March Reflections

I have seen many photos on social media from warmer climates of spring-like conditions with flowers and trees in bloom, but in Colorado winter will persist quite a while longer, teasing us with some warm days followed by days of cold and snow. In fact, March is Colorado's snowiest month! Denver averages 11.3 inches of snowfall in March, which is more than any other month. Here are some photos and quotes reflections on the month of March which heralds the end of winter and the beginning of spring:

"In March winter is holding back and spring is pulling forward. Something holds and something pulls inside each of us too."  

~ Jean Hersey

"Snow was falling so much like stars, filling the dark trees that one could easily imagine its reason for being was nothing more than prettiness." 

~ Mary Oliver

"There is no winter without snow, no spring without sunshine, and no happiness without companions." 

~ Korean proverb

"I believe the world is incomprehensibly beautiful--an endless prospect of magic and wonder." 

~ Ansel Adams

It is the life of the crystal, the architect of the flake, the fire of the frost, the soul of the sunbeam. This crisp winter air is full of it." 

 

~ John Burroughs

"Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything beautiful for beauty is God's handwriting." 

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Slava Ukraini!

My heart aches for Ukraine.  It was the birthplace of my maternal grandparents, who immigrated at separate times to the USA in the early 1900s.  We have donated to the International Red Cross, The World Central Kitchen, and Unicef, and if you would like to help they are a few of the charities that are helping the many innocent people fleeing into Poland and other counties for their safety.  Please keep praying for a miracle, for peace and freedom in Ukraine!

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Orchid Beauty

"A gentle word, a kind look, and a good-natured smile can work wonders and accomplish miracles."

~ William Hazlitt

Please click on to enlarge

“Do your little bit of good where you are; it's those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world. ”

~Desmond Tutu

"An orchid in a deep forest sends out its fragrance even if no one is around to appreciate it.

~ Confucious 

Please click on to enlarge

“Flowers always make people better, happier, and more helpful; they are sunshine, food, and medicine for the soul.”

~ Luther Burbank

With so much snow occurring in many areas of the US this time of year I thought some views of beautiful orchids would be a nice change. These are my photos of orchids I've seen growing in the Denver Botanic Garden within the Boettcher Memorial Tropical Conservatory. The conservatory was dedicated in 1966 and awarded Denver, Colorado, Landmark Status in 1973. The Tropical Conservatory is one of the world’s most unique displays of exotic plants from tropical and subtropical regions.  

"Even though the world is filled with confusion, when I gaze at one orchid I forget all my problems." 

 ~ Song Su-Name

As of this writing, there are only 49 days until spring.

Hang in There!

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Summer's End

"Summer's lease hath all too short a date." ~ William Shakespeare

The wild grass is high and has gone to seed, the light is shorter and more golden, the mornings and evenings are cooler.  The end of summer is nigh. 

"We are like butterflies who flutter for a day and think it is forever"  ~ Carl Sagan

June, July, and August have passed so quickly! The weather was uncomfortably hot this year--we broke weather records for heat. Denver is currently tied for its 4th-hottest summer in recorded history (1872-present). The National Weather Service (NWS) defines summer from June 1 to August 31. We had five days of 100 degrees or higher, forty-six days of 90 degrees or higher, and five days either tied or broke the record high temperature. The weather felt even more oppressive this summer due to the high ozone from the heat and Western wildfire smoke in our atmosphere for many days.  I was happy that we invested in two Hepa air purifiers this year which ran almost constantly.

"If you don't like the weather in Colorado wait 15 minutes--

it will change." ~ Common Folklore

Speaking of weather....no, this isn't snowing...it is hail that fell during a recent afternoon thunderstorm!  We were out shopping and as we drove back into our community we began to see patches of white on the ground, even though the temperature was hot.  When we got home we saw that hail knocked off some of the tree leaves and battered a few of our flowers but thankfully no other damage was done.  As you can see from the close-up, in the photo collage above, the hail was about the size of a dime and a nickel.  Happily, it wasn't any bigger as at times Colorado has golf ball to softball size hail that is very damaging.

