Meet the New Neighbors

March in Colorado is our snowiest month. Can you believe that? I remember one March blizzard very well. Two weeks past my due date for the first baby and feeling rather out of sorts, I had hubby drive me to town see my doctor. We lived on the family farm a good 20 miles from the hospital. The doc told me to go home, pack a bag, get some lunch, and then check into the hospital. It was a very long night of little happening in the maternity ward; however, a storm raged outside. My mother in law had come to town with us. The storm was so bad that both she and hubby spent the night in the hospital. Little Heather came the next morning about noon. Had I waited much longer before going to the hospital, I would have been in serious trouble as the roads were soon closed, the worst blizzard in Northern Colorado in 40 years to hear the old-timers like the new Great Grandpa tell it. March 27, 1975. 

So we know that March can have a bad temper with her coming in like a lion most years here in the northern part of the state and leaving in the same bad mood or worse, leaving her wind to hang around into April. She is so erratic with her weather. One day, like Sunday, it will be warm, wonderful, sunny and we just have get outside and the urge to garden begins to swell. Then next day, her temper flairs up again and she is blasting us with another tantrum. 

Sunday was one of those perfect days. With painting now finished, I put hubby to work to help get shelves and wall decor put back up, trying to return the house to its lowest level of chaos. His reward was lunch at our favorite Mexican restaurant and the a short visit with granddaughters.

The kids moved just before Christmas to a lovely little acreage. Mom decided to plant wild flowers on the bank of the drainage pond. 

Ellie sorts her wild flower seeds, carefully choosing which ones to plant.

Lucy plants the dutch Iris that will be so pretty when they bloom.

Here at home, I have wondered about the garden looking for signs of Spring.

This small, but dense, bush is one of my favorites: Flowering Almond. It has the most deliciously pink flowers. There green ground cover is chamomile, another favorite. It sort of invited itself into the garden and refused to leave. The early tulips have poked through the soil, but no sight of other perennials or daffodils.

The courtyard water garden is still frozen over--and we drained all of the water out last fall. 

And it looks like we have new neighbors whom I discovered after all of the snow had finally melted. They seem friendly enough. I suppose they were looking for shelter during one of our storms. They can live in the old toad abode for as long as they need as long as they keep things tidy and don't have wild parties with loud music.

My Tuesday Morning bargains. Hubby goes to Ft. Collins to have coffee with a friend, so I tag along and he drops me off at HomeGoods and Tuesday Morning, two great stores for the bargain hunter. I don't invite myself along too often. I tend to impulse shop. New gloves, dahlias, and lilies. I have quite a few seeds, too,  that I want to start inside if we have room after we plant the tomatoes and peppers.

Inside, we have another garden going. Hubby has kept aquariums since he was a kid. He finally got this 110 gallon fresh water tank going. He ordered a collection of plants on the Internet. Some are taking off, some are dragging, and we hope they all live. Can you believe that Osmocote is the recommended fertilizer? He has not tried it yet.

Already there is a healthy growth of unwanted hair algae that showed up practically over night. He has purchased 3 little scavenger cat fish that should help keep the tank clean and he has applied an algaecide. I will have to practice more to get good shots of the tank and these bright little neon tetras.

More snow on the way later today: 2-3 inches. Just what we need. There is still plenty to keep me busy inside as I put the house together after the painting project. Next, flooring for the kitchen.

Boone grows and grows. He is big and strong, a playful pup that plays too hard for me. He has learned to sit, but not stay. He has been off leash but cannot yet be trusted to come when called. He will be enrolled in obedience classes--soon, I hope. 

So as we wait for Spring to make her official arrival, we will be outside poking around in the mulch and dead leaves looking for sign that our spring bulbs not only survived the winter, but that they are waking up. We will be trippin' to the garden centers to see what wonderful plants they have--probably only to find out that the good stuff is rather pricey. We will be checking our blogs to see what our gardening friends are up to, and here we will be sowing our garden seeds in yogurt cups in the next few days. 

I love hearing from you. Have a fabulous week.