Category: Mother Nature

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! 🐾

Nature Friday ~ October 10, 2025

~ Tails Around the Ranch ~ 60 Comments

Welcome to today’s edition of Nature Friday. Today is day 281 in 2025 and there are 82 days left until 2026 arrives. Gosh, where has this year gone? As we always do, we’re joining our friends from Adventures of the LLB Gang. Wilson here with today’s mishmash edition of sights from around our neighborhood. Don’t forget to click on the link to see what others posted about nature this week. Mum was grateful to find enough time in a busy week to snap a few pics, but nothing is really cohesive. Let’s get started, shall we?

Wilson: Oh Muummm. Where in the bloody heck is that woman…

The Mum: {panting out of breath} Sorry, I was preoccupied and just now realized I was running late. Sorry, House Pony. Forgive me?

Wilson: Hmm, let me think…o-kay. Just don’t make being late a regular thing, ‘kay Mum?

The Mum: Yessir. Me thinks someone is just a tad full of himself but let’s see what you’ve got.

Wilson: Well let’s open with a couple of critters who stopped by. Normally I wait until it’s fully dark to have an evening potty break, but the other night I decided to go out at dusk. I thought there might be a squirrel out there (like I always do) so I completely missed the bunny hiding in the dark foliage and low light. Mum has been saying that I’m beginning to resemble a muppet with hair in my eyes, maybe she’s right. I did not see this little guy at all, even when he moved. Mum thinks he might be our strawberry thief. He sure blends in to his surroundings, doesn’t he? If it hadn’t been for his twitching ears, she probably wouldn’t have been able to see him either because he blended in so well.

Rabbit

The Mum: Silly boy…didn’t you hear me whisper, “see the bunny?” You’ve got to stop being so fixated on squirrels. And speaking of squirrels… last week we shared a pic with acorns but this week I managed to capture one of the little hoodlums that usually eat them. He was raising cain for interrupting him when I walked near the Catalpa tree. Noisy little bugger.

Wilson: Well he wouldn’t be so chatty if I’d have been there, I can tell you that. Cheeky little devil.

The Mum:  I’m glad you weren’t outside then. That little guy was quite the taunter and I know how that would have bothered you,. Stick to watching the bunnies, Floof.

Wilson:  Sorry, can’t make that promise. He comes in my yard, there’s going to be some WWF action. But enough about him. So I see you finally found a patch of pretty leaves. Seems like autumn is continuing to take its sweet time showing up this year. What’s that all about? Most of this tree was green except for this clump of leaves.

Autumn leaves

The Mum: It’s been rare seeing the leaves change but this bright spot of color stood out nicely. Leaves have been slow to change and a good share have simply turned brown. It was another pleasant week of cooler temps with a light shower one day. The remnants of that shower showed up in a couple of pics.

Tomato in rain

Wilson: I see the tomatoes are still producing fruit.

The Mum: I have enjoyed fresh, tasty tomatoes for the past few months but to tell the truth, I’m tired of eating them twice a day just to keep up with all of the new ones ripening and have started removing flowers since it’s unlikely for them to mature before the first frost anyway. I gave away a couple of bags this week too. Next year I won’t plant multiple plants which should help. Every year is always an adventure when you garden, and I learned that there’s a limit to good things. There’ll be lots of rich organic material for next year.

Wilson: ‘Figaro’ seems to have enjoyed the moisture. The fruit is slow to ripen and with it being late in the growing season, it will be good to bring it indoors in the next few days and keep me company.

Figs

The Mum: I have so enjoyed watching ‘Figaro’ grow over the summer and think he will be a nice edition to the indoor garden as well.

Wilson: So what was that funky weird green thing we saw yesterday on one of our walks? It looked like a piece of a green leaf but then it moved and it startled me.

Katydid

The Mum: Silly boy, that’s an insect known as Microcentrum rhombifolium, commonly referred to as a greater angle-winged katydid. They are widespread throughout the world except in Antarctica and live in trees and shrubs. As insects go, they’re kind of big reaching anywhere from 50–65 millimeters (2.0–2.6 in) in length and are rhombus-shaped. I usually don’t see them since they camouflage themselves nicely by looking like leaves. You generally see them in late summer and they should be considered a ‘backyard buddy’ as they prey on garden pests like aphids and do some pollination as well. While they do eat leaves, any damage is mostly negligible since they tend to move on quickly leaving little damage. They are an important segment of the food chain providing food for birds, frogs or other garden critters. Katydids are gentle bugs and harmless to humans and are not poisonous. They make a “ticking” sound with two or three  syllables. “Kat-y-did, kat-y, kat-y-did” and while they have a pair of leaf-like wings, they are unable to fly.

