Yaaay! Me too. I watered yesterday and the back lawn today. I have crocus and daffies coming up as well & the garlic is almost leaping out of the ground. Saw a couple male finches starting their breeding plumage.

BTW, my Metro District will be watering all our open space property this week. Single-digit humidities several days in the past week, with wind (sure sign of spring). A good chunk of this part of the state is in moderate agricultural drought.

Dan

I saw a robin! Two!!
{{gwi:1192404}}From digitS'

no, not my photo'

The snow has melted around the house across the road and the poor things were rustling around in the leaves. Not very likely to find a frozen worm, tho'.

These are the 1st robins I have seen since, I think it was, the 2nd of January. That crazy thing showed up at the top of a walnut tree close by on 2 different days! He was obviously out of his cotton-pickin' mind sticking around here after our winter-like November!

Last week, there was 10 inches of snow and a little more has fallen since. Sub-zero temperatures followed the 1st storm. It is raining some of the snow off at the moment. There are no crocus or daff emerging from the ground around my house. And, I won't send you the sad photo of the snowdrops that had just popped up beside a nearby creek before this most recent round of winter weather.

(. . . but, if you'd like to click on the robin picture . . . I've linked his song ;o)

Steve

It was another nice day here but weather is blowing in. I was hoping to get a little more watering done but I will have to wait. I bought wood today for 3 more raised beds. I hope to get them built this weekend if the weather cooperates.
Steve I love the little song...so tweet!

Of course, it is the English Sparrows and Starlings that show up most commonly in my yard.

But, the Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) is here all winter and will be a frequent summer garden companion. I appreciate how this little native can hold his own against the invaders and still seems to bless human activity with his song.

You can click on the picture to hear it. The link below will take you to lots of bird song -- just to get you "primed" for the season.

Steve :o)

Here is a link that might be useful: Birds! University of Wisconsin Audio Files

Provo girl, I am curious as to why you are watering this time of year. Perhaps I am missing something.? ? lol

While I don't know about Provo, people in Denver have been watering. It has been Verrrrry Dry since Sept. Hopefully we will get a dumping of snow next week.

ProvoGirl isn't in Provo anymore, Mary! She's over here on the DRY side of the mountains--not too far from me on the north end of Denver! It's been SO dry here this winter that a couple days before Christmas I spent almost a whole day deeply watering my grass and perennial beds. We've had an inch or so of snow a couple times since then, and I figure with the deep watering, the grass is doing ok, but I've watered the perennials several times since then. Not sure I remember a winter quite as dry as this one!

My snow crocus are blooming all over the place, and ALL the other bulbs are up. Some of the daffodils have buds! And most of the perennials are starting to actively grow. Was out on my walk around the yard today, and discovered that my small bleeding heart is breaking thru the surface of the mulch! Wasn't too happy with that! Pushed some extra mulch over it to be sure it gets thru the coming "storm," just in case we get the cold without the snow again this time!

I, too, am hoping we get DUMPED on this Monday or Tuesday! The weathermen are all over the board in predicting this one! When I checked NOAA earlier, there were lows all over the western half of the country! It sure seems like one of them ought to make it over the Oklahoma/Texas panhandles, to pump some of the moisture up here where we need it! But I've been wishing for a good snow storm all winter, and it hasn't happened yet, so I'm not gonna count on this one till I see it!

Rain/Snow Dance,
Skybird

Skybird is correct. I am over here on the dry side of the mountains. You are not missing anything Mary Max! I don't think. LOL
Skybird I too have to get my Sandhill order sent. I am slacking and it is my last order. I thought I could get away with not sending it and just pick up a few important things on Saturday at the Rocky Mountain Seed Co. but alas I will be sending Sandhill my $ instead and getting exactly what I want. Sandhill has things that I haven't seen anywhere else. I wish I could order chickens but the darn city says no. Darn you city and darn you HOA for getting in the way of fresh eggs in the morning. Sorry to rant and rave. I really started this post because it is snowing!!! Yes, it rained a bit earlier and now it is snowing!

You have SNOW??? I've been praying to the Snow Gods all day, and I don't have any snow! Must be doing something wrong! Maybe a little Snow Dance!!!

I can't speak to your HOA--don't have one of those--but the only thing you can't have in Commerce City is ROOSTERS! See the link below, Section 4-7, (c)!

