LHR Images BLOG

I can’t say it was a pleasant drive today. We started out in heavy rain through most of Nebraska, then, rain and high winds. By the time we reached Colorado, the rain had stopped but the winds — from the side — were very high. It was really tough keeping the minivan centered in the lane. It wasn’t all that warm either. At least the sun started coming out.

We decided to cut across on Colorado 14 from Sterling to Ft. Collins so, we got off the interstate and into the “real world” for awhile. Not that it was all that interesting, other than the large herd of pronghorn antelope we spotted in the distance on our left side. As we neared Ft. Collins though, the clouds allowed occasional glimpses of the mountains.

Here in town, it was either more sheltered or the wind died. It was still brisk but, nothing like it had been out on the highway. I took advantage of the improving conditions to go for a walk. I headed north, first threading my way through the historic downtown area and then started following the great bike paths along the Cache La Poudre River. I feel like my vacation has finally started now — since I took a couple dozen photos while on my walk. Here are 2 of them…

I caught occasional glimpses of the moutains while on my walk but couldn’t find a location for a decent photo of them. Oh well, tomorrow, our route takes us up and over them. Tomorrow night, we’re scheduled to be in the vicinity of Moab.

Weather forecast is looking great for tomorrow… SUNNY! It’s supposed to be about 38°F here in the morning though and in the 80’s by the time we reach Moab. Change of clothes and/or layering is definitely the plan of the day for tomorrow!

Absolutely gorgeous weather today…. but, the weatherman says we have another front bearing down on us, bringing rain and cooler temps. I was definitely glad I could get out and enjoy even it if it was just around our yard. Here are some of my best shots from today…

A large patch of blue/yellow primroses are fully out now…

Here’s another closeup of one of them…

This one has a monocle

More daffodils are coming out. Doesn’t this photo just scream “APRIL!”?

Still don’t know what these are… but they sure are pretty…. Guess I’ll call them UFO’s for now — Unidentified Flowering Objects . If someone can I.D. these for me, I’d sure appreciate it.

An Unidentified Flying Object (in this case, a butterfly) was sure attracted to the Unidentified Flowering Objects.

I did finally find out that these are Scilla’s. And, I finally got a couple of nice shots of them.

This one had a visitor.

Sorry to be posting so many flowers lately. But, they are fun to photograph and, since these were all taken around my yard, I haven’t had to use any gas! Cheap Shots!

If things go according to plan, I should have photos of a completely different nature to share next week. Please stay tuned. Also, please make a comment or two — so I know I’m not just talking to myself.

After some pretty nasty storms over the weekend that brought us rain, sleet and snow along with high winds and un-April-like-temperatures, today was finally sunny and warmish — although still about 10°F below normal. I took advantage of the weather to check out our garden where I found that a few plants and flowers have decided to come out of hiding as well.

We’ve had snowdrops up since March but, most of the time, they’ve been huddled up, braving the snow around them. They look much better now.

Primroses are starting to push the mulch aside to bask in the sunlight…

We have yellow crocuses…

And purple ones as well getting ready to open up.

Even some hyacinths, including this tiny one, are starting to bud.

This purple crocus seems to be a bit shy.

Another purple crocus

A splash of purple.

The forecast calls for a gradual warming trend over the week, with mid-60’s by mid-week. Maybe old man winter has had his last gasp now. Of course, in Minnesota, you never quite know.

Rocky Lake May 9, 2007

It’s easy to see
how Rocky got its name.

Olympus 770SW Digital P&S.

Comments welcome!