Category: Mother Nature

Nature Friday ~ January 23, 2026

~ Tails Around the Ranch ~ 65 Comments

WilsonWelcome to the 2026 Snow Armageddon, otherwise known as Friday where we join our friends, Rosy and Sunny from Adventures of the LLB Gang. We first want to express our concern for folks in the direct line of this massive storm crossing the country from Albuquerque to New England and hope the power stays on to keep everyone safe and warm. While it’s chilly in the metro area, I don’t think it’ll be nearly as bad as some areas but flurries have started this morning. Because this storm is coming from the North, we likely won’t get much in the way of accumulated snow, but it will be cold, of that there is no doubt. Anyway, Wilson has a few pics and thoughts he wanted to share with you.

Wilson: What the bloody dog, Mum? I hope you plan on keeping me plenty warm this weekend. I just heard the forecast and you know how much of a fair weather. I so hope you’re well prepared.

The Mum: Umm, good morning to you too. Just so you know, we’re as prepared as possible but you need to remember that I don’t have any control about how cold it gets. We should be fine presuming the power stays on, buddy. I might even let you snuggle with me on the bed.

Wilson: Oops, sorry about not saying good morning. On the bed? Oooh, YESS…count me in. As you probably know, I’m not particularly a fan of this new rule about being on the furniture. Come to think of it, I still don’t know why it was instituted in the first place. May I remind you that you are not a king?

The Mum: You’re watching too much news, buddy. You were beginning to take over the furniture and after I broke my sternum last year, I couldn’t risk you flopping on me, thus the new rule. For the record, I’ve never minded you on the furniture but it must be by invitation. And you can’t crowd me out which is what you’ve been doing.  So what do you have for us today?

Wilson: {grumble, grumble…fine} The landscape is still brown and drab but I think I’ve curated a few pics that you might like. Warning, if you are not a fan of seeing wild animal scat, you might want to skip this first pic. Mum was pretty excited to find a couple areas where evidence of wild critters (mostly like coyotes) have been traversing the Ralston Creek Trail. I wasn’t nearly as impressed, and wasn’t all that interested in reading any messages. I don’t think they eat very well. Looks like a lot of birdseed and wood chips to me.

Scat

The Mum: You may not have been interested in sniffing, but you were pretty insistent on photobombing-I should have completely cropped out the presence of your foot paddle…otherwise known as a paw.

Wilson: Harumph…uh…I was merely scanning the surroundings to make sure I didn’t have to go into protection mode.

The Mum: Oh please…the chances of encountering a coyote are pretty slim. They will retreat to avoid any threats…

Wilson: I see my reputation precedes me…

The Mum: {eyes rolling} If it makes you feel better. What else have you got?

Wilson: I should haver realized there was going to be a change in the temps after yesterday morning’s walk. There was frost on the bridge planks. It was sparkly though it doesn’t really come through on the photo-more like fading in the wood, but trust me, it looked cool as it followed the shadows. Literally.

Frost

The Mum: I notice the water hazards around the golf course had a small bit of frost in the shallow areas. Makes you wonder how ducks and geese can stand paddling around the cold water.

Water hazard

Wilson: What I want to know is why they avoid me. I just wanted to get close enough to say good morning. But the mallards are very timid and avoid me like I’m some sort of plague carrier. How come they don’t like me, Mum?

The Mum: Aww, buddy, it’s not that they don’t like you, they’re just afraid you might harm them. We’ll have to watch them peacefully paddle around from a distance.

Wilson: Well their Canadian cousins aren’t nearly as afraid. Those geese practically taunt me to come close even though I could care less about them. Maybe they are more closely related to the doggone squirrels who always taunt me but the little monsters always manage to stay out of reach. I think they’re afraid of me…as they should be. The jaws of death are just waiting for them.

The Mum: Easy does it, House Pony. The jaws of death are going to have to put the kibosh and halt all encounters with tree rats as I don’t want you to get some horrid disease from them.

Wilson: While I’m looking out the window at the snow flurries, I’m fondly recalling the beauty of past days this week. It was fun finding this mural on the nearby underpass but it’ll be more fun when the temps go back to 40’sF (4C+) next week.

Mural

The Mum: Yes that mural makes me smile and I’m looking forward to when gardens begin to wake up from winter. I’m going to miss seeing the hyacinths and other spring bulbs that we had in our old garden, but am hopeful folks’ gardens around the neighborhood will satisfy our spring desires.

Wilson: Yup, me too Mum. I like to check out new flowers to see if they smell as good as you say they do. I’m looking forward to seeing what the wildlife habitat offers. Can’t wait!

Wilson

The Mum: With ‘only’ 55 days until the official arrival of spring, it should be interesting seeing how it looks in the suburbs. We hope everyone has a good weekend, staying safe and warm.

Nature

Live, love, bark! 🐾

Nature Friday ~ January 9, 2026

~ Tails Around the Ranch ~ 60 Comments

WilsonWelcome to this week’s edition of Nature Friday where we join our friends from at Adventures of the LLB Gang. Be sure to check out what others shared for their Nature Friday blog hop. As you can see, I’m getting more used to doing these parkour poses for Mum. This is a huge log that’s pretty slippery so I had to hang on tight so as not to slip down while patiently wait for Mum to fumble take the pic. Umm, hurry up, Mum!

We have a little something different this week highlighting what the Colorado Department of Transportation Department (CDOT), working together with the Federal Highway Administration recently accomplished by opening the largest wildlife overpass crossing in North America on a stretch of I-25 between Larkspur and Monument, Colorado along a heavily used stretch area where wildlife crossings often collide with the heavy traveled north/south highway. At 200 feet wide and 209 feet long, with wide gradually sloped entrances, it should be easy and inviting for wildlife to use. The location connects wildlife corridors while preserving open space with good proximity to water and is known for heavy movement of large game. Wildlife tend to avoid tunnels, so this overpass is a better solution when keeping both large game and drivers safe.

