Ups and Downs of Springtime in the Rockies

Sometimes, life feels like a series of ups and downs.  We let our emotions take us on a ride of happy and sad, joy and sorrow.  And I always get wistful in the Spring and Fall.  It's kind of like the weather.

And sometimes, you have to settle for a candle.

We who live in this beautiful state of Colorado are fortunate.  Not everyone who lives here realizes this fact.  But a daily check of the evening news is confirmation.  Our climate, especially here in the front range, is quite mild.  Tornadoes are not unheard of, but rare, mostly in the eastern plains.  Hail?  Sometimes, seldom enough to cause more than plant damage.  Flooding?  Again, localized and mild.  Only 2 really big floods in my 50+ years, and big is a relative term.  Nothing even close to the damage and devastation being suffered by fellow Americans all over the south. We don't have earthquakes, and obviously not hurricanes or tsunamis. 

So the worst things we have going here weather wise are the fact that the May snow, killed off my lilacs buds, just as they had started to bloom and put out that incredible fragrance..............oh well, I'll go buy a lilac scented candle.  You should always have a backup plan.  And..............we've had about 5 or 6 days when we haven't seen the sun all day.............because we've been getting the rain to make up for almost no snow fall this year in town.  The mountains, continue to get hammered with snow, highest snow pack in many years.  Which means we'll have plenty of water to keep our lawns green this summer.

So to recap...............we had a mild winter at Casa Rancho..............not a lot of snow shoveling.  In spite of the the very dry and mild winter, we're getting lots of May showers, for the June flowers.  And everything is looking very green.  There will probably be no watering restrictions because of the amazing amount of snow in the mountains.  If we have a repeat of last summer, we never even hit 100 degrees, and of course there is little to no humidity.

So I'm thinking we've got nothing to complain about, lots to be grateful for, it's all a matter of perspective.  There's a saying around here, that "if you don't like the weather, wait a minute".  It changes in a heartbeat.  Fredrick Bonfils, co founder of the Denver Post first coined the phrase, "Tis a Privilege to Live in Colorado".  That phrase was on the masthead of the paper for most of my life.

This Colorado girl agrees.  I've described a certain feeling to a few people close to me.  When I look around at this magnificent place I live, I sometimes feel like there are roots growing out of the bottom of my feet, deep into the Colorado clay...............and my arms are like the aspen, feeling the gentle breezes making the leaves flicker.

God forgive me for ever taking this place for granted.