You can't have: poisonous snakes, poisonous reptiles, non-poisonous snakes longer than SIX FEET, gorillas, chimpanzees, orangutans, baboons, felines other than ordinary domesticated house cats, bears of any species!, foxes, wolves, coyotes, goats, or roosters, but I don't see anything restricting chickens! :-)

Maybe you need to fire the HOA! ;-)

My Sand Hill order is finally ready to go out tomorrow. And I really do need to get it done NOW, because it includes some yellow and orange tomatoes and two new eggplants I'm gonna try this year, and they need to be sown SOON! I'm hoping their turn around time isn't too long!

But, BOY, I have to say, you sure do get spoiled ordering things online, and then having to fill out an order blank, and address an envelope, and make out a check to send sure does seem long and complicated after not having done it for a buncha years! I guess life was a lot more complicated in the Good Olde Days! I'm glad we didn't know "back then" how complicated it was! A few days ago I saw a TV documentary where they were reading olde letters people had written to each other, and I was thinkin' that archeologists of the future aren't gonna have much to work with! When all the computers go up in dust, there won't be any records left anymore to explore! At least my Childhood is down on paper for posterity!

Gotta go figure out how to do a Snow Dance!

Skybird

Here is a link that might be useful: Commerce City Codes!

Just checked Noaa weather and they've updated to a 60% chance of less than an inch of snow possible for the Denver area. I'm joining you in the snow dance.
We actually did some tilling last weekend before the fuel pump went out on the lawn tractor. I'm prepping for pinyon and caragana seedlings coming next month.
Some of the farmers have started burning ditches around here, a sure sign the growing season is coming.
DD and I were out Digit's way over the weekend, checking out Washington State University. It's my daughter's top pick of schools to attend in the fall. They had quite a bit of snow cover with winter wheat sprouting. I'm so jealous of the moisture they're getting. I was hoping precip. would follow us home!
Some of the pasture grass is coming up and my tulips are coming up as well.
Skybird, my mother still writes good olde fashioned letters and I keep most of them. I'm glad that art form isn't completely gone!
Barb

All dirt roads lead to Pullman... ;o)

I'm struggling to justify in my mind what the computer models are outputting. The NWS folk around here mostly don't have enough experience to do anything more than parrot what the models say. Friday they were panicking and I sent the kid to school without snow boots and the fam thought I was crazy, but this next system coming in looks to get shredded in the San Juans and won't fix itself until well out on the plains. Glad I watered the other day.

Dan

I was wondering what you thought of this one, Dan!

I just checked NOAA and they've downgraded the prediction for Thornton from 1-2" this morning to "around an inch" now! That means NO SNOW!

So much for the Snow Dance!

Skybird

Any robins down in Pullman, Barb? There were 2 right next door yesterday! The starlings were having quite a tizzy about it.

Dirt roads to Pullman become no-go roads when the frost goes out of 'em! Palouse Quagmire Road - just off Puddleslosh Lane.

Steve

Steve, I didn't see any robins. I sure like your area. It's like here with the wheat fields, but more hilly and interesting than our flat land. And black, fertile dirt. And snow...Ok, never mind, it's nothing like here!
I did love seeing snow and rain. I see what you mean about the no-go roads when it thaws. it's going to muu-u-ddy there soon!
I was in tree heaven there, so much diversity. Sadly most of them wouldn't survive here. But I sure admired them!
I didn't get to do much exploring, the Univ. kept us hopping, but plan to in the fall if the kiddo sticks with her current plan. Thanks again for the scenic tips!
Barb

SNOW!!!! Where is the stinnkin Snow??? It this continues we need a pre-spring swap snow dance get together!!!!

All I can say is that you folks are making me crazy! Probably shouldn't be reading about the mountains as I live in Minnesota and it's still very much covered in snow and today a heat wave of maybe 40 degrees! Very excited to get my hands in the dirt!

Here is a link that might be useful: Help Around the Yard

I know what MN/ND is like so I don't envy you. It was 70deg yesterday (Colorado Front range). While we have had very dry conditions since Sept they have gotten some good snow in the mountains especially in the Southwest corner of the state.

Yesterday was a red-letter day: the November snow was finally gone from my yard!

