Buzzy Day

Though only in the mid-60's with a breeze making it feel cooler, Sunday was still a beautiful day here in Colorado.

My maple was quite "abuzz" with attention... The bees were so busy pollinating that they completely ignored me - yay! There were also many of these pretty orange and black butterflies. They were definitely more aware of me than the bees and I snapped a lot of photos trying to catch one of them not moving too fast for my camera. This pic is thanks to power of cropping :-)

April Birthstone: Diamond

"She who from April dates her years,
Diamonds shall wear, lest bitter tears
For vain repentance flow."

A diamond is the traditional birthstone

for those special babies born in April.

Diamonds are frequently found in

engagement rings because they are believed

to enhance relationships.

Although a lesser known property,

diamonds are also associated with

increasing inner strength.

Happy Birthday, Honey!

Neighborhood Excitement!

A neighbor is having a new porch poured...  One of the things I miss most about having small children is the excitement this would have generated!  I decided to sit out and watch the process just for nostalgia :-)

21

This amazing son, big brother, handsome guy, artist, intelligent CU Junior, Eagle Scout...  I could brag on and on... is 21 today!

Happy, Happy Birthday Ryan!!

Afternoon Shower

Typical Spring/Summer Day:  

Beautiful blue skies in the morning,

Cloudy and potentially ugly in the afternoon,

Back to beautiful in the evening.

These clouds produced a mild rain... 

 Sometimes we get nothing but muggy, 

sometimes we damaging hail, 

sometimes a sprinkle with a rainbow.  

Never a dull moment in the Fort :-)

Amazing Monday

Fort Collins is always beautiful, but the past few days have been extra glorious with blue skies and warm temperatures.  While I was waiting for Minnie to finish her spa session, I took advantage of the outdoor seating area at the car wash to catch some rays.  Right next to the rock I was sunning on, the pampas grass was just starting to come back to life.  I love, love, love Spring!

National Jelly Bean Day

My kind of holiday!!

Reading the comics beats

reading the news first thing in the morning...

Dog Eat Doug is on my regular reading list - 

check out this morning's strip:
http://www.arcamax.com/thefunnies/dogeatdoug/

The Sounds of the Season...

Who needs an alarm clock???  

Busy chirpers have been making morning music 

the past few days between 4:45 and 5:15 - 

at least, that's when they are at their peak. 

It's perfect timing for me to start my day.  

I'm still listening to a few right now at 6 :-)  

I love the Sights, Smells and Sounds of Spring! 

Parental Bragging Moment...

The National Honor Society was formed in 1921 and has become our country's foremost high school organization established to recognize outstanding students in the areas of Character, Scholarship, Leadership and Service.  I am very proud that my daughter has been selected as a member!  

Congratulations, Brianne!!

"The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere"

On the night of April 18, 1775, Paul Revere, a silversmith, set out out to warn his fellow Sons of Liberty that the British were coming.  His ride from Boston to Lexington would make him a legend in American History...

Listen my children and you shall hear
Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere,
On the eighteenth of April, in Seventy-five;
Hardly a man is now alive
Who remembers that famous day and year.

He said to his friend, "If the British march
By land or sea from the town to-night,
Hang a lantern aloft in the belfry arch
Of the North Church tower as a signal light,--
One if by land, and two if by sea;
And I on the opposite shore will be,
Ready to ride and spread the alarm
Through every Middlesex village and farm,
For the country folk to be up and to arm."

Then he said "Good-night!" and with muffled oar
Silently rowed to the Charlestown shore,
Just as the moon rose over the bay,
Where swinging wide at her moorings lay
The Somerset, British man-of-war;
A phantom ship, with each mast and spar
Across the moon like a prison bar,
And a huge black hulk, that was magnified
By its own reflection in the tide.

Meanwhile, his friend through alley and street
Wanders and watches, with eager ears,
Till in the silence around him he hears
The muster of men at the barrack door,
The sound of arms, and the tramp of feet,
And the measured tread of the grenadiers,
Marching down to their boats on the shore.