"Happily we bask in this warm September sun, which illuminates all creatures." ~ Henry David Thoreau

My garden is fading but I hope our figs will ripen in these last weeks of warm sun.  My roses formed rose hips and I'm drying the sunflower head to save for the birds to eat in winter. The last of summer to savor and anticipation of autumn's beauty to look forward to! Autumn is my favorite season--what is yours?

"Grow old along with me! The best is yet to be..." ~ Robert Browning

Our son's in-laws celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in a fun way this month. They rented a private suite at Coors Field in Denver for a Colorado Rockies game for the entire family to attend.  It was catered with delicious food and we all had a fun time watching the game and all the festivities. We wish them many, many, more years of wedded bliss!

September 11th is always a sad day for us.  I have written many past blog posts about this day and our experiences that day as we lived in New York City at the time and my husband worked in #7 World Trade Center. We knew many who perished that tragic day.  On this 20th anniversary of the event, the memories are still sharp and the desire that good will prevail over evil is still my hope even more than ever.

“If we learn nothing else from this tragedy, we learn

that life is short and there is no time for hate.”

~ Sandy Dahl, wife of Flight 93 pilot Jason Dahl

The pilot of United Airlines Flight 93, Jason Dahl, lived in our Colorado community at the time. His flight was the plane that the brave passengers brought down in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, to prevent further destruction in Washington DC. Our community put up a memorial of a flying eagle and the plaque above in his memory after 9-11.  Every year on 9-11 many gather at his memorial to pay tribute to him and all the others who perished that tragic day with a moment of silence. 

 A beautiful rainbow appeared in the sky this year during the memorial gathering. Another sign of hope! It is up to all of us to make the world a better place--spread kindness and defeat hate!

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Quotes for a Pandemic

"Every day may not be good, but there is something good in every day."

--unknown

"The beautiful spring came, and when nature resumes her loveliness, the human soul is apt to revive also."   

--Harriet Ann Jacobs

"The world is indeed full of peril, and in it there are many dark places, but still there is much that is fair, and though in all lands love is now mingled with grief, it grows perhaps the greater."  

-- J.R.R. Tolkien

"Going out into nature was one outlet that I had, which truly allowed me to calm down and not think or worry."

 -- Richard Louv

"The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quite alone with the heavens, nature, and God."  

--Anne Frank

"When life is sweet, say thank you and celebrate.  When life is bitter, say thank you and grow."   

-- Shauna Niequist

I hope these favorite photos and the quotes will give you some hope and inspiration as we continue to stay at home during this COVID-19 pandemic. 

My state of Colorado is relaxing some restrictions tomorrow, with our governor's executive order called "Safer At Home." You can read what that entails here. However, the county I live in, as well as a few other counties in Colorado, will continue restrictions until May 8th. 

 Be safe, happy, and healthy!  

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Autumn in Colorado

Rocky Mountain National Park

I feel fortunate to live in a state that presents autumn colors slowly every year in a wonderful succession, from the north to the south, from the highest elevations down to the lowest. If one is fortunate to be able to travel to different locations in Colorado during the months of September through October, continuous autumnal glory is yours. (All photos will enlarge if clicked on)

Rocky Mountain National Park

This summer was very hot and dry so autumn color is coming even earlier than usual in many places, but the higher elevations are right on time.

When September arrives it not only brings autumnal beauty but also signals to the elk bulls to begin to bugle their love songs. 

 If you have never heard an elk bugle click on the video below or go to this link. 

Isn't it quite a sound?

We once stayed in a cabin in the YMCA of the Rockies outside Rocky Mountain National Park--click here-- and they serenaded us all night long!

Pagosa Pass

Autumn in Colorado is a vista of golden aspen trees...

Elk Mountains

 Elk Mountains

...as far as the eyes can see...

... lighting up the state!

Mount Sopris

Autumn has always been my favorite season so I make sure to go out and see as much of it as I can every year and enjoy its splendor. 

"And the sun took a step back,

The leaves lulled themselves to sleep,

and autumn was awakened."

~ Raquel Franco

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Wildlife in my Neighborhood

I only live in a suburb about 30 minutes away from Denver, Colorado, about 23 miles away, but we are in a secluded valley nestled between hogbacks and foothills and close to all kinds of wildlife! I thought you'd like to see some of the photos I've taken along with some that my neighbors have shared on our community social media forum.

Deer are the most common animals that we see--sometimes quite a few in a herd!

