Category: OES

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.

 Wilson: A real mess, right? And that was just the downstairs! It was worse upstairs. Well, I’m happy to report her doggedness has paid off, everything downstairs has now been put into its proper spot and you can actually walk about without stubbing a paw on a bin or box. Thank dog! The language I’ve heard over the past 3 weeks has been shocking and I’m not one to blush.

The Mum: Hey, that’s not fair…I noticed you howled a couple of times yourself.

Wilson: Oops, hi Mum. Thought I was doing a solo today. Ahem…sorry about that characterization. Since misery loves company, Mum reminds herself that this is a community that’s still under construction and more folks will begin to move in and enjoy the move in process that we had {snicker}. We already met the couple at the end of our lane. Mum shakes her head-those folks have managed to complete all manner of projects since moving in (i.e. painting their garage walls as well as painting the garage floor and power-washing all the mud from the sidewalks. They make her back hurt just watching these two eager beavers. I tried to make her feel better by saying there are two of them and she’s only one person. Sadly, she hasn’t been overly dissuaded about her feelings of inadequacy (she continually refers to it as slug-ness) so I’ve reminded her that envy is the thief of joy but she usually just stomps upstairs with an armload of things for the studio, grumbling with each step.

The Mum: You’re right about the theft of joy. I’ll try to do…

Wilson: {interrupting} Well I say a good place to start would be to bust open those presents of treats for me that Santa Paws delivered and stop being so stingy with dishing out the goodies he left me. And for heaven’s sake, be grateful for all you’ve done and accomplished. Sheesh, Rome wasn’t built in a day.

The Mum: I’ll try to keep that in mind. Obviously the dude in red thought you were a pretty good boy this year and not just a pretty face.

Wilson: Well I could have told you that but you were too busy being consumed with thoughts of inadequacy. At any rate, enough about the move…we could fill volumes but I have a few photos from the neighborhood around us to share.

The Mum: Yes, you’re absolutely right. What have you got for us, House Pony?

Wilson: Well, my daily walks are a veritable sniff fest. I’m beginning to think I might even be part bloodhound who’s tracking a burglar. It’s. been. awesome!

The Mum: Yes, I’ve noticed you are enjoying sniffs along our regular route. Haven’t seen as much wildlife as we’d hoped yet for but the wildlife habitat that we walk through might have provided more than just the thousands of Canadian Geese we see/hear along the trail. But there have been loads of dogs, walkers, bicyclists that we’ve passed and it has been interesting seeing so many dogs in strollers with elderly owners pushing them along. The demographics of this neighborhood range from little ones to seniors and is a nice mix of folks.

Wilson: Somehow I don’t see you being able to push me anywhere. We are both entertained with the vegetation, mostly dried grasses (the best sniffs) and downed logs along the creek which is very dry as we’ve experienced temps in the 60’s & 70’sF since after the day we moved in when there was 4 inches of white stuff on the ground making the move quite the challenge. We’ve been told the gravy train of unseasonably warm temps will run out this weekend and temps will be back in the normal range-30’s & 40’s with the possibility of some accompanying moisture. We can only hope. The sunrises have been spectacular and I can’t help but recite the old adage…”red skies in morning, sailor take warning-red skies at night, sailor’s delight.”

The Mum: The sunrises have been pretty spectacular. The above photo was taken the first morning we woke up in the new house and has been repeated numerous times during last week’s power outages amidst the hurricane force winds. Christmas was the most unusual we’ve ever experienced-it was 70F (21C).

Wilson: Well I know you’re constantly grossing about it being too dry but I’ve enjoyed these fair weather temps. You’ll get no complaints from me.

The Mum: You and a jillion others around the region but skiers and environmentalists continue to worry about the unseasonably warm weather.

Wilson:  Well, I say we enjoy it while we can. January and February are coming up and they are the coldest, driest months. But there’s still lots to enjoy.

Flying geese
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.

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.

Live, love, bark!  🐾

 

Nature Friday ~ November 21, 2025

~ Tails Around the Ranch ~ 80 Comments

It’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.

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.

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.

Anyone else notice some brown needles on the left side?

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.

Live, love, bark!

Nature Friday ~ November 14, 2025

~ Tails Around the Ranch ~ 73 Comments

Well 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!

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.

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

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.

Photo courtesy of K. M. Samson
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.

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!

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!

Live, love, bark! 🐾

Monday Musings ~ November 10, 2025

~ Tails Around the Ranch ~ 75 Comments

It’s Monday and for both of us, it came way too quickly.

The Mum: Good morning, House Pony…what have you got planned for today?

Wilson: {lip smacking, snorf, burp} Umm, extensive sleeping with intermittent snoozing, some yawning, a bit of stretching, relaxing, a few dreams with a bit of leg twitching.

The Mum: Whoa…I see. Sounds like you have a busy day planned.

Wilson: I’m wondering how I’ll be able to fit it all in.

We hope you have a great Monday. Don’t overdo it, ‘kay?

Live, love, bark! 🐾

Nature Friday ~ November 7, 2025

~ Tails Around the Ranch ~ 56 Comments

It’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.

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

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.

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!

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.

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!

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.

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.

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?

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.

Lice, love, bark! 🐾

Nature Friday ~ October 31, 2025

~ Tails Around the Ranch ~ 71 Comments

Greetings, 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.

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.

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.

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.

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?

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.

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.

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

Live, love, bark! 🍁

Nature Friday ~ October 17, 2025

~ Tails Around the Ranch ~ 58 Comments

Welcome 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.

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.

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.”

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.

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.

Wilson: 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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Live, love, bark! 🐾

Monday Musings ~ October 6, 2025

~ Tails Around the Ranch ~ 70 Comments

Over the weekend I transported a relinquished sheepdog to one of our fosters. He’s a sweet boy and was placed with a seasoned sheepdog owner who’ll help him get over his shyness.

While I was gone, it looks like the spirit of Elsa showed up to keep Wilson company. Even as an angel she shares her presence and legacy. This was new behavior from Wilson and clearly was a paw on my shoulder from my beloved Ninja who wanted me to know she’s thinking of us.

Which leads me to today’s smile which perfectly sums it up. May you  savor the theft of your heart. Happy Monday, friends.

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.

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.

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.

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?

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.

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.

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!

Live, love, bark! 🐾