Wildlife crossing
Photos courtesy of CDOT

The overpass spans six lanes of interstate traffic and connects 39,000 acres of habitat on both sides of I-25. This overpass should decrease the number of wildlife/vehicle collisions by 90% and provide a vital and safe connection for large game to cross I-25 in their natural habitat.

Wilson: When Mum first heard about the completion in mid-December, she became very excited, after having been in a car that was hit by a deer a few years back. It’s never pretty when wildlife and cars collide and too often results in fatalities for both people and wildlife. This project was one of 19 wildlife crossings in the U.S. Department of Transportation has help fund nationwide. Pretty cool stuff.

The Mum: Glad you liked it, House Pony. What a great way to save large wildlife and keep drivers from colliding with them. I just thought it was a very innovative way to keep both wildlife and humans safe.

Wilson:  I love it when humans and animals can live in harmony. So, it looks like Nature heard your request for some snow. We have a good 4-5 inches and it continues to accumulate. I don’t have to go out in it, right Mum?

Snow

The Mum: Oh my gosh, you’re such a fair weather dog! Never fear, it should stop snowing later this morning and then we can carry on.

Wilson: Whew. Well that’s good to know. So this week we saw the Wolf Moon which was the first super moon of 2026. With the neighborhood being so quiet, it was almost eerie at sunset, especially since we been hearing more and more wildlife sounds at night. This week alone, we heard owls hooting and a bobcat’s screams.

Wolf Moon

The Mum:  It was even cool watching it in the early morning hours against the backdrop against the foothills.

Full moon

Wilson: The moon was fun to watch this week as we’ve enjoyed some pretty sunrises. The sky has been quite colorful.

Sunrise Sunrise

The Mum: Mornings have been quite awe-inspiring. It’s been fun watching you check things out. I’ve begun to wonder if you aren’t part Bloodhound.

Wilson: The sniffs are just so doggone interesting. I’m completely enthralled at all the new, fascinating smells.

Wilson

The Mum: You’ve been investigating grasses and logs like a detective. It’s exciting to see you learning about all that’s going on along our walks. Sniffing is a good exercise for your mind and the more engaged you are, the more relaxed you are. Did you see that coyote on the golf course late yesterday afternoon?

Wilson: Nope, I was too busy watching the hundreds of Canadian Geese while they were resting on the green.

The Mum:  I think he was watching them as well. It was chilly day and they were resting near Hole #9. I think he might have been sizing up any weak ones for a bit of dinner.  He didn’t stay in view long enough for me to grab a quick pic, but I’m going to try to be better prepared for the next time we walk through that area. I know a lot of people, especially small dog owners are afraid of them and will go to great lengths to keep their little fur babies safe. I don’t think you lived with me yet when a friend and I saw this little guy in Westminster when visiting a friend who works with the rescue a couple of years ago and we came across this little guy with his mum. I thought that anti-coyote jacket was wild. It seemed to be just perfect for that little guy who seemed to be having a bad hair day.Dog with coyote vestWilson: Wait, people dress their dogs up like that? Poor little guy. Kinda feel badly for him.

The Mum: That lady was pretty adamant about having those jackets for her two little guys. I think if I were that afraid of my dogs getting snatched by a coyote in the city, I might find a different neighborhood to safely walk my pups and avoid the lake where she was walking hers, but to each his (or her) own.

Wilson: Well that’s about it for us this week. We’ve got lots to do in the house today and probably better get cracking at it. Looks like the snow has stopped and I can see a patch or two of blue sky so we best get rolling. We hope you have a terrific weekend and are able to enjoy the first weekend of the football playoffs and have enough time to get out and see what Nature provides. Right now, I need to get ‘back to work.’

Wilson-sleeping dog

Nature

Live, love, bark! 🐾

Nature Friday ~ January 2, 2026

~ Tails Around the Ranch ~ 61 Comments

Happy 2026, peeps. We made it to a new year. We hope you had a safe and happy celebration and didn’t disturb the neighbors too much with stupid fireworks. It was kind of noisy in our neighborhood with a couple very loud boomers but they didn’t last too long and they don’t bother me much beyond going into SWAT mode thinking someone is trying to get into our house. At least they didn’t last into the late night like they used to in our old neighborhood. So that’s a plus. Luckily I’m didn’t get too stressed about the loud noises but made sure the perimeter was secure, just to be on the safe side. I just don’t understand humans and their obsession with disturbing a perfectly nice evening. Don’t they realize they are traumatizing  pets and people who suffer from PTSD? I just will never understand why they do it.

Since Mum is kinda boring, she chose to watch a hockey game instead of ‘partying’ with me. She had the nerve to wake me up a couple of times with loud cheering. Her team continues to have the fewest home losses and they gave the opposing goalie, who Mum despises, a real shellacking and when they scored the first 4 goals in 5 minutes she was, let’s just say, very animated. Hockey is a big deal for her anyway but to beat that goalie was particularly satisfying.

Wilson
Is this what you call celebration?

Wilson: So much for any big celebration action.

The Mum: I dunno, I was pretty excited celebrating that game. It was definitely a nice way to end 2025. But the celebration noise didn’t stop there.

Wilson: You’re so right, when we went for an early morning walk the next morning, there was all manner of squawking cheering by the local golf course residents-Canadian Geese. Whew…what a blooming bunch of noisy birds. I’m sure glad we don’t live on the golf course and have to endure that racket every morning while they’re standing about milling in the breakfast line. Sheesh. I imagine all manner of gossip while waiting for breakfast.

Breakfast - geese

The Mum: Amen, House Pony. That photo shows just a sliver of the noisemakers. We are realizing they are very noisy in the morning and are grateful they have chosen the golf course as their concert hall.

