for the third year in a row. They may only have a 40-day life cycle but they are voracious pests and can turn even the loveliest of plants into a hideous skeleton.

White rose

Elsa: Eew, just thinking about those nasty bugs gives me the heebie-jeebies. Looks like that’s it for us this week. We hope you have a terrific weekend; be sure to enjoy getting out to enjoy some Nature. September is starting out right where August left off, hot during the day but cool enough at night. Autumn’s coming. Have a great weekend and don’t do anything I wouldn’t do. That should leave you with ample opportunity for some Ninja fun.

Live, love, bark!  🐾