It’s been warm the last week and, befitting the first day of summer, it feels like summer is finally here in Colorado. There’s still a bit of cool overnight and early in the morning, but mostly it’s hot and sunny by afternoon. It’s been a wet year so far, but now it seems to be drying out.

I’ve had plenty of excuses to put off my chores – too wet, too cloudy, too busy with other things, too lazy … But I can’t keep putting things off. It’s time to get to my to-do list!

I’ll have to get the sprinkler system set up and turned on in the next day or so. We’re experiencing a drought in the mountains that feed our rivers. Some of the reservoirs on the Colorado River are extremely low, and our city officials have enacted water restrictions here. It’s not too onerous, but I’ll have to be thoughtful about setting my sprinklers to sprinkle only between the proscribed hours of the  day.

Weeds are plentiful, but due to the extended wetness, pull up fairly easily if I don’t wait too long. I accidentally pulled up some chives while weeding, so they’ve been placed in some water and continue to bloom in the kitchen.

I finally got the garden planted, although it was later than I’d hoped. Merrilyn has planted flowers in the pots we have on the front porch and patio and they look stellar. The snowball bush always blooms early, so that was a wet weather treat. Many of the yard plants are in flower — the mock orange bush is spectacular and the bridal wreath blooms have recently passed. The lawn is lush, and since I use no herbicides, it retains plenty of dandelions. This makes the bees happy, as am I, in spite of my growing (!) list of chores.

I read about the heat wave in Texas and the South, and it reinforces my general sense of self-congratulation about moving to Colorado early in my life. Sure, we have hot, dry summers here too, and we have long cold winters, but overall, it’s just about perfect for me.

It’s not so hot that I can’t enjoy sitting on the patio and hearing the birds, the neighbors and the various machine sounds from mowers, traffic and unknown tools. The trash guys came by a few days ago and the accompanying noise was very intrusive. Maybe I’m just being sensitive, or maybe having the windows open and sitting outside exacerbates it. I can hear the various dogs in the neighborhood bark, and try to be responsive when our dog barks. I’m reminded that this is all a summer condition, not something that comes up so much in winter.

We have a couple of new bird species, at least new bird sounds. I’m thinking one could be a warbler, and one may be a wren — due to their chittering warning if a cat or dog gets too close to their bush. We have an occupant in one of our bird houses, a small skinny, brownish bird that I haven’t identified yet.

The child’s plastic wading pool is now set up and full in the corner of the patio — for our dog, who loves to wade and splash when she gets too warm. I suspect the local raccoons also visit undetected at night based on the amount of water splashed out each morning. Both the dog and the cats enjoy drinking out of the pool, as do the squirrels. But we have to remember to dump the pool, clean it and refill it with clean water at least once per week in order to avoid creating a prime breeding site for mosquitos!

So, summer is now in full swing. Sure, it’ll get too hot and too buggy, but I plan to enjoy every minute of it. Some of those chores will just have to wait!   

Additional information:

Steve Tarlton, Lawn Order, April 13, 2023, Writes of Nature