Under a Red Roof

Flowers of Serendipity

April 28, 2026 in Gardening + Nature by Colleen | Permalink

Though I can be quite the advance planner, reserving spaces many months in advance, it can hardly be said that I think of everything. Take, for instance, the abundance of wildflowers. Had I any inclination they would be so plentiful, I would definitely have reserved these very dates. Sometimes luck is on my side!

As for the flowers, I do not know what the majority of them are, and am too lazy to do any research. Vacation mode lingers, I suppose. Anyway, happy browsing!

Like a bunch of bananas, right?

Wooly stars – flowers about half the length of my pinkie nail. Teeny!

These are even tinier than the wooly stars!!

Locoweed, methinks.

The tiniest lupine I’ve ever seen – total height 3 inches!

California poppy

Thank you, nature, for showing your pretty side…

Edibles and Blossoms

March 30, 2026 in Cooking + Baking, Gardening + Nature by Colleen | Permalink

Hiya, hiya – Happy Almost April! To quote Han Solo, “We’re all fine here, now, thank you. How are you?”

I’m listening to Joe Cocker, singing about friends, which is never a bad thing, the sun is shining, and my spirits are high. A dog walk is imminent. Life is also a bit weird, honestly. We are full on spring after the least wintery winter of my Colorado memory. It snowed three times, two of which were quite substantial, and the other, a lovely sugar coating that melted in an instant. Life in the wild weather west, my friends.

As our usual good luck would have it, we continue to eat delicious, home cooked meals, love each other the best way we possibly can, and exercise our bodies strong.

The highlights:

Pizza! We are loving our oven and the perfect crustiness of it.

Do you know about the trick where you whip instant coffee crystals, sugar, and water into the most delectable foam? I don’t understand the chemistry behind it requiring instant, but I am on board, especially when, on an unseasonably warm afternoon, we are craving something a little bitter, a little sweet, and cold, cold, cold.

When we lived in Portland, and well before my intestines rejected wholesale any minimally processed garbanzo bean in a wail of agonizing pain, I LOVED the Caravan Platter at Dot’s Diner. It very closely resembled our homemade version above, but with the addition of pita, and damn, was it good. This was equally so, maybe even better with the addition of cilantro, and made my heart positively soar. And the garbanzos? Absolutely impotent after much soaking, instant potting, and peeling.

Finally, a roasted grape salad with chicken and feta, because what better use for the wrinkly ones at the bottom of the bowl?

And now, the garden! We’ve spent two lovely mornings cutting back the old and gathering yet more leaves to make room for all that is lovely and colorful. Happy Spring!

Edited to add one adorable Juper-Dog:

Take a Hike

August 5, 2025 in Exploring, Gardening + Nature by Colleen | Permalink

Does anyone remember the expression, “Take a hike,” popular in the late seventies or early eighties? It was not nice and largely used to reject people. This post is not that kind of hike. This is the kind you take on a weekday during staycation, with your pup and best Buddy of nearly 35 years.

We drove to Palmer Park on the tail end of morning cool and minimal people, enjoying the aptly named Grandview Trail. It is pretty amazing that a hundred feet of elevation gain garners such a vastly different plant profile. Save the flowers above, which I believe are a variety of buckwheat, I don’t know the names of any of these, but how sweet to encounter.

Also, how about the tiny butterfly? Probably the size of my thumb tip, likely a bronze copper. It flitted joyously about before posing. Thank you very much!

Pike’s Peak, naked.

scrub oak with diminutive acorns

Wee and cute pink flower (a dianthus, maybe?) with mini spider. Nature!

Not spied on our hike but the back garden, this shy gal or guy had periwinkle wings on top but kept them firmly closed whenever I tried to take a picture. I have no idea what it is, sadly, as none of the Colorado butterfly lists has anything that looks like it. Mysteries abound.