Wilson: Hmmm, What a fascinating bug. So glad it wasn’t another toxic thing like plants you’ve focused on lately. I didn’t hear it making any noise but given that it didn’t stick around after posing for us, but I’m sure I would have liked enjoying a little tune before checking it out more closely.

The Mum: He probably would have not been impressed with your ginormous nose getting all up in his grill once he saw you investigating him. You tend to frighten off little critters.

Wilson: It no doubt due to the squirrels’ telling malicious lies about me. Critters should realize  I’m a harmless floof.

The Mum: I think the squirrels have every reason to avoid you and doubt they are spreading any lies.

Wilson: {interrupting} But Mum, bugs and bunnies avoid me like the plague.

The Mum: Well, you are so much bigger than they are and it’s natural to avoid potentially threatening creatures.

Wilson: Well I mean them no harm, I just wish they’d let me get close enough to sniff them and then they’d know I could be a wonderfully fabulous friend.

The Mum: {chuckling to herself} It’s not very likely but you can always hope. So are you doing anything exciting this weekend?

Wilson: I’m meeting one of your friends who just recently moved back to Colorado from California so I’m excited about making a new friend. Other than that, I’m open for new adventures in this glorious season called autumn. We hope you have loads of fun and are able to get outside and enjoy some of the finer aspects of autumn.

Nature

Live, love, bark! 🐾

Nature Friday ~ October 3, 2025

~ Tails Around the Ranch ~ 61 Comments

Greetings, mates. Tis I, Wilson, the fabulous floof here to welcome you to the first Friday of October. For those keeping track, today is the 276th day of the year with just 89 days left until we can tuck 2025 in the history books. This week we captured some images showing October at its finest as well as learned about some of the dangers that often live in our gardens. Let’s get started but first, as always we’re joining our friends from Adventures of LLB and hope you will check out their link to see what others have posted this week.

Wilson: So my Mum and another rescue volunteer drove up to Evergreen, Colorado, a lovely mountain community located about 20 miles west of Denver to check out a potential adopter. They couldn’t help but wonder how bad the traffic might be going up on a weekend with all the city leaf peepers heading up to the high country and were pleasantly surprised that the ride up was nothing like the cluster it was last year. It was a cool day but you couldn’t ask for lovelier weather. Evergreen’s elevation is 7,220 ft. (2200 m) and the aspen leaves were beginning to change into their trademark gold colors. Against dark evergreen trees, you could see those ‘quaking aspens’ from miles away.

Aspen in Evergreen

The Mum: It was a gorgeous day and it was a thrill to see Populus tremuloides often referred to as Quaking Aspen leaves are beginning to turn in areas all over the state. According to the U.S. Forest Service, the Quaking Aspen is one of the most widely distributed trees in all of North America. They are a tall, fast-growing tree, usually about 15–18 m. (50–60 ft) tall at maturity, with a relatively smooth white bark that is marked by thick black horizontal scars and prominent black knots. When you see parallel vertical scars you know the elk have been munching on the bark with their front teeth particularly during winter months when grass is buried in snow. Quaking aspen get their common name from their distinctive leaves’ tendency to “quake” or tremble in wind due to  their flattened stems.  Aspen trees are considered the largest living organism in the world because of how they spread through a long underground root system, creating clones (suckers) with new trunks emerging from it, thus creating large clonal groves. Their leaves tend to be moist and do not readily burn and it has recently been reported that wildfires will sometimes bypass stands of aspen enclosed within a coniferous forest.

Wilson: After your rescue work, you guys drove back home from Evergreen and enjoyed the show of gorgeous changing leaves and wide open meadows where elk walk through grazing on grass.

Changing leaves - Aspen

Aspen

Evergreen meadow

The Mum: It was a quite a sight winding down the mountain and seeing those spots of gold dotting the landscape. Every turn provided another gorgeous view.

Wilson: Pretty cool, Mum. This week had a few slices signaling autumn’s arrival around our neighborhood too. Look at this clump of acorns Mum found. I can’t believe the squirrels hadn’t eaten them.

Acorns

The Mum : Aren’t they simply adorable?

Wilson: The squirrels?

The Mum: No, silly Floof, the acorns. You know my thoughts on squirrels.

Wilson: Whew…I was beginning to think you’d gone to the dark side, Mum.