Then he climbed the tower of the Old North Church,
By the wooden stairs, with stealthy tread,
To the belfry chamber overhead,
And startled the pigeons from their perch
On the sombre rafters, that round him made
Masses and moving shapes of shade,--
By the trembling ladder, steep and tall,
To the highest window in the wall,
Where he paused to listen and look down
A moment on the roofs of the town
And the moonlight flowing over all.

Beneath, in the churchyard, lay the dead,
In their night encampment on the hill,
Wrapped in silence so deep and still
That he could hear, like a sentinel's tread,
The watchful night-wind, as it went
Creeping along from tent to tent,
And seeming to whisper, "All is well!"
A moment only he feels the spell
Of the place and the hour, and the secret dread
Of the lonely belfry and the dead;
For suddenly all his thoughts are bent
On a shadowy something far away,
Where the river widens to meet the bay,--
A line of black that bends and floats
On the rising tide like a bridge of boats.

Meanwhile, impatient to mount and ride,
Booted and spurred, with a heavy stride
On the opposite shore walked Paul Revere.
Now he patted his horse's side,
Now he gazed at the landscape far and near,
Then, impetuous, stamped the earth,
And turned and tightened his saddle girth;
But mostly he watched with eager search
The belfry tower of the Old North Church,
As it rose above the graves on the hill,
Lonely and spectral and sombre and still.
And lo! as he looks, on the belfry's height
A glimmer, and then a gleam of light!
He springs to the saddle, the bridle he turns,
But lingers and gazes, till full on his sight
A second lamp in the belfry burns.

A hurry of hoofs in a village street,
A shape in the moonlight, a bulk in the dark,
And beneath, from the pebbles, in passing, a spark
Struck out by a steed flying fearless and fleet;
That was all! And yet, through the gloom and the light,
The fate of a nation was riding that night;
And the spark struck out by that steed, in his flight,
Kindled the land into flame with its heat.
He has left the village and mounted the steep,
And beneath him, tranquil and broad and deep,
Is the Mystic, meeting the ocean tides;
And under the alders that skirt its edge,
Now soft on the sand, now loud on the ledge,
Is heard the tramp of his steed as he rides.

It was twelve by the village clock
When he crossed the bridge into Medford town.
He heard the crowing of the cock,
And the barking of the farmer's dog,
And felt the damp of the river fog,
That rises after the sun goes down.

It was one by the village clock,
When he galloped into Lexington.
He saw the gilded weathercock
Swim in the moonlight as he passed,
And the meeting-house windows, black and bare,
Gaze at him with a spectral glare,
As if they already stood aghast
At the bloody work they would look upon.

It was two by the village clock,
When he came to the bridge in Concord town.
He heard the bleating of the flock,
And the twitter of birds among the trees,
And felt the breath of the morning breeze
Blowing over the meadow brown.
And one was safe and asleep in his bed
Who at the bridge would be first to fall,
Who that day would be lying dead,
Pierced by a British musket ball.

You know the rest. In the books you have read
How the British Regulars fired and fled,---
How the farmers gave them ball for ball,
From behind each fence and farmyard wall,
Chasing the redcoats down the lane,
Then crossing the fields to emerge again
Under the trees at the turn of the road,
And only pausing to fire and load.

So through the night rode Paul Revere;
And so through the night went his cry of alarm
To every Middlesex village and farm,
A cry of defiance, and not of fear,
A voice in the darkness, a knock at the door,
And a word that shall echo for evermore!
For, borne on the night-wind of the Past,
Through all our history, to the last,
In the hour of darkness and peril and need,
The people will waken and listen to hear
The hurrying hoof-beats of that steed,
And the midnight message of Paul Revere.
-Henry Wadsworth LongfellowPenned April 19, 1860

Recycle It!

"Building Community Through Bicycling" is the goal of the Fort Collins Bicycle Co-op.  They receive, store and record abandoned bikes for the FCPD, run an Earn-A-Bike program, offer various classes, and have open shop hours where anyone can go in, talk to a mechanic, and get help working on their bike while learning at the same time.  Behind the scenes, they are devoted to recycling everything they can.  This past weekend's project of erecting bike racks (and they are just over half-way done) created the largest pile of cardboard I have ever scene...  My daughter is standing on top of the first of two loads that went to the recycle center on Saturday with more to go once the project is completed.

