This time of year Mother Nature is bi-polar.  Tuesday it was 70 degrees and yesterday it wasn't.  March is the snowiest month in Colorado.  Last week we got six inches of snow.  And it was pretty much gone two days later.  Yesterday we had a crazy spring blizzard and got sixteen inches of snow at our house on the west side of Denver.

Denver International Airport was delayed from the get go.  The power was out and they couldn't fuel or deice the airplanes!  It just never got better.  The wind was gusting so much that the visibility dropped to zero and nothing moved.  The road to and from the airport was closed.  Needless to say I did not have to go to work!

Bryan played with his snowblower pretty much all day.  Our driveway is clear.  All the sidewalks are clear.  The elderly neighbors sidewalks are clear.

Oh.  And it's supposed to snow next week too.   Happy Spring to you!

*  Spring is here!  Last night we had our first thunderstorm.  C and I paused for a moment from what we were busy with and sat in the front door and watched it rain and hail.  We listened to the thunder.  And we breathed in the wonderful scent of rain!

*  I have to share with you this wonderfully romantic story.  When I read it last week it stuck with me all day.  We've all read stories where man meets woman and in no time they have fallen in love and are getting married!  But that's just it.  They are stories.  Fiction.  Or are they?  My friend Keith, the Optimistic Existenianlist, who writes the Musings of an Apologetic Dreamer has such a story.  Check it out at his blog.  And then read read Beate's story! Just thinking about it, I am so happy for these two who I can call friends even though we've never actually met!

*  Happy Thursday my friends!  Have a great weekend!

Spring is close.  Oh so close.  Everywhere I look there are signs of spring.  Rhubarb is peeking through the dirt.  Tulips are springing up.  And the strawberries are coming up through their protective mulch.  Even the weeds are sprouting EVERYWHERE!

We started digging in the garden today.  Corrine and I.  She looked for her worm family.  Mama turned some wet compacted clay soil.  It amazes me that after so many years of amendment and compost there is still so much clay.  She was excited to plant some seeds.  I had to disappoint her and tell her we weren't quite ready.

But we're getting close!

It is most definitely fall!  I love this time of year.  It has most certainly gotten colder.  Right now it is only 36 degrees out.  We may hit 40 today.  In light of the much colder (than last week) temperatures it is time.  Time to change the bedding from the cool summer bedspread to the warm winter down comforter.  Time to get out the kitties box.  It is an old fruit box lined with a wool blanket.  It sits in front of the heater vent in the dining room.  They are happy little kitties now.  Time to put away the shorts and get out the jeans and long sleeve shirts and sweaters.  Yay,  it's sweater weather.

The leaves are dropping here in town.  The maple tree in the front yard is turning a pretty shade of red.  Up in the mountains a lot of the leaves just turned brown and fell.  Too much rain in the last month plus some early season cold and snow.

For the most part the garden has been put to bed for the winter.  We'll leave the carrots and dig them as we need them.  I'll use the leaf blower/vacuum and suck up the leaves to spread in the garden.  Then I just need to spread some compost on the garden and rototill it in.  I love working outside in the cool weather!

 These iris are in the front yard.  Last  year I divided all of the iris in the back yard so I'm not sure how  many will bloom this year.
This funny lilac is on the same branch!  One white bunch amongst all of the purple.  And it's the only one.

Sadly, the apple and plum trees did not bloom this year.  The cherry tree did bloom, so we'll see what happens in about six weeks.  And I heard the peach trees on the Western Slope got frozen too.  It will be a bummer year for fresh Colorado fruit.  The neighbors crabapple tree did not bloom either.  I'm only partially disappointed because it is the most spectacular pink tree when in bloom, but not so disappointed because my side yard won't be covered in crabapples!

Solstice Soup Party.  Or End of the World Soup Consumption Extravaganza.  However you want to look at it, we are celebrating the Solstice with soup.

Bryan has been busy stringing lights on the gazebo frame.  The plan is to put the fire pit in the middle of the patio.  We are going to have hot drinks- hot spiced wine and hot cocoa with schnapps (maybe some hot buttered rum).  Everyone who is coming will bring a pot of their favorite soup.  We will have mugs to eat from so people can sample all the different offerings.  I'm making cream of broccoli and some sort of biscuit.

We wanted a low key evening to celebrate the solstice with family and friends.  The kids can play in the snow or in the basement.  The peeps can take a break from their last minute shopping.  Or in my case from the rush of starting to shop.  And for a bit of fun we thought why not go out with a bang with those we love most.  Who knows? This could be the start of a long and wonderful tradition.

Happy Friday.  Happy Solstice.  Happy Winter.  Have a great weekend.

Last week it was 80 degrees on Tuesday and Wednesday.  By Friday it was in the 30's.  Saturday saw rain in the morning and spitting snow in the afternoon.  Monday it was back in the 70's.  I love October!

I was out of town and had hubby cover the tomatoes and peppers that I hadn't had a chance to pick.  When I got home I bundled up and picked the ripe ones in the cold and wet.  I recovered the plants in the hopes they would be okay.  They weren't.  I pulled the plants today.  I'm bummed but I think we got plenty of goodness anyway.

I love the warm days and cool nights.  I love snuggling under the warm blankets with the kitties (because according to Bryan we have to wait until November to put the down comforter on the bed).   The dogs are loving the days because it isn't too hot for them.  We are getting back into a routine of afternoon walks.
I wish we had more red trees, but they are not as common here as they are on the east coast.  We do have beautiful yellow/gold aspen groves.  Word is that because of hot dry summer the leaves won't last as long and won't be as pretty.  What I'm not loving about the leaves is Henley bringing them into the house on his fur.

Hope you are having a fabulous Indian Summer too!

Happy first day of Autumn!

I love this time of year.  At night there is a chill in the air.  We've turned off the AC and opened the windows and doors.  It does warms up quite nicely during the day and when it does warm up, I've been slowly putting the garden to bed.  The poor garden was a bit neglected this summer.  The lettuce went to seed, there were weeds everywhere and only three onions grew.  I picked the last (giant) zucchini, looked for any cucumbers worth picking and pulled up those plants.  

There are a gazillion tomatoes but half of them are not ripe yet.  This is the time of year to keep an eye on the weather.  It hasn't gotten cold enough yet to freeze, but in Colorado anything is possible.  Even though I don't like tomatoes, I've got plans for them!  Salsa, tomato sauce....mmmmmm....dee-lish!  
This is my potato harvest.  And this is DOUBLE the amount of potatoes that grew last year.  Now I totally understand why my Irish ancestors starved during the famine.  OK.  OK.  I know it's not the same thing at all.  Better luck next year is all I can say!!

I took the recycling out to the bin this morning and to my surprise, saw some tulips pushing through the ground!  It has been unseasonably warm here, but typical of Colorado it changes from day to day.  Last week it was warm enough to finish melting the snow that we got the first part of February.  Yesterday it was 65 degrees and windy.  I wanted to hang my laundry on the line, but was afraid my wash would end up in Kansas!  Today it is sunny, but only 32 degrees.
We still have to get through March.  It is the snowiest month here.  Luckily it doesn't get and stay really cold.  And the snow is usually a wet, heavy snow.  Otherwise I would worry about my tulips coming up this early.  But it sure is a nice sign that Spring is just around the corner!