Near the beginning of each month we like to pause and take a look at what’s going on in the world around us, with a particular focus on animal activity, farmers’ fields, and environmental holidays. *Somehow we took a year-long hiatus from posting our monthly welcomes. Anyway, we’re hopping back on the train, and you can find our archive of previous welcomes here.*

This is our third spring living in Colorado, and I think I’ve finally adjusted to the weather patterns. For example, I now understand that spring is just another word for limbo (defined as : “an intermediate state or condition”). One day provides the most beautiful summer weather you could imagine, the next day you’re clearing the snow from your car.  That weather may drive some people crazy, but I’ve grown to love it. It creates more of a slow, gently slide from winter into summer, making the spring seem like it lasts forever, and completely wiping any sense of what month it is from my brain. I’m pretty sure that April lasted 50 days this year, yet I thought June was starting tomorrow. “WHAT IS GOING ON?”, says the well-adjusted Coloradan. 😉

But in all seriousness, I think the snow is behind us and we are so excited to start making trips into the mountains without our skis. On our agenda this month is a whole lot of hiking, maybe a late-spring camping trip, and definitely a lot of time outside and in the garden.

Looking Forward

Here area  few things that I’m looking forward to this month:

• I’ve been craving macarons lately and want to revisit this post to try making them again in Colorado.
• We’ve been going to the parks with sad-looking treat bags lately. It’s time to review my snack stash and make another batch of spiced nuts!
• Maybe I’ll satisfy a sweet tooth or two in our house with this dip and fresh fruit.
• I’ve been freshening up our space this spring (as one does), and am excited to mix up a few new room spray fragrances. You can find more of our essential oil (including uses in natural cleaning) posts here.
• And, of course, I’m so excited to spend some time improving our garden, yard, and pond area even more. Five of the ten? eight? goldfish we added last summer are still alive and seem to be very healthy! Many of the plants I added last year survived the winter, and I’ve already added a few more this spring (more details to come in a future post).

Natural Cycles

Two years ago, I was writing about a variety of animal and plant activities taking place in our yard on the mountainside in Colorado. This year hummingbirds have been back at our feeders for a couple of weeks – I’m not sure if they’ve arrived earlier this year or if I’ve just gotten better at hearing their trilling flight through our yard? And just yesterday I heard the turkeys gobbling not far from our deck. And with every sunny/hot day, we are surrounded by lizards! I don’t much about the lizards species that live around our house, but have made it a goal to learn more about them this summer.

This week the Horseshoe Crab Surveys along the US Atlantic coast will begin! I’ve never been able to participate in this event, but it seems like such an amazing opportunity. Surveyors go out during the full and new moons of May and June to count the spawning horseshoe crab populations.

Here in the northern hemisphere, we’re in the middle of asparagus season! Did you know that when you’re eating asparagus, you’re eating the shoots of the plant? These shoots can be trimmed for a few weeks early in the growing season, but then must eventually be left to grow so that the plant survives to the following year. Newly planted asparagus won’t be ready to harvest for 2-3 years, but once established, it will continue to produce edible shoots for up to 20 years!

Ah May, we’re going to try to make the most of you. Starting with more hikes up the hill, more mornings on the deck, and more pizzas in the park!