The Mum: Not likely. So what else would you like to share?

Wilson: We found some very interesting but potentially dangerous plants along our walks. Check out this one! What is it, Mum?

Castor bean plant

The Mum: That is the castor bean plant and is widely cultivated in parks and public spaces. It’s surprising as it is quite toxic and extremely poisonous. I have seen it around and while those flowers are colorful and fascinating, I was shocked when I found out what it was. We won’t be planting it in our garden any time soon. Yikes!

Wilson: You seem to be on a roll, Mum. I see you’ve managed to find another poisonous plant. Caladium, also known as elephant ear or the heart of Jesus, is also poisonous. Native to South and Central America, they are hardy only to Zone 10 in the US and cultivated as houseplants or treated like annuals in a garden and should be lifted before the first frost and stored when temps reach 65F (13C) after the tubers have been dried. All parts of this plants are poisonous and should not be ingested and the leaves could irritate the skin.

Caladium

Wilson: Ok, you’re beginning to scare me, Mum. Those plants were discovered along our daily walking routes. Should I be scared?

The Mum: Not really sweet boy, it was just a fluke that I found some beautiful plants that happen to be toxic. Nature provides defensive strategies for lots of critters and plants to allow them to survive in a world that can be threatening to them. Even like this beautiful hydrangea which I learned is toxic to dogs, cats and horses. This is why I keep you on a short leash to avoid encountering anything dangerous.

Hydrangeas

Wilson: I’m getting nervous walking around because you know I love our walks and love to sniff.

The Mum: Don’t worry, buddy. It’s good for dogs to sniff, because it activates your brain, reduces anxiety and provides mental stimulation. Besides, I watch you like a hawk to make sure you stay safe and don’t get into plants that could cause problems.

Wilson: I appreciate that, Mum even if I sometimes wish I could roam freely without such close observation, it sounds like being careful is the best strategy and appreciate that you look up all the plants that we encounter on our daily jaunts so we can avoid any toxic ones.

The Mum:  It’s good to learn about the natural world in general but especially prudent to  avoid encounters that could have unpleasant consequences. Learning about common plants we may find in our garden provides us with the necessary information to stay safe. So what’s on your weekend agenda? Have you got any plans?

Wilson: Nothing really specific but I hope we can go check out Sloan’s Lake and watch the lake birds. The weather should be lovely and I’m sure there will be lots of people enjoying the pleasant temps and changing leaves. We hope you have a terrific weekend full of beauty. Enjoy getting a healthy dose of Vitamin D!

Nature

Live, love, bark! 🐾

Nature Friday ~ September 19, 2025

~ Tails Around the Ranch ~ 51 Comments

Wilson-bathWelcome to this week’s edition of Nature Friday where we’re joining our friends from Adventures of the LLB Gang for their weekly blog hop. Wilson here and it’s been an interesting week. Mum tricked me by taking me into taking a ride to the dog wash place but they were closed which meant she had to take me back to the house to endure Chinese water torture treatment (aka a bath). Have I mentioned I. don’t. like. baths. At least at the dog wash I’m restrained and elevated which makes it easier for Mum. At home she has to contend with me trying to escape every 3 seconds and she has to bend over…a lot. Naturally I’m going to turn into a bucking bronco. Good thing Mum is wise to a lot of my usual tricks and was only able to escape just once. I did manage to get her completely soaked and it took her longer to mop up the bathroom than to actually bathe me. Heh, heh. This of course was necessary because this is my week spending time visiting patients, staff and visitors at the hospital. Yesterday was quite busy-I saw nearly 50 people before I even went to our assigned floor.  Of course I love all the attention and the treats are pretty doggone good too. Mum keeps telling people I can’t have a lot of treats because I tend to lose focus. I just blink at her like I don’t understand what she’s talking about. It seems to work out nicely if I do say so myself. I managed to make a bunch of new friends and we ended up staying twice as long as usual. I became BFF’s with the security guards in the emergency department and they had me pose for photos for them. I did so many photos with nurses and hospital visitors that I may need to hire an agent.

Wilson-Security Guards

But enough about me, let’s get to the nature we saw this week, eh?

Wilson: Chrysanthemums are exploding with color around our neighborhood and these red beauties caught my eye. Just look at all those blooms!

Mums

The Mum: Those mums are beautiful and can see why they caught your eye. This is definitely the time of year where these flowers truly shine in the glorious golden light of September.

