I went out into the garden. . .

From Texas sunsets to rainstorms over a ragged Rocky Mountain vista in western Colorado, July has taken us thousands of miles. We have a special place on Texas that we like to visit. There are some favorite things that I like about the area. One is this tree, a giant live oak tree. It is a beautiful evergreen tree with its long, low branches that create a beautiful canopy where the local white tail deer and their fawns linger in its shade during the heat of the day.

The sunsets over the Texas Hill Country can certainly equal any sunset. Once it begins it's end of the day descent, the sun quickly disappears below the tree line of the woods as it slips through the clouds.

One of my favorite things to do in Texas is to photograph the wild cardinals that live in the woods on the ranch that we visit, which isn't an easy task. This beautiful male was feeding in the bush, offering only quick glimpses of himself, but I kept clicking the shutter, hoping that he would reveal himself, and finally he did. I don't always get the best photos; I consider shots like these lucky. The birds often land in the big tree tops and quickly disappear into the wooded canopy. I used my Canon Rebel with a 70mm-300mm zoom. 

This last weekend we traveled to Montrose, Colorado over on the Western Slope. Now, let me explain if you are not familiar with Colorado. If you look at a map, you will see that Colorado is a rectangle with the Rocky Mountains running through the middle of the state, from the north to the south, not quite dividing it in half. The Front Range lies east of the mountains. We navigate along the Front Range using Interstate highway 25 that takes commuters from as far away as Cheyenne, Wyoming down to Pueblo and on into New Mexico. You'd be surprised how many people commute daily for work from Cheyenne to Denver, over a hundred miles. 

The Western Slope, naturally, lies beyond the mountains to the west. In between are the ski resorts-- Loveland, Vail, Breckenridge and any number of small mountain villages once mining towns in the 19th century, now swelling with an ever growing population. 

It should be a six hour drive to Montrose, the small town where we stayed; instead, because traffic coming through Denver and on into the mountains is brutal, awful, terrible, it took us two hours longer; it was a very long drive over and back home. 

We were invited to a wedding that was held in the the high country outside of Montrose.  I took this picture along the way to the wedding of this mountain range  that is part of the San Juan mountain range and one of those craggy peaks is Wetterhorn Peak, (Click here for information on the mountain) a fourteener. The fournteeners are the mountains in Colorado that exceed 14,000 feet. There are 53 peaks that exceed 14,000 feet and for mountain climbers, many accept the challenge to climb all 53 of these mountains. 

With the milder weather on the Western Slope, the climate is perfect for fruit orchards, so we stopped in a little town, Palisade to buy peaches. The Head Gardener and I shared stories about our grandparents making the long drive to get a truck load of peaches to take home. His grandfather took took the old farm truck to buy peaches to take back home to sell. My grandparents made the annual trip and one year when I was very young they invited me ride along int the new 1951 red Chevy pickup with a red wooded camper top on it. I remember getting very car sick and sleeping in a hotel room. 

Today, we travel I-70 west over the mountains, a modern four lane highway that winds itself over the mountains, through the forests, and aside the rivers-- Clear Creek running to the east toward Denver and the plains and the Colorado River flowing to the west through the Grand Canyon and on to the Pacific. Our grand parents, however, took the old road, Highway 40 over Loveland Pass instead of through the mountain via Eisenhower Tunnel. Highway 40 still goes to California, too, just not as swiftly or gracefully as the interstate. 

The transitions in landscape and topography are gradual, and you know that Grand junction is not far away as the palisades begin. They are very unusual formations, barren of greenery, looking like sand, but they aren't, maybe held together with rock. I wish I had spent more time taking photos of the strange formations. We found a grower who had road side stand where we bought four boxes of peaces and a bag each of bing cherries--Colorado grown--not shipped in from anywhere--, Rainier cherries (yellow, sweet, and, costly in the super market), and a bag of freshly picked apricots! Now that is what I call from farm to table.

On the way home, located on the east side of the hills, we saw the George Town Loop, a vintage train that takes people for a train ride. A fair picture taken with iPhone traveling 70 miles an hour--or maybe we stopped in traffic? 

With July nearly spent, I'd say that the garden is at its peak. It has managed to do okay with our absences, but don't look too closely because you will see that we are also raising a very healthy crop of weeds this year.