It had very nearly disappeared on a couple other occasions, only to be replenished! After a good deal of rain, the snow is now gone and the clouds continue to bring rain! Neighbors with evergreen trees and where snow was piled up, are still enjoying the, uh, white stuff.

November had a record amount of snow. And, then there were some record low temperatures in February. I can only remember once before when November snow lasted into March!

Snow level is dropping to 3,000 feet. I know that would mean that the entire state of Colorado would be blanketed but I will just see new snowfall on the nearby hills. Later, things might change . . .

The tulips at the foot of the back stairs have emerged from their winter sleep!

Steve

Dsieber, I found your snow!!!

A look out the back this morning:

Yeah, Steve, our snow was finally gone too ...

Bonnie

You lucky western slopers!!!! W2 got maybe 1/2" and it was gone by noon even on the North side of the house.

Not even a half inch here! I got a brief drizzle last nite! Just enough to wet the sidewalks! I'm NEVER, EVER going to get precipitation here again!!! (Do you hear me, Snow/Rain gods?)

I have the first three daffodils open now, with more soon to follow. The snow crocus, that I worried about all winter since they were already up in November, are in full, glorious bloom, and the "regular" crocus are blooming now too. Hyacinths---it won't be long. My omnipresent little purple violas are starting to bloom here and there, and it seems like everything except the hostas and the balloon flower are really getting going! If I get a hard freeze now, a few things are gonna be in trouble! Will need to be ready with pots to put over them just in case! But with the upcoming weather for the next week, that seems unlikely! Famous last words!

I LOVE your Snow Pictures, Bonnie! So pretty, especially since I didn't have even one Currier and Ives scene here this winter! I am glad, tho, that I don't have to deal with your Snow Soup behind the house! ;-)

Headin' out to the yard to do some more swap stuff,
Skybird

Plenty of signs around here of spring. Tulips are coming on strong even the 30 or so I planted in January. The ~60 garlic plants are looking really strong. Irises have been up for about a month. Somehow lettuce overwintered on the south side of the house and is taking off. The daises are all coming around. The cover crops in the vegetable areas are for the most part getting tall and thick. Peas are sprouting. Spinach planted last October is looking really good at least one bed. Hollyhocks have awaken as well as the couple columbines I have.

Yep, spring is here :-)

The Iris danfordiae are starting to nod their heads in the wind, about half the crocus are done, the tree buds are swelling, the tulips and daffies are poking up but not even the early vars are blooming yet, I'm going to purchase 75 trees to plant... Getting there!

Dan

75 trees? Where are you going to plant them?

Bonnie, I am sooo jealous! Thank you for the beautiful pics.
I think that's as close as we're going to get to snow this year.

I think it's time to scoff at mother nature! Do you remember Monty Python and the Holy Grail? The scene at the French castle? Maybe hurling those kinds of insults at mother nature would bring us moisture. The snow and rain dances aren't working. Or maybe I should just wash my truck!

I'm planting roses, Sea green junipers and lilacs this weekend and spraying my fruit trees. I planted a korean fir last weekend. I have 60 seedling trees and 50 bareroot shrubs coming next month, so it's time to get back into gardening shape!

My garlic is up, the tulips and daffs are, too. I planted a couple of pansies and primroses just to have some green to look at.

As early as it is, I think spring is here.

Yay, Dan! What kind of trees are you getting?

Barb

Greg, its for the Metro District for our declining trees in the ROW. Barb, mostly Shumard oak, swamp white oak, Kentucky coffeetree, then a smattering of others such as chinkapin oak, western catalpa, etc.

Dan

Spring is peeking through here, a few daffodils and crocus poking through. It did snow about 8" on Monday and another inch this morning. But hey! Its Arizona, and the sun is intense already, melting the snow.

Now the wind is already drying the soil out. Sustained 20-30, gusting to 50...yee haw

My lily just had little green leaves coming out.I was so happy!

I can't wait and already began working on my garden because it's warm here. However, the offical last frost date here is in May. All I can do is to corss my finger too.

Our first snowdrops true to form beginning to bloom above the thinning snow in south side border...
And planning how to renovate and design a new landscape, where a mature maple had to be removed along south side of house after 64 years sadly for such a speciman.... however it was ill located initially and while having a good run.... I finally had no choice but to protect foundation and sacrifice tree...
Oh well.... sun where none has been for so long is but an excuse for a landscape update...I will have to move my moss/ shade beds and......................