Wilson:  You’re right, Mum, the light this month makes even flowers passed their expiration date like this oversized sunflower look good. Mum loved it, even if it’s droopy.

Sunflower

The Mum: You are correct there, House Pony. I think if we’d have received any of the forecasted rain instead of only very loud thunder, it might have been more perky. But I did like it and viewed it from all angles.

Wilson: You’re so weird Mum. I mean when I stop, I at least sniff. You just stand there and look at flowers. That’s so lame. I just don’t understand why looking is enough for humans.

The Mum: Are you kidding me? The magical light this time of year is enough to look in awe and appreciate the light as well as the form.

Wilson: Whatever floats your boat, Mum. So what’s the story behind this zinnia? I heard you squealing about it and when you came inside; you looked proud as punch. Looks like they were splashed with paint.

Zinnia

The Mum: Well I planted this new variety of zinnia seed called Confetti. It’s taken all summer long before any of the ‘confetti’ actually showed up. You can see a couple of pink ones in the background. All the flowers were only solid colors but no confetti so I was somewhat disappointed, even though the few flowers that displayed the confetti part were a lot less exciting than the picture on the seed packet. It was underwhelming by comparison but I’m grateful at least a few finally germinated even if it was somewhat subdued.

Wilson: When we were out walking before our hospital shift began yesterday, we noticed this little vertical garden just down the street. Look at this cute little pumpkin…just hanging there…waiting to be picked. It’s the first time since the owner installed that steel arbor that had something like that grow. Going vertical in a limited space seems brilliant.

Baby pumpkin

The Mum: It was a clever use of the narrow ‘hell space’ that rarely gets used effectively. And a plus is there’s no misshapen form from the bottom from laying on the ground. Win-win.

Wilson: Nice, Mum. A couple doors down the street we found this youngish Ginkgo tree. The city has begun including them in the inventory of trees used to replace the troublesome silver maple trees as a different option for city landscapes. Ginkgos are large shade trees that are resistant to wind and snow damage. They have a distinct and unique fan-shaped leaf but are a slow growing tree that requires at least 6 hours of full sunlight and well watered and well drained sites. Native to eastern Asia, they are like living fossils as they’ve been around for 290 million years.

Ginkgo tree

The Mum: I find these trees quite fascinating with those interestingly shaped leaves. This one is slowly starting to turn golden. It seems like the changing colors of leaves is a bit slow this year, at least in the city. Oh sure there are some spots showing up in the tree canopy but nothing really suggesting that autumn will officially arrive next week. It’s been a strange prelude to this magical time of year. In fact, I was surprised to see this Stella de Oro daylily blooming. It’s often called the perfect perennial because of its many wonderful qualities (beautiful flowers, drought tolerance and the ability able to withstand heat stress, and its low care requirements). It maybe a  miniature daylily but it packs a big punch in a city landscape.

Stella de Oro daylily

Wilson: While it attracts butterflies and hummingbirds, it is quite toxic for cats so be careful if you plant it in your yard and you have a kitty that likes to stroll through the garden looking for mousies.

The Mum: That’s interesting-I did not know that about its toxicity to cats.

Wilson: Well that’s it for this week, Mum. We hope everyone has a great weekend and are able to get outdoors to experience this fabulous time of year.

Nature

Live, love, bark! 🐾

 

Nature Friday ~ September 12, 2025

~ Tails Around the Ranch ~ 55 Comments

WilsonGreetings mates. Wilson here ready to share bits and bobs of nature that we encountered this week. As always, I’m joining the blog hop hosted by the Adventures of the LLB Gang’s. Don’t forget to click on the link to see what great posts and pics were shared throughout Blogville.

Not to set off an alarm, but I realized there are only 111 days left in 2025. That means there are just 104 days until Santa Paws arrives. Yikes, I don’t know how you feel about that, but I know it’s got me and Mum starting to panic. But let’s focus on how beautiful nature has been this week.

Wilson: While the temps have been warm, they haven’t been too hot (unless you were standing in the sun for any length of time). Warms days, coolish nights…the perfect weather for ripening all those little tomatoes. Mum picks one or two every time she goes outside. Our street was all in a dither last week when a baby squirrel apparently fell out of the large maple across the street. Poor little thing-just a wee baby. It wasn’t doing so great and even my squirrel despising Mum went to help a group of compassionate neighbors rescue it and its sibling. She was told there were three babies, but she never saw the other one and their mum seemed to be MIA. We heard the shrill call of a hawk on Sunday and decided that it was likely responsible for this guy falling trying to avoid becoming an entree and he fell. We managed to coax the other baby down the tree and we put them both in a little box for a young couple who took pity and insisted on taking them up to a wild animal rescue in Boulder. We all agreed they were pretty young. This little guy was pretty week and likely dehydrated. We left some water out and he at least opened his eyes after licking some from where he stumbled and spilled the containers. Another neighbor even put out some bread bits but he wouldn’t eat. I was thinking he was too young and most likely hadn’t been weaned yet to survive. As you all know I’m no fan of these little varmints but felt badly for the baby.