New Bike Racks!

The Fort Collins Bike Co-op received 14 new bike racks from Specialized. Yesterday, several volunteers (including a few scouts from Troop 188) re-organized the storage area, assembled 8 of the racks, and made a gigantic haul of cardboard to the recycling center.  Lots of work with more to come, but the racks are greatly appreciated and needed!

Laughter is the Best Medicine :-D

International Moment of Laughter Day was created by Izzy Gesell, professional facilitator and key note speaker.  The idea is to get people laughing and to share it because it makes us feel better.  Telling jokes is not my forte, so I'm sharing my laugh for the day with a link to one of my favorite comic strips, Garfield, by Jim Davis.

http://www.arcamax.com/thefunnies/garfield/s-1126592

Up Next...

This Chokecherry is busting out the blooms!  It's not quite as fragrant as the Crabapple, but just as lovely with delicate flowers :-)

I love Spring!

What's Going Around the Internet - Helpful Hints

When traveling, store your shoes in shower caps to keep dirty soles from touching your clean clothes.  The best part, you can find these at most hotels... I love this idea!  I'm going to start collecting :-)

National Siblings Day

My sister, Lynelle, and I - 1988"ish"... She's always been the smiley one; I'm the serious one.

We've made lots of great memories and have had a few squabbles through the years, but one things remains constant:  I love my Little Sister!

Kitchen Project - Done For Now

With Operation Grout and Caulk the Backsplash
successfully completed,
I am back to my comfortably cluttered kitchen :-)

Next Phase:  Appliances

Happy Easter

Easter is coming,
Spring is on its way
Hens getting ready
For eggs to lay

Flowers all growing,
Bright and tall
Little lambs born,
Fluffy and small

A time for hope
And a time for prayer
New beginnings
And warmer air

The Easter bunny
And chocolate treats
Egg rolling, hunts
And lots of sweets!

First Flowers :-)

Okay...  Technically, it's a Spring Snow Flowering Crabapple Tree, but it is producing the first flowers of the season in my yard.  I love the way it smells and the individual flowers are just beautiful.

Worthy Read

I very rarely find anything in the local newspaper to be actually noteworthy.  I quit receiving it years ago and just read on-line to get a general idea of what is going on and to keep up on the local high school sports.  This morning, I was pleasantly surprised to find this very inspirational article.  On the downside, it leaves the rest of us with no excuses...

http://www.coloradoan.com/article/20120405/NEWS01/204050332/Running-partner-gives-blind-Fort-Collins-man-bright-outlook?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE

March Birth Month Flower: Sweet Pea

Sweet Pea is the official flower of all those born in the month of April. Considered a climbing flower when used in a garden, it is very fragrant and seems to come in an endless variety of colors.

In the language of flowers, it means "good bye" or "blissful pleasure."  If you were sending them during the Victorian Era, it could also secretly mean "Thank you for a lovely time."  I'd rather get a flower message than a text...

Riders Wanted

On April 3, 1860, the Pony Express began delivering the mail.  Here's a job posting that would make anyone jump at the opportunity...

Spring Song

"Hark, I hear a robin calling!
List, the wind is from the south!
And the orchard-bloom is falling
Sweet as kisses on the mouth.

In the dreamy vale of beeches
Fair and faint is woven mist,
And the river's orient reaches
Are the palest amethyst.

Every limpid brook is singing
Of the lure of April days;
Every piney glen is ringing
With the maddest roundelays.

Come and let us seek together
Springtime lore of daffodils,
Giving to the golden weather
Greeting on the sun-warm hills."

-  Lucy Maud Montgomery

Kitchen Project - Phase 3

Finally got the tile hung yesterday. Decided to just go with a backsplash instead of getting over-excited and extending it up the walls.  It's a completely different look for us - I love it!  Grout is coming up next...  I'm going to try to get to that later today or tomorrow since I get anxious to get the mess over and done with.

This is Brianne's more artsy take on the tile.
I like her shot better :-)