desertsteph....Colorado. Manitou Springs. I was up against the mountains, on top, 101mph winds/had to strap down cast metal patio furniture, with open space behind me...and a camp ground below. The people in the camp ground fed the bears bags of raw chicken. The neighbors had "live" chickens...the bears ate. The bears came through in droves! Then they/the bears found my hummingbird feeders. We had great horned owls, golden eagles, bobcat, mountain lion. Just 3 houses down the street, a mother mountain lion killed a deer, left it in the neighbors back yard...and fed her 3 cubs for a week. They put it on national news. Photographers were flying in to get the shot. Herds of deer slept in peoples yards. The city is planning a bow & arrow hunt. Ticks, fleas & a HUGE population of voles & wood rats. Even knats & black flies, the flies & ticks feed on the deer, became over powering. When they made "pot" legal, the town became over run with drugs & beggars/setting the bridges on fire with warming fires, That's when we decided we had to move.....at any cost. We just moved East, away from the mountains.......and it ALL went away. Of course we'd remodeled the home, it sold in 3 weeks....happy ending.

I miss all the colors of the spring, summer and fall. The gray gloom of winter (at least where I live) can really wear on a soul. But I know it won't be long now. One month down and two to go. :) I took this picture two days ago and right now it is triple that size!! Growth in winter is so welcome. This is a paperwhite in the making.

Did someone say pets?? That's easy! Smudge, he died in 2017 at 17. And Roxie. She was like velcro, always at my side. She has to be the most beautiful cat I've ever seen. :-) She died of cancer in January, she was 12 And good ol' Bud. He's 15 and he loves being the 'only child' now. Although he and Smudge were best friends the minute they laid eyes on one another.

Everyone’s views are so beautiful! May I present the moonscape that is my side yard. There was an enormous dying elm at the edge of the stone patio. Inhad it taken down and a lot of other tree work done as they were breaking ground on the house next door early last year. The pile of beautiful free dirt is compliments of my new neighbor. The good news is that the landscape designer is coming Wednesday morning.