The return of the garden

Scott has been patiently waiting for the weather forecaster to give the thumbs up for the garden and this weekend he finally got it.  Usually in Denver the rule of thumb is to wait until Mother's Day, however this year has been colder than usual and we even had snowfall last week.  I think it looks funny when everything is so green with snow sprinkled on top.  The nice thing about spring snow is it melts the same day it falls, so no need to shovel but great watering for the grass and trees. We never have to water the grass in the spring and it comes back so green, which is a nice change from living in the Arizona desert where it takes so much work and water to keep a nice lawn.

Over the winter Scott's strawberries were really taking off, they apparently thrive in cold weather, he had so many in the garden he transplanted some of them into planters yesterday. 

This morning Scott walked me around his garden and pointed out the varieties of vegetables, herbs, and fruits he has.  Looks like our asparagus and raspberries might come in finally after three years!  (I can't really take any credit for the garden, this is really all Scott's hard work)

The dogs love the beautiful spring days, as Millie chills in the sun out of Max's reach and Sparky allows Max to run in circles around her, jumping and taking away her toys.

Max loves snow!

After two 70 degree days, here we are 24 hours later in the middle of a blizzard and 26 degrees.  On the news yesterday they were interviewing people visiting Colorado who were in shorts and asking them if they believed the next day could bring a blizzard.  Of coarse they laughed.  And here we are!

Max absolutely LOVES the snow!  He gets so hyper, running and playing and even brings the playfulness out of Sparky and MIllie.  Can you tell why the pet store called him Scruffy?

Clearance Puppy

As you all know, Scott and I have a weekend routine where we go to the mall, get a coffee at Seattle's Best and walk a couple times around for exercise.  (Yes we are that elderly couple walking laps around the mall early on Saturday mornings)

Well this weekend as we entered the pet shop as we usually do, we witnessed a sad, nervous dog who had been at the pet shop for over three months and discounted numerous times.  We went home and neither one of us could get the sad dog out of our minds.  So we went back to the pet shop and asked to take the clearance puppy home.

When we came home a different side of this discounted sad puppy came out as he ran, teased and played with Sparky and Millie.  He still runs to hide or walks backwards to avoid Scott, Sean and I as he fears human contact.  Scott has been giving him love all day but I'm sure it will take some time.

The pet store had called him scruffy and even though he is a bit scruffy we did not want to give him a complex with such a name so we struggled all day and came up with Max.  By the way Max is a Yorkshire Terrier mixed with a Bichon Frise.  I guess Max is the kind of dog that needs frequent walks, so he will fit right in with us!

My other two girls

These two girls surely keep me busy and provide entertainment, love and frustration.  I have had Sparky for 10 years now and her Australian Sheppard comes out as she tries to heard me around the house, chases rabbits, squirrels and birds in the back yard and barks at everything including a mother pushing her baby in a stroller along our side fence and her favorite enemy, the UPS truck.  Sparky runs and hides when you say "Bath" and sings along to a harmonica.  She is always on guard and although she can be annoying she makes me feel safe. 

Millie on the other hand is a big chicken.  She is always nervous, shy and scared.  Chelsea saved Millie from the animal shelter in Tempe about three years ago and brought her to Colorado about a year later when she decided to leave her with me.  I believe Chelsea noticed how much Millie and I bonded and how much Millie enjoyed being outside here and all the extra attention.  Sometimes I think Millie has helped to keep my spirits up.  She is so loving.  She follows me everywhere, cuddles up in a ball next to me or on my lap when I let her.  She keeps me on a schedule letting me know when it is time for her morning snack, dinner, a walk and even bedtime.  She becomes annoyed and nervous when I stay up past 11 pm, she wants to go to bed at 10:30!

These girls keep me so busy, and give plenty of love, laughs and memories!

Getting Deep

This has been such a fun day!  I have been waiting since we moved to Colorado for a really good snow and I think this one may be it.  If I had to guess 1-2 inches are falling per hour right now and we must have about 14 inches already.  I took these pictures at 4pm.  The news says 18 more hours of snow to come.

Happy Saturday!