The deer are fairly used to people and graze and roam around our neighborhoods at all times of the year. We don't feed them--feeding wildlife is against the law in Colorado and is not good for them. Deer have a complex digestive system that is not adapted to large amounts of grain, bird seed, bread, or many types of hay. Feeding is often unhealthy for deer. Addiction to artificial feeds often results in deer that are in poor condition. Concentrating deer by feeding can also increase stress and hasten the spread of diseases.

In spring, we look forward to the deer fawns being born. The mother doe will hide them, often near houses. Except for periods when she feeds them, she will leave them alone for a good portion of the day. Fawns are born without a scent, and by staying away from the fawn the mother is keeping them safe. Within a week or two they will be strong enough to follow her, and she will move them to different locations for their safety. Most mature deer give birth to twins and some to triplets!

A doe gave birth to twins in my next door neighbor's backyard a few weeks ago, and we took the photos above from our kitchen window. Mother deer was very alert to any sound or movement so we had to whisper and tiptoe around our kitchen for a few days.  It was fun to watch how the doe cared for her fawn so we didn't mind.

One day we came home to find one of the twins sleeping in our backyard, and the next day the family had moved on.  I hope the little guys make it to maturity!

Elk are a less common sight as more and more development takes place in surrounding areas, but every now and then one will be seen nearby. As you can see in the collage above our houses are surrounded by much open space and trails.....

....and often on the trails are snakes! Rattlesnakes like to hunt for small mice and voles along the trails, so we always have to be on the lookout for snakes. However, I've lived in our community for five years and have never seen a rattlesnake, so I hope my luck holds up. I have seen a few nonpoisonous snakes--but stayed far away from them!



Perhaps one of the most exciting sights seen in our community this spring were mountain lions! Early one morning a mother mountain lion and her three rather large kittens roamed through a neighbor's backyard and were captured on her security camera. If the video is not visible you can see it on my Mille Fiori Favoriti Facebook, at this link.  The local news picked up the video to show on its social media sites, and it caused quite a stir. We know that mountain lions live in the foothills, but they usually hunt at night and are pretty reclusive. Happily, they seemed to have settled down in a new area and there have been no further daytime sightings.

Another animal that caused quite a stir,  and had many sightings, were bobcats! They seemed to be everywhere for a few weeks this spring but now are a rare sight again.

Last summer we saw many red fox and fox kits in our neighborhood.  After watching them it is easy to see how they get a reputation for being smart and swift, and "talkative"! 

A neighbor found a weasel searching for food in her backyard. They are not a common sight and we were all thrilled to see her photos.

Raccoons also scavenge hunt in our neighborhood, but they are good at hiding. A neighbor found one hiding in her outdoor planter and another in a tree outside her home. It is hard to have a birdfeeder in our area because raccoons and squirrels will empty those birdfeeders in record time!

Another animal attracted by birdfeeders are black bears. A bear can smell food five miles away!  Sadly, if a bear gets used to going into neighborhoods for food they have to be relocated far away. They will have their ear-tagged by the Colorado Department of Wildlife, and if they are again seen among people, they are euthanized. It is just too dangerous for a bear to hunt in a populated area. In the Fall, when the bears have to eat 22,000 calories a day to bulk up for hibernation, we have to be careful to take birdfeeders down and keep our garbage inside our closed garage, so as not to attract the bears. 

Moose are rarely seen in our area, but a neighbor did spy one near some open space one morning. The moose population has been growing again in Colorado, but most are in the high country and near water sources. They love to eat willow tree leaves!

Of course, we see many different kinds of birds--bald eagles, golden eagles, hawks, owls, and more common birds like magpies. crows, robins, hummingbirds, etc, etc., and many other animals such as coyotes,  rabbits, squirrels, prairie dogs, etc.

We seem to have a happy balance in our community of wildlife coexisting with human life. Most of the time we don't see the more dangerous animals, but it certainly is interesting when we do! We just have to be aware that we need to keep our eyes on young children, small dogs, and cats, and most often during early morning hours and at dusk when most of the wildlife is active.  What kind of wildlife is common where you live? Nature is a precious gift!

"Our task must be to free ourselves by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature and its beauty."  - Albert Einstein

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