Wilson: That’s a concert? Hmm, not exactly my kind of music since we just walk through the golf course on the Ralston Creek trail. And speaking of trail, just check out this habitat hut the park folks created for critters. We still haven’t seen any but with these huts, there surely has to be some around. I was not exactly primed for posing, choosing instead to keep an eye out for my personal nemesis of which I’m always on alert for spotting now that I’ve seen a couple. Where there’s one, there are probably a jillion just waiting to be chased by the jaws of death.

Wilson
Wait…was that a squirrel I saw over there?

The Mum: Argh…you and your squirrels. So, we received a teeny amount of snow this week and there were a couple of cold nights and thus cold enough to freeze the edges of the creek.

Wilson: I don’t know why those frozen parts captivated your attention. Here we were walking along at a nice clip and you drag me over to one of the bridges that span the creek just to take a photo. Good grief-for dog’s sake, Mum.

Creek

The Mum: I just wanted to see the frozen edges up close. And then I noticed a tree trunk that suggests there may have been beavers around at some point. That’s a pretty exciting thought, though I suspect we won’t be seeing them up close since they’re pretty stealthy. Still, it was very cool.

Wilson: The things that crank your handle, Mum…are obviously well beyond my comprehension. I notice you are constantly scouring the creek. What in the bloody blue blazes are you looking for?

Canal Stream

The Mum: Well, trash for one thing. I feel compelled to dispose of trash we encounter in the bins along the creek and then I’m also checking for signs of critters. I’m fascinated with the natural world, plus I would guarantee there are likely coyotes around with all those geese and perhaps some deer, so it probably is prudent to keep my eyes open as we walk through these semi-wild areas. I’m just trying to keep you safe, buddy-that and picking up after careless humans.

Wilson: I appreciate you looking out for me and nature’s best interests but I can take care of myself.

The Mum: No need tempting fate. Beside, I prefer seeing you pose in this natural world rather than us being a statistic in it.

Wilson
I’m getting the hang of this climbing up thing, aren’t I, Mum?

Wilson: Well, when you say it like that, I guess it makes sense. Just yesterday there was a sensational story about a suspected mountain lion attack and fatality in Larimer County of a lone hiker who may have been attacked.

The Mum: Trust me, Mum knows best and I’ll continue to be careful especially while walking through the dense vegetation in the habitat area. We want to enjoy nature, not be its victim and it’s my job keeping you safe. So what’s on your agenda now that we’re in 2026.

Wilson: Nothing planned for this weekend, maybe entertain a friend who may drop by, but mostly just learning more about our area and checking it out.Whatever you do, we hope 2026 has started out on the right foot and you have a wonderful weekend. Happy New Year!

Nature

Live, love, bark! 🐾

Nature Friday ~ December 26, 2025

~ Tails Around the Ranch ~ 59 Comments
Oh Christmas tree
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.

The Move 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.”

Sunrise

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.

Ralston Creek Trail
Flying geese
Ralston Creek Trail
Still 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.

Canadian geese

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.

Wilson on the trail

Nature

Live, love, bark!  🐾

 

Nature Friday ~ November 21, 2025

~ Tails Around the Ranch ~ 80 Comments

WilsonIt’s a foggy, grey morning in the 303 and while we’re slow getting our brains to work, it’s Nature Friday so we’re still going to join our friends at Adventures of the LLB Gang for their weekly blog hop. Wilson here. Mum and I have been c-r-a-z-y and it’s not going to end any time soon but, as you can see, I’m working hard to help her out. {yawn, snore}

Let’s see now, Thanksgiving in the US is next Thursday. As you can imagine, I’m very excited about a day  celebrating food. Woof, woof! My tail is simply giddy about it. {wiggle, wiggle} Anyway, let’s show what we managed to find in Nature around our ranch.

Wilson: The weather has been simply amazing all week long until today. We’ve enjoyed temps in the 70F’s (21C). Today our high will likely be in the low 40’sF with a potential for showers. I’m not keen about the wet but Mum says it’s welcome since we haven’t had any moisture since early September.

The Mum: Good morning, Floof…I share your blunted enthusiasm for today. With our foggy and grey skies, it felt good starting the day on the down-low rather than busting a gut dashing about. I don’t know about you, I just wasn’t into hustling out first thing this morning. With all the online difficulties I’ve encountered, I just didn’t have the bandwidth. In case you don’t follow us on Facebook or Instagram, our Instagram account was hacked and it’s been hell trying to wrest control over it. I have changed passwords daily but the low-life gremlin comes back in the middle of the night and switches it again. He keeps trying to sell a 2020 Honda. All fine and good but why not sell it on your own doggone account if its legit, which it probably is not. So if you do follow us, please accept our apologies and for heaven’s sake, don’t click on any links (if you’re so inclined you can report it as well). Of course we’ve contacted Meta repeatedly since they hold the keys to both platforms and all I’ve heard is crickets. Not surprising there. But enough energy on that. Suffice to say our picture taking is somewhat slim this week because I wasted way too much energy trying to fix it.

Wilson: Naturally I’m quite distressed when my Mum is unhappy but I don’t have thumbs and probably less computer savvy than she has (and, let me just say for the record, she doesn’t have a lot and will readily admit she’s a Luddite when it comes to her computer). We’ve got way too much going on to continually fuss about it…do you hear that, Mum? Ok. Let’s get started, shall we. We mentioned in a previous post that the “Christmas cactus” started to form buds and this week a few of them burst into full bloom. It’s such a striking hot pink shade and being in the kitchen window, it seem most happy and is a cheerful presence in the room she’s in a lot-so it makes her smile which makes me happy. We both wonder why it’s called Christmas cactus since it always begins to bloom before Thanksgiving.

