Welcome to the first Friday of April. We hope this finds you healthy and following whatever rules are in place in your local area to keep yourself and your loved ones safe from the pandemic.
As usual, we are joining our furry Pacific Northwest friends, Rosy and her brothers from LLB in Our Backyard for this week’s edition of the Nature Friday blog hop. Don’t forget to check out other blogs at the following link to see what nature is dishing out around Blogville.
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So, let’s get started on what nature is showing off in the Mile High. On Wednesday, we enjoyed our finest spring day yet with beautiful Colorado bluebird skies and temperatures reaching a lovely 70ºF (21ºC) and being blessed with the first Ladybug sighting this spring. Woohoo! It’s always a joy to see these industrious little gardeners taking care of pesky invaders.
A few blocks later, tiny squill bulbs were in bloom-always a seasonal favorite of mine. At just 3-4 inches tall, these stripped beauties are often overlooked when passing by neighborhood gardens.
Yesterday Mother Nature decided to once again banish all signs of spring in favor of another dose of winter. What the dog?! Yesterday’s temps had nearly a 50º swing coupled with a bitter 14 mph wind, putting the windchill factor at 14ºF (-10ºC). {Shiver!}
All is not lost though even on these past chilly days (it was 19ºF this morning), there still is a lot to seek out while Mother Nature touches things in only her special way. Originally the thought was to share images of beautiful flowering trees since a number were beginning to signal they were ready to burst forth. When yesterday’s storm blew through, it was clear that wasn’t gonna happen so on yesterday’s afternoon walk, I decided to highlight what the sleet/rain/snow combo did on various bulbs that have emerged despite this yo-yo climate.
The Lupine is beginning to wake up and even with icy beads, casts a pretty image. Eventually they’ll form those beautiful buds and turn the garden into a riot of color.
Along my regular path, this Lamb’s Wool shivered in the sleety storm. It should come as no surprise I avoided rubbing their fuzzy leaves.
Beautiful shades of pink tulips were just beginning to emerge with some gorgeous pops of color. I’ll be curious to see how they fare when the temps once again warm up (weekend forecast is for upper 50’s & 60’s). Ok, Mother Nature, enough of the yo-yo temps, okay?
Today’s early morning landscape shows a frosty garden, though we should warm up enough to melt most of yesterday’s frozen scenery.
Anything exciting going on in your neck of the woods? We hope you’re following stay in place orders and aren’t too stir-crazy. People around my ‘hood seemed to have hit the wall with every bored millennial walking their dogs on the warm days that I didn’t even realize lived around here. It should be interesting to see if boredom wins out today or if they wait until the weekend when the temps go back into the 50’s & 60’s. Whatever is on your agenda, we hope you stay safe and keep smiling. Together we can get through these challenging times. Remember we’re just a few keystrokes away if you need some cheer or just a friendly face to chat with. All joking aside, despite the silly costumes.
Live, love, bark! 🐾
Norman wants to know, “Is that you, Friday?” Welcome to the last Friday of the month, Norman. What a month this one has been. Apart from our city and now state being fully shut down, the Ranch experienced a typical spring snowstorm last week. The dogs took a vote and have their paws crossed today’s forecast is not a repeat performance. The weatherman has assured them it won’t be (maybe an inch or two with rain), but Norman said he’s not walking in that wet dripping stuff no matter how many treats are in the magic pocket. Whatever happens today weatherwise, it won’t stop us from joining our fur-iends and hosts, Rosy and her brothers from 
Then nature apparently had a case of hiccups upon realizing it was the first day of Spring. What started out as a cold, slushy rain quickly turned into white stuff with strong, windy conditions.
Just before Sam came home, on one of our many walks during the mild spring-like weather, I happened to look down. Not sure if it was because it was the first sign of spring that caught my attention or the fact that there was a white feather next to it, but the one thing I was certain of was that it was a sign from Angel Sam reaching out. Tears formed in my eyes but then a smile appeared. The dogs and I stood there quietly for a few moments knowing our favorite Knucklehead had sent us a message. The dogs seemed to pick up the pace with joyous steps once we continued on the walk.
Good “Fri-yay” morning, peeps! Sam here doing this week’s post where we check out nature around our Ranch ‘hood. Is this January or March? The weather has been unseasonably warm (we even reached the 60’sF a few days) but we’re not complaining. While the mornings are crisp and there are still mounds of snow and ice on north facing shady areas, it’s been practically balmy I tell you with lots of blue skies and bright sunshine. As always we’re joining our Pacific Northwest furiends, Rosy and her brothers from 