I went out into the garden this afternoon. . .  

Our college student--who has long graduated--(the one lived with us, now out on her own)--has asked us if she can have her wedding in our barn in 2020. Of course we said yes. She likes sunflowers, so I picked some of the wild ones and made up a little bouquet of sunflowers and dill and sent it to her. 

                  

Sunflowers and Dill. Just as they are growing in the vegetable garden. 

           

By the back patio the echinacea  thrive.

           

Sometimes flowers don't cooperate. It's hard to center a flower when the breeze is swift.

Roses and rain always make a pretty picture--so you have to take two.

This Gertrude Jekyll is a bit shy.

This little garden I call "the point" has become over run with weeds, but the floral colors are so pretty.

I just heard that the bumble bee is on the endangered list and now I am not surprised that I haven't seen any this summer. Here as I photographed this sweet pink holly hock, I got a bonus, the green flower bee loaded so heavy with pollen that I wondered if it would even be able to take off, and it did. 

I went to out to the garden this afternoon. . .and came back with a handful of happiness.

When I opened up my blog to write this post, I had a moment when I to pass by the post on Boone. We miss him so much. He was such a part of life, in part because he required constant attention either to keep track of him, making sure that he didn't leave the yard or tending to him in the house. He was a handful. Whether he was outside running constantly, patrolling the fence line looking for feral cats that live int he back alley or chasing rabbits, he never stopped. In the house, he was constantly steeling something--socks, the HG's hat, a towel, a shoe--whatever he could use to trade for a treat. He was always busy, up to something. I don't know if he was just plain stubborn or persistent--either way, Boone got his way, so he was spoiled. 

Now we find ourselves headed to check on him, and he's not there. 

We had free time on Saturday before the wedding, so we went to look at puppies. The HG found a breeder of German Short Hairs in Montrose, so we paid her a visit. While she had two new litters only a week old, the HG did not put one on hold. Maybe after the first of the year. I'll let you know.

So, thank you for all of your kind words of sympathy and comfort. I sincerely appreciate your kindness and friendship.

I'll be joining Mosaic Monday, so I'll see you at Maggie's. Have a fabulous week and thank you for visiting. I've missed you. 

Good Bye Boone

Well, friends, this certainly is not a post that I thought that I would be writing--not this soon. Not now. We lost Boone last week, suddenly without warning.

Top right: Baby Boone is home; Top left: the last photo I took of Boone as he ran to me across the horse pasture where he had been chasing a cotton tale; Bottom left: Love at first sight when we went to pick him up the vet clinic in Grant, NB. Boone and his litter mates had been surrendered for adoption and Gerald find him on Pet Finder, called the clinic and said, "I want that pup--the big on in the back." Bottom left: Ellie took his photo last summer. It was a good photo.

The day began normally enough. The Head Gardner came in mid-morning to announce that Boone had finally caught the rabbit that he had cornered underneath the stack of old wooden fence posts out by the barn. He finally caught the rabbit and the HG managed to get it away from him, so he put the poor little rabbit in a trash can to keep it safe until he could turn it loose. Then Boone caught a nuisance dove and gave it up easily when the HG told him to drop it.

They both came in for lunch and took their naps and then went back out, but the next time Boone came in he wasn't behaving normally. We thought at first that he was just tired after his busy morning. Boone never stayed still for long. We are on five acres, and he spent his time running the pastures, patrolling the back fence for feral cats that live in the alley on the east end of our property. If he wasn't looking for cats--which he could never catch because of an electric fence to keep the horses contained--he was chasing rabbits that ran at top rabbit speed to make it across the pasture to the neighbor's windbreak where they would be safe. Boone was always on the run.

So when he began to look like he didn't feel well, we first thought that perhaps he was just worn out, but then he got worse, his discomfort apparent. He groaned as he lie on the living room floor. We let him out and it was clear that he was in discomfort.

Finally the HG called the vet and took him in. I waited. You know how it is when you wait? Awful. The weather was awful, too. I had been watching the weather all afternoon. It was the day of big hail all around us. Sometimes the storms go around us, but not this day. The HG loaded Boone in the back of my Edge and drove out just as the hail began.