Christmas cactus

The Mum: It’s one of life’s mysteries, I guess. But in this month of thanks, I know I’m very grateful for the shock of color when nature is at its brownest. With leaves falling everywhere and windy conditions, everything is very dry and dusty. Today’s sprinkles may help keep the dust down and this potted beauty will warm our souls.

Wilson: You’re so right about that, Mum. Were you as surprised to see some Globe thistle on our walk a couple of days ago as I was? This plant, native to southern and eastern Europe, from Spain east to Turkey, Ukraine, and Belarus, and western and central Asia east to Mongolia, is sparingly naturalised throughout various locations in Canada and the US. The blue color is quite pretty but it doesn’t particularly enjoy a sniffer like mine. It poked back but not so bad that I didn’t adhere to its subtle warning.

Globe thistle

The Mum: Yes, I was pretty surprised. We were walking along at quite a clip and the sight of it took a moment for it to register in my little pea brain. I had to backtrack to photograph it. Blue being my favorite color, I always have to stop and admire blue flowers.

Wilson: Yes, you confused me by going back. I’m used to moving forward but I can see why you wanted to capture it. Let’s just call it like it is…pretty.

The Mum: I noted in previous posts the Christmas tree lot is now stocked with inventory and suspect it will open this weekend. What the actual…there just are no words. While they all look nice and fresh now, given our above average temps are up by as much as 15 degrees above normal, those babies are going to have a hard time staying green through the whole Christmas season. I haven’t had a cut tree for decades and nearly fainted at the price tag on closeup of the 5 footer. Is that a ‘normal’ price? I hope you can see the tag easily enough. If not, it says $79.99…almost $16 buckaroos a foot. Seems very high to me, but what do I know. I know prices are high everywhere for all sorts of things, but like I said, it’s been years since I had a live tree…in fact it’s been years since I put up any tree. I hope this year will be different but the next two weeks will determine that.

Christmas tree
Anyone else notice some brown needles on the left side?

Christmas trees Christmas trees

Wilson: Oh be still my beating heart. Look at all those trees that I could ‘water!’

The Mum: Down dude…notice the fence? That’s specifically up to keep the likes of you (and Christmas Grinches) at bay. You can only look from afar to appreciate. Got it?

Wilson: {sigh} Jeez, Mum, you’re taking all the fun out of the holidays. Well that’s it from me. I guess it’s time that we hit the trail and go for a nice long walk. We hope you have a great weekend and are able to get out and enjoy a spot of Nature. It’s good for your mental health to make time for it. Let us know if you’re doing anything fun and if you’re ready for Food Appreciation Day.

Nature

Live, love, bark!

Nature Friday ~ November 14, 2025

~ Tails Around the Ranch ~ 73 Comments

Wilson & the squirrelWell here we are again on a Friday. With forty-seven days left in the year, we continue to zoom toward the holidays in break neck speed. As always, we’re joining the crew at Adventures of the LLB Gang for their weekly blog hop. Be sure to click on the link to see what posts were shared by others. Wilson here and can I just say it’s been an interesting week. We’ve been lucky with our weather, it’s been, in a word…gorgeous. Mild autumn days and not too chilly nights. I think I could get used to the low 70’sF (around 22C). It’s been somewhat breezy most days, blowing leaves all over the place but I haven’t minded. It’s glorious and it’s autumn so it’s to be expected, right? Mum continues to remove leaves from under our covered front patio porch several times a day and said we could use some moisture-it’s been 2 months since any wet stuff fell so things are fairly dry and dusty. My once beautifully white paddles (also known as paws) are a lovely shade of grey. Do I care…heck no. Mum keeps trying to remove those little pieces of grass and leaves from sticking to my furs which means sessions with a brush. That part I do care about and hope she stops and soon. I’m fabulous enough without her fluffing me up.

Wilson: {continuing} Like I said, windy conditions are making good at disbursing leaves all over. But there still are a few trees that seem reluctant to let go of autumn, most notably the Bradford pears. They will keep shedding leaves for probably another month. Our neighbor has a pair in his front yard and Mum sometimes grumbles when they finally fall all over her sidewalk when it snows. Nothing like shoveling the sidewalk when the first snowflakes of the season arrive and its half full of Bradford pear leaves. But they sure are pretty. Just look at their color when most trees are down to their branches!

Bradford pear trees

The Mum: Those Bradford pear trees scream “GOOD MORNING WORLD!” every day when we walk past the old Elitches theatre on our morning constitutional. It’s a perfect autumn scene made even more perfect by the morning quiet before the city wakes up in earnest.

Wilson: Another colorful specimen is this Scarlet Firethorn tree. Looks like the birds who stay here during the winter will be well supplied with a nice batch of berries.

Firethorn

The Mum: That firethorn ranks right up there in color with this Japanese Barberry Bush-another screamer.

Burning bush

Wilson:  What? I can’t hear you, that bush is too loud.

The Mum: You’re too funny, you know that, House Pony? So we had some interesting astrological sightings this week. With the Beaver Moon appearing recently we were also treated to some spectacular Aurora Borealis showers over the past couple of days, I never thought I’d see them in person here with our dense neighborhood tree canopy but my son sent me pics a few pics he took from just north of the the Boulder city limits. The colors were incredible and did not disappoint. I loved seeing the tiny white stars showing up in the dark skies. When you live in the city, you get used to not seeing a lot of stars because of light pollution in a metro area so when you’re in an area that has little or no competition, it’s always a wondrous sight.