Today Scott and I caught an early movie and picked up Sean after to get a FatBurger.  We try not to eat too much of this kind of food and I had to look up the menu online and convince Scott there were healthier choices, such as the Turkey or Veggie burger.  I on the other hand do not deprive myself of a junk food craving, I just choose a smaller portion.  I was happy to find they had a "Baby Fat" burger, just enough to satisfy my craving.

(Click on picture to enlarge)

The dogs knew what a beautiful day it was and began jumping up and down when we came home begging for a walk.  We treated the dogs to an extra long walk, wearing them out and working off our burgers.  Today was another perfect weather day in Colorado!  Clear blue skies, 70 degrees and fall colors allowed for a very happy Saturday!  Maybe tomorrow we will get out of the neighborhood for a new Colorado adventure!

Millie's Cujo Encounter

Scott and Sparky were walking ahead of us right before the Cujo encounter.

We were out on our usual walk minding our own business and up ahead was a man picking up the big dog poops from his two big scary looking dogs and I turned to Scott and suggested we slow down so we would not have to encounter them. They were kind of taking up the walkway and I was okay with that I just thought we would wait for them to move on. Then one of the dogs who resembled Cujo snarled at our dogs, broke loose and ran like a raging bull towards my precious baby Millie. As images of my little Mils being attacked flashed in my head I swooped her up in my arms and stood still while this dog snarled and growled at us. He calmed down once he recognized we meant no threat to him and his owner got his collar back on. Otherwise the walk was beautiful as usual.

Millie was exhausted after her near death experience!

Today's Walk

This morning Scott and I headed out to see an early morning showing of 500 Days of Summer and as we sat in the car and discussed what a beautiful day it was we changed our minds and decided to take the dogs out on a nice long walk. We have never ventured very far with Sparky because of her unfit condition and bad knee however, we have been taking her out regularly for about three months now and figured she could handle it. In the picture above Scott and I were trying to get the dogs to pose but they did not want to stop. I had to buy Millie the harness she is wearing because she was always pulling so hard she would choke herself. Half way through the walk we had to make Sparky go down into a creek for a drink of water. She enjoyed her walk so much, she has never been so excited.

Sparky still looks good at the end of the walk.

Breakfast on the Patio

What a welcome home! After frying in Arizona's 110+ degree weather I came home to a pleasant 67 degree morning and the smell of fresh pine trees. Scott and I woke up this morning and decided to pick up bagels and coffee and enjoy breakfast on our back patio. Kids are outside playing, people are riding by on bikes, walking dogs and so on. These are the kind of summers I always took notice of on movies when I was growing up but never experience living in the hot Tempe, AZ desert. I love it!!!!

Scott and Sparky in the back yard after breakfast this morning

Sparky and I this morning enjoying the nice 67 degree morning!

Sparky Update

We have been trying to get these girls out for a walk everyday when the weather allows. I think the late afternoon hail and tornado warnings have finally left us alone. Sparky is handling the walks much better now. In this picture we were at the end of the walk and you can tell how tired they are (even Scott). I think both Millie and Sparky are beginning to lose some weight, I wish I was too. Today Sparky had close encounters with at least 3 other dogs and maintained her composure. Maybe you can teach an old dog new tricks?

Summer goal #1: Get Sparky back in shape

Last summer we were told that Sparky had a malignant tumor and a torn knee and needed treatment for both. We could not afford to address either issue and we did not think Sparky would make it through the winter. I was told we would have to put her down, but she seemed so happy and full of life I did not see a need. Now this spring her tumor has miraculously disappeared and she is not limping anymore. So today we decided to try and take her for a walk and she did so well we decided it is time to get her out and back into shape. Hopefully she has a few more good years to enjoy.
Hard to believe last Saturday we had 14 inches of snow and built a snowman. By Monday most of the snow had melted and as you can see there is hardly any snow on the Rockies in the front range. The mountains of higher elevation in the background are still covered in snow as you can see if you click on the pic to enlarge.
Sparky was intrigued by the ground hogs we encountered along the way. They quickly jumped into there holes as we closed in.