Baby squirrel
Wilson named him little Sherman

The Mum: I was surprised at all the attention those two little guys received from people in the neighbor. Most of the time they hardly ever look up from their cell phones but were very engaged on saving these babies. It almost restores my doubts about humans especially given the news this week. Not only was Charlie Kirk assassinated, there was a mass shooting at nearby Evergreen High School, the shooter shot a couple of classmates and turned the gun on himself. Many students were injured in the melee trying to escape. This world is becoming a crazy place.

Wilson: We were out walking around and came across this pretty dragonfly on the sidewalk. Turns out it was an adult female common whitetail dragonfly most likely hunting for mosquitos, their main food source. Mum had never seen one before and was fascinated with her appearance. The male’s abdomen is all white, while the females have those white dots running along her sides.

Common Whitetail Dragonfly

The Mum: We love any insects that hunt mosquitoes.

Wilson: Right-o, Mum. So I wonder who or what left this web all over these leaves? The water droplets really highlighted the web after you watered the garden.

Spider web

The Mum: It sure was quite the sparkly view and caught my eye.

Wilson: You sure have been keeping your eyes open for spiders this summer. It seems like there’s been more than usual. But because they help control some nasty insects, we don’t mind them so much. Hey, how about this pretty Sweet Autumn Clematis vine?  Native to northeastern Asia, this lovely plant is part of the buttercup family and was introduced into the United States in the late 1800s as an ornamental garden plant,. It’s naturalized in many of the eastern states and is considered an invasive plant in north and central Florida as well as some other eastern states. It had a delicate scent to it

The Mum: At first I thought it might be jasmine but the scent was barely perceptible so I figured it had to be something else. It sure was pretty though.

Wilson: Indeed it was, Mum. That was a good walk but nothing like the one we took after our meeting at the hospital this week. You took me to an open space area not too far from the hospital and we got to walk along the trail. I even got to see some riders with their horses. This pointing pose says it all but it was nice walking along the little stream on such a beautiful day.

Wilson
Halt…who goes there?!

The Mum: I noticed you made no attempt to check out the water.

Wilson: I presume that was just a rhetorical observation. You know perfectly well that I’m not a water dog.

The Mum: {chortling} Yeah, I’ve figured that out. But you should try it sometime. It’s not like a bath. Besides, who knows, you might find a fish or a frog…also known as interactive toys.

Wilson: Also for the record, I don’t do toys, Mum.

The Mum: Lighten up laddie. I do know that…you need to unclench, ‘kay?

Wilson: Well, I just wanted to make it perfectly clear. So what did you think about the reblooming irises we saw outside the hospital before our meeting? I thought you said you had some but I don’t recall them reblooming…come to think of it, did they bloom in the spring?

The Mum: I think they did, but you’re right they didn’t rebloom. The one’s at Lutheran were pretty and just like ours. They caught me off guard. I do love me some irises and the fact that these rebloomers makes them such a lovely addition to any garden.

Reblooming irises

Wilson: They were indeed pretty but I got to admit, I was more excited to see another garden goose dressed up. This must be a ‘thing’ because it’s the second one we’ve seen recently. They’re so funny and make me tilt my head.

Goose

The Mum: You’re right House Pony…they are funny. I love gardeners with a sense of humor. Naturally, I’ll be on the alert to see more of these quirky garden art pieces.

Wilson: Whatever makes you happy, Mum. I can tell we’re getting closer to autumn and I didn’t even have to check a calendar. Apart from more spots of gold in tree tops, I noticed the strawberry plant is changing colors. Just look at those reddening leaves!

Strawberry in autumn

The Mum:  That is another good sign. Ten days and counting  so color us happy. Looks like that’s it for this week. Both of us hope you have a fantabulously awesome weekend and are able to get outside to see how nature is morphing into autumn.

Wilson: Woof! That means ‘yes’ in dog. Have a great weekend.

Nature

Live, love, bark! 🐾