Aurora Borealis
Photo courtesy of K. M. Samson
Aurora Borealis
Photo courtesy of K. M. Samson

Wilson:  Pretty cool celestial happenings, Mum. With just 41 days until Christmas, the local neighborhood tree lot is getting ready to ramp up for the season. Although we posted about this lot showing up a couple of weeks ago, does anyone else find this signage somewhat ironic? “Fresh Christmas trees” in November…hahaha. While they haven’t begun to display trees and wreaths just yet, but I think not, at least not this early in the season. They are beginning to put out lighted spheres out that were very pretty when they had them last year along with a nice ‘herd’ of log moose and reindeer. It’s nice and festive especially as our landscape continues to get browner and browner.

Christmas tree sign

The Mum: Speaking of moose and reindeer, do you see any other critters this week on our walks?

Wilson: As a matter of fact, I did although I have never seen one of these before, either in Colorado or Missouri. What the dog is that thing?

The Mum: Silly Floof, it’s just more of unusual garden art that amuses me. This one is in the form of an alligator sunning himself on a low wall. I can’t wait until it’s covered in snow. Now that will be a sight!

Garden art croc

Wilson: Harumph…well I for one don’t plan on encountering it, not with that set of choppers.

The Mum: Don’t worry, this guy can’t hurt you. It did made me chuckle though. You know how much I love finding these unique pieces of garden art around the neighborhood.

Wilson: You’re so weird, Mum. Well that’s it for us this week. Hope you’ve taken time out of your busy holiday preparations to get outside and enjoy Nature, Northern Lights and the unusual. Let us know if you have any unusual plans. From both of us, we hope you have a ‘furbulous’ weekend!

Nature

Live, love, bark! 🐾

Nature Friday ~ November 7, 2025

~ Tails Around the Ranch ~ 56 Comments

NatureIt’s Friday again and the calendar appears to be zooming along toward the end of the year. With only 54 days left in 2025 (and only 48 days until Christmas), I’m getting a bit stressed especially with the holidays looming. But let’s revel in nature today.

As we do on Friday’s we’re joining the sweet pups from Adventures of the LLB Gang for their weekly blog hop. Be sure to click on the link to see what others have shared. Wilson here. My goodness, with so little time left this year, and with so much going on, this message about nature and patience are a bit at odds. But if we’ve learned anything from walking around our neighborhood and noticing the little things, it’s that this Emerson dude gave good advice, don’t you think? Today is a twofer because we’re also joining Dan over at No Facilities to honor fellow blogger, Cee Neuner on what would have been her birthday. Cee passed away earlier this year and used to host the “Which Way Challenge.” Today also happens to be Dan’s birthday and because he’s a favorite of ours, we wanted to share an autumn flower in bloom in her honor since we have no bridges to share. Apparently Cee loved bridges and in this day and age, bridges are more important than ever. Happy Birthday Cee and Dan.

Remembering Cee

Wilson: We hope this bunch of Black Eyed Susan’s might be a good homage.

Black eyed Susan's

The Mum: Hopefully Cee will enjoy it. While I never participated in her blog hop, Dan spoke so highly of her and he’s one of our favorite bloggers who takes remarkable photos in addition to being a very talented writer with several published books and has introduced me to some very talented folks.

Wilson:  Right-o Mum. Happy birthday to both Cee and Dan. So…I’m not sure if any of you knew for certain that ‘we’re’ early risers. Mum has always been a morning person from the days when her were kids were little to when she went to college while working full time while being a single parent. Me, I just get up because I want to be close to Mum. As a floof, I’m rather fond of enjoying an extra 40 winks any time of day, but especially in the early morning hours.

Sleeping Wilson

The Mum: Good morning, lad. Saying you enjoy snoozing is a bit of an overstatement but seeing you like this tends to bring a smile to my face and heart. I love it when you’re this cute.

Wilson: {blushing} Aww, Mum, don’t embarrass me. I was just resting my eyes while you were howling about some hockey game. Sheesh, the noise you make…oh.my.goodness. I’m sure your favorite team can hear you through the TV!

The Mum:  Are you saying I’m loud? I tend to think of myself as more of an engaged fan.

Wilson: “Engaged fan?” Is that what it’s called? Ok, whatever gets you through the night. Anyway, while it’s dark when you get up, we are still able to take walks early on and I can leave you presents in the fallen leaves still pretty easily. It’s crisp and I know we’ll be going later as the temps continue to warm, but I’m enjoying you having to really dig in low light conditions to pick up after me. There have been some fairly breezy conditions lately so leaves are falling into nice little brown piles…perfect for camouflaging my nice little brown pile. Heh, heh, heh.

The Mum:  Ahem…please don’t remind me. I’ve noted that you do have a knack for finding the deepest piles of leaves and/or longest bits of grass or weeds to do your business. It never seems to fail.

Wilson: You know what they say…the way to Carnegie Hall is through lots of practice.

The Mum: I don’t think there are any concerts at Carnegie Hall for what you’re particularly adept at. Just saying.

Wilson: Gosh, you cut me to the quick, Mum. Anyway, let’s share some of the interesting sights we came across this week. First off, this scene from the morning after Halloween. Look at the orange and green on those peppers mixed with a skeleton bone in the pot. The person who lives there seems to have ‘your’ kind of humor. That top pepper reminded me of a Halloween classic…candy corn!

Veggies

The Mum: Hahaha…good one, House Pony. Never let it be said, you don’t have a sense of humor. Now that frost has hit the area a few times, things in the garden take on a whole new perspective.

Wilson:  Even birds gather in groups to watch from their high vantage points. Makes you wonder if these guys had a quorum for their meeting. We don’t usually see such a gathering on houses around our house-they’re usually in trees but this is a new neighborhood we visited recently.

Birds

The Mum: Back in our neighborhood, as you may recall  we brought Figaro inside to keep him safe from frost. Things seemed be going well and then all of a sudden, he must have looked outside, took one look at the falling leaves and decided to follow suite. Awk…poor Figaro. I guess the spot I put him in wasn’t bright enough (apparently just like me) and replicated the outdoor scene. Just look at that pile of leaves! Gah!