The first call came and  it was not good. Boone had a twisted stomach. The HG was waiting for one more x-ray, but I think he already knew the outcome.

The second phone call, he told me that he would put Boone to sleep. He was too sick to save and in too much pain.

That was a week ago. We are doing better now, but gosh we miss him. He was only four and half and we had much too short a time with him. He was just beginning to grow up and not be such a handful.

Large dogs are prone to a twisted gut or stomach and while surgery can be performed, the HG was told that it was very risky and expensive, and he would have had to drive him fifteen miles to the clinic for surgery and it was just too far way. It was raining and rush hour--even in our rural area. He knew that Boone would not survive the trip.

This afternoon I finally got nerve to look up twisted gut or stomach. It occurs most often large deep chested dogs, such as German shepherd, St. Bernard, Akita, and Weimaraner. Boone was half German short hair pointer and weimaraner. However any dog can suffer the malady. A website, CAGPS Rescue explains the condition.

There wasn't anything that we could have done differently and there wasn't anything that we did wrong--so we were told.

We will miss our boy. The house is certainly very quiet now and a bit lonely. Socks, caps, washcloths, and the grandkids' stuffed animals are not safe. His favorite game was to steal a sock or a shoe--well--anything to use as a bargaining chip to get a doggie treat. He was a smart dog. He was a good dog.

We are taking a few days off-- a nice long road trip to Texas. I'll try to post next week-- a cheerful, happy post.

I'll be linking with Maggie at Life in Normandy for Mosaic Monday. Join us there.

Catching Up

I have missed everyone. We have been busy here at the Garden Spot and I am finding myself in a rush this morning to get my post done in time to make the Mosaic Monday deadline. I may miss it. So I'll be short on words today and long photos.

The main garden event for May is always the Iris. The only one I know in this lineup is Edith Warford. Did I spell it correctly? The yellow with lavender petals I love her. They have faded now. I'll did up the large clumps and have more to plant.

I took a couple of day trips. This series of photos are from a drive I took with the Head Gardener. Each year he takes the grandsons up to a place called King's Canyon on a private ranch for an archery shoot sponsored by the Colorado Bow Hunters Association. This year he volunteered to take the trailer up with the targets. It was a beautiful drive, going through the corner of Wyoming through Laramie, Wyo. 

The wild flowers were so pretty. No mountain columbine. Usually they don't bloom until around the 4th of July in the aspen stands.

The granddaughters are over about once a week to ride. Lily loves to ride POP and he behaves for her. Purple is their favorite color. Can you tell?

Spent the day with Elinore in Cheyenne, Wyo. at a big rabbit show--1800 bunnies showed that day. It was a freezing cold in the indoor horse arena-rained all day. This is one of her red mini rex bunnies. Their coat is like velvet. So soft. The buck was disqualified because he was too fat but I think he won first in her division for quality of coat. It was long cold day, but Ellie learned a lot about rabbits--me, too.

Just a horse picture. Horses are herd animals and we have small herd--two, but they hang with the neighbor's horses. I like watching the horses. 

We had a very good hay cutting experience with a new guy. If you remember the other fellows who cut the hay had huge tractors and had such a difficult time, so this little guy knew how to do it. Instead of windowing the hay, he laid it out flat and it dried in a day as opposed to a week. So it was cut and baled in three days. A real record. We got 96 bales.

My sister-in-law and I took a nice road trip to this old stage coach station, again near the Wyoming border. It is the Overland Trail Stage Coach station that served this part of the wild west in the 1860s. It has been restored and this was their dedication ceremony. It is truly out of the pages of Colorado history of wagon trains and settlers traveling to the west coast. It is located on private property so the only time visitors can go in is on these special occasions when the community club invites visitors.

Can you imagine traveling across this land in a wagon? Somewhere over there by the rock formations  the Overland Trail wound it way to the stage coach stop where travels were fed and stayed the night at the inn next door, which was really just two rooms. Jack Black and wife Virginia Dale were a colorful couple, out laws, really. Jack Black was eventually hanged in Montana for steeling cattle. 

I could go on and on, but I don't want to miss the Monday Mosaic Deadline, so more next time.

Thanks for stopping by. Join me at Mosaic Monday.

