Saturday, April 20, 2013

April in Wyoming



We accumulated over 17 inches of snow this week starting Monday and ending Thursday. Our garden tulips are buried under all the snow. Maybe they will recover and bloom after the melt off, I don’t know. The interstate highways have been closed off and on especially when the wind blows the snow creating drifts and ground blizzards. 

It is just no fun to see such a wintry scene out the windows when we are so ready for Spring. On the other hand we are still in a drought and the moisture is much appreciated. The reservoirs that supply our city will now be full and we won’t have unreasonable watering restrictions.
Tonight we are getting some actual rain which seems more normal. Probably half of the snow is now melted but the north side of the property will take awhile to melt off. Happy spring everyone. 





Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Springtime in Charlotte












We arrived at the airport almost the same time that E#2 arrived from her business trip to Mexico City. We met up at the baggage claim. The first order of business was to drive to pick up Leena her pup at the boarding kennel. Steve got to ride with the rambunctious friendly pup in the back seat. 

It was great to see our youngest on her own turf and see the sights with her as our tour guide. This was her dad’s first time seeing Charlotte and like the others who have visited her there he liked it. The first night and part of the second day there was rainy but soon the skies cleared and the true beauty showed through. Many of the trees are flowering and various plantings of flowers tulips and pansies are blooming around town. The other trees are just budding and or leafing out so the canopy is not full yet allowing a lot of light in to all the windows in her condo on the upper floor.

We were able to spend time walking around in Uptown one day and visited NoDa and several other neighborhoods too. We drove 25 miles or so to S. Carolina on Saturday and hiked a nature trail along the Catawba River and visited the Catawba Cultural Center a project for the children of these Native Americans to learn about their history and culture. S. got to check N. Carolina and S. Carolina off the list of states he had never visited. He now has seven left. Leena had a great time! We determined that she needs the same” Gentle Leader” headgear that we use with our dog to keep her from pulling so hard when she encounters new smells and trails.

We got to taste some great local food at some fine restaurants. We also got to help our daughter with some projects like planting herbs and installing some planters on her deck railing. I helped her catch up on her laundry and Dad helped fix a stuck door. We visited a new church on Sunday. 

The four days were gone before we knew it and we returned home just minutes ahead of a winter storm hitting our area with a blizzard. Ugh. E #2 says it hit 80 degrees there today, we hit a high or 12 degrees and have a foot of new snow with drifts all around. We haven’t been out of the house today. Ugh!