Figaro

Wilson: On the bright side, there are lots of buds on some of the bare branches so I hope that’s a good sign. We’ll keep an eye on him and see how he does in the studio window which faces south and provide sufficient light.

The Mum:  I was pretty heartbroken to see all those fallen leaves and hope with a little patience he’ll recover. On the other side of the coin, right on cue, my Christmas cactus has begun blooming. I think they must have mislabeled it-it really seems to be more of Thanksgiving cactus because it always starts budding around the first of November. Hopefully it will bloom throughout both holidays. It’s a pretty pop of color in the kitchen window when things tend to be dull and brown outside.

Christmas cactus

Wilson:  The milkweed is in full bloom and its gossamer silk catches the light nicely. It means there’ll be ongoing food for butterflies next spring.

Milkweed

The Mum: It was almost iridescent in the morning light-I could see it shining from across the street.

Wilson: Lovely Mum, just lovely. But what is this? Isn’t it a bit early to start selling Christmas trees?

Christmas tree lot

The Mum: I was a bit concerned when I first spotted the chain link fencing around the historic old Elitch Garden carousel earlier this week. The next day signs appeared  so while I breathed a sigh of relief, I began scratching my head at the early appearance. Even if you’re counting down the holiday shopping season, nothing says ‘get on with it’ quite like a Christmas tree lot. Yikes!

Wilson: Indeed. Well that’s it for this week. Any big plans for the weekend? The weather, while being a bit cooler, still should be nice and hopefully we can get outdoors to check out what Nature is generously gifting us this time of year. Maybe even a critter or two…paws crossed. Have a great weekend and don’t forget to look for what Nature provides us…when we just take the time to look.

Nature

Lice, love, bark! 🐾

Nature Friday ~ October 31, 2025

~ Tails Around the Ranch ~ 71 Comments

PumpkinsGreetings, mates. Wilson here for this last Friday of October. There are 61 days left in this year and only 55 days until Santa Paws arrives. As we generally do on Friday, we’re joining our friends Rosy and Sunny from Adventures of the LLB Gang’s blog hop. Be sure to click on the link to see what others have shared.

Today is Halloween and we’re hoping there are lots of little ghouls who will drop by this evening and polish off the bag of chocolate candies Mum got for the occasion. She thought she was getting a mixed bag that included KitKats and Twix but discovered there were only KitKats in it and more than half of them have what’s known as “white chocolate.” Mum said ‘white’ chocolate is a rouse and worse, it feels like you’re being gypped. Then she started howling about something called ‘shrink-flation’ being bad enough rexently discovered companies are now shortchanging chocolate content in candy. Harumph. Mum’s a bit of a chocoholic and said if it’s white, it’s definitely NOT chocolate. I think there were a few HBO words which I shan’t repeat here. I’ll let her tell you just how she feels. You may want to skip over this part since she’s all frothed up about some of the politics leading to her anguish which takes a bit of a turn with the political goings-on.

The Mum: That’s right, Floof. Chocolate is brown (i.e. milk, dark chocolate); there is no such thing as white chocolate. That substitution is simply a sugarfied replacement since cocoa has become so expensive with companies trying to weather the cocoa shortage by diluting content with rice krispies and/or nuts and smaller packaging. Bah humbug! The shortage has been attributed to rising production costs and trade tariffs which have further impacted the situation driving up prices for chocolate makers and consumers. Climate change has also contributed to the shortage with a severe drought in West Africa from where most chocolate comes.

Wilson: Ok, Mum. You’ve had your say, let’s move on now shall we?

The Mum: You’re right, that was totally insensitive of me. In these current economic times, I do hope people consider helping out their local food pantries to help out those less fortunate. The need is even more important now due to the government shutdown. Food prices are still very high and with so many workers not receiving paychecks, it’s compounding the problem. I was shocked to learn that some 40 million people receive some sort of food assistance which they won’t be receiving beginning in November. 40 million people in this country! Let that sink in. While I loathe politics on the blog, but I’m just so angry that Congress continues to receive their salaries but is okay with denying women and children food assistance.

Wilson: {deftly changing the topic to keep Mum from additional howling} So we experienced our first hard frost this week and gosh, has it been chilly. On Tuesday it was only 25F (-3C) and there I was minus my heavy fur coat after getting groomed for my hospital duties. Luckily my dapper fleece coat helped keep me toasty walking across the parking lot to the hospital.

Wilson

The Mum: Everyone remarked how cute you looked, but I did notice that you blew me a raspberry when I took your pic.

Wilson: {chuckling at being busted} Just check out the frost crystals on our compost bin. I’m shivering just looking at it.

Frost

The Mum: Yes, that frost finally did in the tomato plant. I knew it was coming and I neglected to harvest the dozen or so ripe ones and almost felt badly that I let them go to waste but at least they’ll help make some nice compost for next spring. Look at those sad frost bitten leaves. The cold also did a big number on the catalpa tree leaves. Those babies were dropping like bombs on the sidewalk. That second photo doesn’t really do it justice-there were so many fallen leaves covering the sidewalk.

Tomatoes

Fallen leaves

Wilson: It was however a much different picture a couple of days before the frost hit. We found some really pretty flowers and brilliantly hued leaves from around the neighborhood.

Burning bush Black eyed Susan Rose

The Mum: I loved finding that Burning Bush shrub. It just ‘screamed’ autumn. And even that Black-eyed Susan was pretty even if it was just a bit past its expiration date. And who’d have thought roses would still be blooming at the end of October?!

Wilson: Together with the golden light, it’s turned out to be a pretty spectacular autumn this year. And look what you found yesterday. A cute little mushroom mostly buried in leaves. You almost missed it, didn’t you?