Another Hodge Podge Post

We have rain today: luscious, sweet, wet rain. I love Rainy Days and Mondays! But not the with the bleak sadness that the Mammas and Papas sing about. Colorado proudly boasts of more than 300 days of sunshine and since we are a mile high (well, except for out here on the prairie) we are closer to the sun, and we have a dry, arid climate. This is our rainy season and by mid June the rain will have all but disappeared, so we love the rain.

Today's post will be a hodge lodge of things. I didn't post a last week because I came home from the state convention of the Daughters of the American Revolution in Colorado Springs with a miserable cold and I was pretty low functioning all week. I had taken lot of the spring blooms to share with you, so I will share them now, enjoying their beauty one last time since the blossoms on the flowering trees have faded.

I'll begin with reviewing a new kitchen gadget that finally arrived last week. I don't know what you would call it or even where I ordered. I first saw it on my Facebook and I loved the concept: you stack your salad fixings in the green tray; place the slotted domed life on top and slice away, cutting all the ingredients evenly and nicely.

The idea is a really nifty one, but as you can see my vegetables were not sliced all the way through. I'll not give up on the thing. I think next time I need to tip the knife instead of cutting through with a level knife. I'll get back to you on that.

Into the Garden

Once Spring really began to get serious, the flowering crab trees burst forth with a beautiful display of color. One of the first things we did the first fall we moved here was to plant tulips beneath the trees and they, too were very showy.

The tree will fruit out with tiny little crab apples. I don't use them, but the birds like them.

  

On the south side of the house, the dwarf North Star cherry trees are in full bloom. We planted the small one last year.

           

                    

                      

I took a lot of apple blossom photos. This the second apple tree, the one that in a good year will produce an abundance of apples. We have avoided so far a hard freeze, so we should be good--but then this is Colorado. As I stood under the tree shooting photos, the hum of busy honey bees collecting pollen was all around me. The neighbor has hives next door, so I hope his bees are happy.

Next to the apple tree and planted the same time as the little cherry tree is our hawthorn. It should have white flowers soon. 

The lilacs are in full bloom, so I picked a few and cut the last three daffodils. The dinning room smells so sweet. 

Garden Visitors

The migrating birds are arriving. This fellow, the black headed grosbeak may be here all summer.

We have two male western bangers and two females. They are so colorful; and they, too, may stay most of the summer.  The bullock's oriel has also arrived. One male so far. They will feed on grape jelly (in the little containers in the newt photo) all the while they are raising their young.

We have have ponds and lakes all around us full of red-winged black birds that have found free food.

The aspen trees out front are blooming. There are three different warblers that are heading to the mountains that stop by for refueling. I've not quite identified these two birds: the top one appears to be warbling vireo. 

While this one is most likely a yellow rump warbler. It is often hard to get really clear photos of the birds. I use my 75-300mm and it has a hard time focusing on what I want it to.

And no doubt that this one is the yellow warbler. Yesterday was quite a day to photograph so many different varieties of birds. Most will migrate not the Colorado Rockies, or maybe some of you in Canada will see these little guys. Often you will hear them first. 

I love to photograph Froggy. He has grown so big. I saw a giant heron this morning on my way to the rec center. He was siting pond side of a sump pond that collects irrigation water. When I first was him, I turned the car around and came home and got my camera. He was still there so I got some pretty good shots of him. I doubt that there arena fish in the muddy little pond, but I do fear that the creature might discover my water garden and get my koi or Froggy. The gold fish are all hiding at the bottom of our murky pond, as the did last year when the frog first showed. up.

A quiet week with lots of yard work planned. The Head Gardener has returned from his tractor job and has told his friends that he will not be available for corn harvest. We really have plenty here to keep him busy. He will leave Thursday on his annual guy fishing trip. I've not written about #1 Granddaughter Ellie's new 4-H rabbits, a pair of red rex. The are so cute. She will be showing them in Wyoming Saturday and has invited me to go, so I'll have a blog topic next week! There cheers.

No Mosaic Monday this week.  I've joined three groups on Facebook for miniatures and dollhouses, so hopefully the Ann's Dollhouse Dreams Blog will be getting more traffic which means that I will have to keep up over the. I've enjoy seeing you there, too, if you have a moment. 

Aside from the shameless solicitation for the my other passion, I am so glad that you stopped by. Thank you.