Mushroom

The Mum: I sure did, I nearly stepped on it. I was in the garden looking for a trowel I seemed to have misplaced when I was out there dividing the irises last weekend. Never did find it but will continue to look. Too often I get distracted or need something and set my tool down to take care of it and forget where I set my tool down. Ugh. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve done that. They eventually show up but it bugs me when I misplace my tools.

Wilson: You’ll find it, Mum. Sooner or later. Well, that’s all we have. If you celebrate it, we hope everyone has a safe Halloween. Don’t let those ghosts scare you. There are also The Day of the Dead festivities this weekend and we offer our best “Feliz Dia de los Muertos” wishes where people show respect to the traditions of honoring and remembering their loved ones.

Day of the Dead

The Mum: That’s right, plus the second worst day of the year ends tomorrow night…Daylight Savings Times, so don’t forget to ‘fall back.’ The first being when we started this stupid period back in early spring. I won’t get up on my soapbox about this twice annual switch, suffice to say I’m no fan of going back and forth. It was always a nightmare adjusting the timing of Elsa’s anti-seizure medication. We send our condolences to those who still need to adjust the schedule to keep pets and peeps safe and seizure free.

DST

Wilson: Enjoy that ‘extra’ hour of sleep Sunday morning. Have a great weekend.

Nature

Live, love, bark! 🍁

Nature Friday ~ October 24, 2025

~ Tails Around the Ranch ~ 64 Comments

GhostiesGood day, mates, Wilson here for this week’s edition of Nature Friday. As we typically do, we are joining our friends from Adventures of the LLB Gang for their weekly blog hop. Don’t forget to click on their link to see what other folks have shared this week. We hope you’ve been enjoying autumn this week. Our temps have been much more seasonal and we even had a couple of days that started with a light frost. But don’t worry, we still managed to find some lovely blooms still hanging out around the neighborhood. Let’s get started, shall we? My Mum will be joining us shortly.

Wilson: So just to set the record straight, that intro photo above is not documentation of a bunch of ghosties, no siree. Those were garden sheets that uprights place over their tender veggies to protect them from the first frost since April of this year. The frost did not appear to damage tender veggies in our garden as our tomato plant is still covered with little tomatoes in various stages of green, yellow, orange and red, right Mum? Hel-lo, Mum?

The Mum: I’m here, just pouring a second cup of coffee. Good morning, Floof. I didn’t bother covering our plants, hoping they would go quietly in the night. But, they are still pretty vigorous considering the cool temps at night. I’ve been removing any new blooms and new shoots but clearly they’re not paying attention to the signs of their pending demise. I’ve been sharing little baggies of tomatoes for the neighbors. While I’ve enjoyed their tastiness this summer, I’m so tired of eating tomatoes at every meal. I did bring ‘Figaro’ indoors and happy to report he is sitting in a fairly sunny corner settling nicely in his new home. I’m hoping the fruit will ripen soon so we can enjoy a few for breakfast.

Wilson: Gee Mum, you sure are pampering them. I saw you adding organic fertilizer as you tucked them into their new spot and you even tidied up the pot and saucer so it looks nice and free of all cobwebs in the draining saucer and you even wiped down the leaves to remove the garden dust from the several windy days we experienced recently. It looks great in its new home and hope you will have some figs soon because I know when you do, I’ll get a bite or too as well.

The Mum: You’re nothing if not optimistic, aren’t you, House Pony? So what else do you have to share for us today?

Wilson: We’ve been so focused on finding flowers I’ve kind of lost track of Halloween decorations. That first cold snap was followed by a very windy day. Here I was humming to myself, admiring my luxurious fur coat, minding my own business when all of a sudden this guy nearly attacked me. He was whipping around like a  Life Alert commercial (“Help I’ve Fallen and Can’t Get Up”™️). Hope you can understand why I growled at him? Those fingers really creeped me out!

Halloween Halloween

The Mum: You did indeed. I had to chuckle reassure you that you were going to be fine. We walked past and everything worked out fine {giggling}.

Wilson: It wasn’t funny, Mum. He scared the bejesus out of me. I mean…how dare he sneak up on me like that and try to grab my fabulous floofness. I know you have wanted me to pose nicely once he got upright to show there were no hard feelings, but I wanted nothing to do with him. Not then, not now. Ever.

The Mum: {chortling} I understand, buddy. But you got admit, it was a little bit funny, right?

Wilson: {straightening his furs out with a good vigorous shake} Ahem…don’t give up your day job, Mum. That was decidedly not funny.

The Mum: I’m {giggle} sorry, sweet {hahaha} boy. {gaining her composure and clearing her throat}. I don’t mean to laugh but it was a comical scene. But hey, {changing the subject} on the plus side, you managed to find more pretty roses for us.

Wilson: {lightbulb as a nice memory began to form in the back of his brain} Ah yes, some pretty roses. They are hanging on nicely as the weather begins to advance into more autumness.

Pink rose Rose White rose

The Mum: They sure are beautiful and you found some real lovely specimens. We should enjoy them while we can. They will be going away soon enough for a winter snooze. Speaking of winter…that day we experienced all that horrible wind which brought down branches and limbs all over the metro area, the nearby mountains were experiencing snowflakes. I-70 was closed in both directions at the Eisenhower Tunnel on Monday and I think the mountain corridor received around 4-6 inches over the past few days. While the ‘Hood remained dry, we know that white stuff will likely be reaching us soon enough.

Wilson: And just because I know you and a couple of our readers enjoy their sunny faces, I found a sunflower.

SunflowerThe Mum: Aww, thanks, Floof. Appreciate you thinking of us.

Wilson:  My pleasure, Mum. So did I hear something about seeing Miss Sydney over the next few days? Uh oh…that can only mean one thing…you plan on floof-ifying my furs and turning my now grey paws paddles back to white. While I’m no fan of the bath, I do love Miss Sydney and will try my best to be a good boy. Or at least one that isn’t too much of a bucking bronco. Heh, heh.

The Mum: {blushing with embarrassment} Thanks, buddy. I do hope you are good. She takes such good care of you turning you into a handsome fella which will get you primed and ready for visiting our friends at Lutheran soon. They’ll be so excited to see you. Maybe you’ll even wear a bit of a Halloween costume when you visit.

Wilson: Bite your tongue Mum. Don’t you know, us “Fabulous Floofs” don’t require a costume to look good-we’re perfect just the way we are. But I will be excited to see all my friends. Friends means treats and ear rubs. So what’s on your agenda for this weekend? Got any special plans? Whatever you do, we hope it’s a wonderful weekend!

Nature

Live, love, bark! 🐾

Nature Friday ~ October 17, 2025

~ Tails Around the Ranch ~ 58 Comments

Baby TerryWelcome to this week’s edition of Nature Friday. Today is the 42nd Friday of 2025, and the 290th day of the year. If you’re celebrating a holiday today, it’s National Pasta Day and National Mammography Day for all you gals out there. There are only 75 days left. But for our family, it’s an extra special day-it’s Mum’s sister, Terry’s birthday. Happy Birthday to Mum’s special sister, “teeny-weenie Terry Jeannie” who is incredibly talented and always there for her family. We both send our love and best wishes on her special day. I, Wilson, also send her extra loads of digital sheepdog kisses which she should especially enjoy because they aren’t wet.

With it being Nature Friday, we are once again joining our friends from Adventures of the LLB Gang for their weekly blog hop. Don’t forget to click on their link to see all that others haver shared this week.

The Mum: Hiya, House Pony. It looks like Nature has decided to roll out some slices of autumn finally. Sheesh, you’d think she was Microsoft changing to Windows 11 with a new software rollout.

Wilson: To show how slow the ‘software update’ has been these past few weeks, here is a progression of a tree we pass by every day on our walk. Mum has previously complained mentioned how slowly Nature has been taking its sweet time showing off its autumnal beauty. But it has been interesting watching it change, not daily, but rather weekly. Here’s Exhibit A from earlier this month.Maple leaves

The Mum: It was as if someone forgot to check their inbox to read a memo about changing colors.

Wilson: Frankly I think Mother Nature forgot to push the send message button, Mum. Fast forward to a couple of days ago, and here’s that same tree.  Looks like the message was finally read and executed.

Maple leaves

The Mum: And then there were some trees that said, “oh crap, we’re late and started dropping most of their leaves all at the same time.”

Autumn leaves

Wilson: I’ve been entertained by some side-by-side comparisons. Some trees are turning while others seem to be in denial like these two. Colorful on the left…green on the right. That has to irritate the person who does the leaf raking since the season for that activity is dramatically extended.

Autumn leaves

The Mum:  Other trees just flat out scream “AUTUMN!” like this tree we passed by yesterday a couple of blocks away from the ones above. Clearly the neighborhood has defaulted to various time zones for changing colors.

Maple leavesWilson: It’s been fairly noisy walking on sidewalks covered in fallen leaves. I haven’t been able to sneak up on the squirrels because of it. But in exchange for losing my stealth, Nature has provided me with the more fascinating smells. I have been enjoying all the sniffing I am able to do lately.

Autumn leaves

The Mum:  You’re right, our morning walks in particular are taking a lot longer because you’re acting like a NCIS investigator.

Wilson: But Mum…even you’ll have to admit, the smells of autumn are a-m-a-z-i-n-g. I can’t help myself when things are that much more interesting.

The Mum: I really don’t mind, I love watching you in olfactory heaven and the more you sniff, the more your brain relaxes and enjoys the whole walk. Plus it seems to wear you out more completely. When we arrive home from a walk, you pass out from having your nose engaged far more than the physical exercise. A couple of times, you’ve gone into such a deep sleep, you started making adorable little squeaks. You must be enjoying some wonderful dreams.

Wilson: Ummm {blushing} I guess so. Anyway, I am having a most enjoyable time picking up all manner of fabulous smells. It’s like Mother Nature is providing me with a calorie-less treat so I’m good with that.

The Mum: We were supposed to get a bit of moisture this week but it skipped over our neighborhood. The cloudy and windy conditions provided some lovely photographic opportunities for  shadows and composition like this golden leaf that managed to land squarely in the middle of this clump of leaves in a bush.

Yellow leaf

Wilson: Nature knows how to stage scenes, Mum.

The Mum: She sure does. And those scenes must be the roadmaps for birds when it comes to food in the neighborhood. It’s no wonder this Oregon Grape Holly always has tiny little birds in it. Just look at all those berries. It should help keep them well fed this winter.

Oregon grape holly

Wilson: Every time we walk past those holly plants, a bunch of little birds fly out of it. I know I should be used to it, but they startle me, every single time. But I bravely walk on, training my eagle eyes on any possible squirrel sightings. Those two species seem to cohabitate well together. Though lord knows, I don’t get it.

The Mum: You know you have to calm down about squirrels. We need to work on your impulse control. This morning on our early walk, you were a little tightly wound, buddy.

Wilson: Erm, sorry, Mum. I could say I was startled by seeing this neighborhood pair of spiders but I don’t think you’d buy that.

Halloween spider

The Mum: {chuckling} Nice try but you’re right…I’m not buying it. So what’s the game plan for your weekend? You ready to do some exploring in a different neighborhood to see what Nature has unrolled there?

Wilson: Oh yes, you know me, I’m always up for an adventure and if it involves a car ride, well…pencil me in! We hope you have a great weekend exploring your neighborhood and checking out signs of autumn. Make it a great one!

Nature

Live, love, bark! 🐾