As for the hike, how marvelous to get out of our usual groove, however lovely it may be. The scents and textures more sandy and resinous, singing of the high desert – pine and oak. The sky that bit closer, the view echoing more of tree than house or pavement or car. I relished every moment. That my best pals shared it with me made it even sweeter.

Happy Hiking!

Many Flowers

July 25, 2025 in Gardening + Nature by Colleen | Permalink

Okay, so, many flowers and this apple! We have two apple trees that, quite honestly, we had given up on. We planted them seven years ago, and despite looking rather healthy, didn’t do much. Last year, there was a glimmer of hope with a handful of blooms on each. This year there were even more blossoms. And now we have maybe a dozen fruits on each tree, so fingers crossed I’ll have some more excitement in the form of ripe fall apples. Huzzah!

orange horned poppy

Off to the rest of the garden, with nearly every flower that’s bloomed thus far. It is always so satisfying to see our bounty in photographic form. We grew these!

prickly poppy bonanza!

scabiosa

milkweed

peony

lamb’s ear

red hot poker

sunflower – of which we have probably a hundred ~ a chirping, buzzing delight for the senses.

the hollyhocks keep volunteering!

ratibida

callirhoe

echinacea!

I can hardly believe this survived, as in our garden, we mostly call it rabbit candy because they go nuts for it, generally mowing it to the ground in short order.

monarda

traditional pink and blue hyssop

yarrow

yucca

jupiter’s beard

lavender

desert willow, which isn’t a willow at all…

Happy Summer Friday to you, dear reader!

Sofa, Scones, and Flowers

June 11, 2025 in Cooking + Baking, Decorating, Gardening + Nature by Colleen | Permalink

Nature abhors a vacuum…

Thankfully, it wasn’t long (two hours) before our vacuum was filled with this spectacularly studded sofa! Only eleven months in the making, but them’s the breaks when you order a custom, made in the USA, couch from Roger & Chris. It is called Howdy (in case you are both looking and patient), quite firm and equally comfortable, with, super bonus, leather not viciously subject to Juniper claws. I love it. We love it. It complements the room and has since acquired a nice wool blanket to prevent drool stains, Juniper’s not ours. Picking the battles.

Now is the time we dance…well, not really, but feel free. I was simply in need of a segue way to the food portion of our program.

I shared some rhubarb with our neighbor, Nancy, and she shared two slices of delicious custard pie made with it. I, in turn, made scones (dried blueberry and gouda & green onion) in order to avoid returning an empty plate. A marvelously tasty circle, dear reader.

We bought a couple of ridiculously sour grapefruits and decided they would be better served in margaritas. I substituted the lime juice in my recipe for 1.5 grapefruits – membranes, seeds, and pith removed, 1/2 cup tequila, 1/4 cup Grand Gala, 2 tablespoons agave nectar, and a generous pinch of salt, whirred in the Vitamix, before adding one 12 oz can of bubbly water, which just so happened to be pink grapefruit. So very good.

Finally, this is a tiny teaser for a future blog post. We went to New Mexico, mostly lazing about in a house overlooking the Pecos River. Anyhoo, if you’ve ever driven south on I-25 from Colorado Springs over the past decade, you’ve probably spied the white panel van on the side of the road advertising Ringo’s Grocery. My Grandma Esquipula Maes (1827-1905) is buried in Aguilar, so we first popped in for a hello at her grave before ambling to Ringo’s. It is a surprise of a market for such a small town, with a very nice deli and house made sausage. We bought a green chile and spicy Italian links. You’ll never guess which I used here, LOL. Since I had no hankering for pasta, I made a quickety-quick flatbread. Boy, was it tasty!

Teeny tiny wild rose: blossoms 1.5 inches across with crazy fragrant flowers. So cute!

iris

serviceberry

ladybug interlude

orange horned poppy after the rain

snowball

Teeny tiny mushroom – can you tell the rain has been abundant, as of late?

Juniper interlude

coral charm peony

sage

sculpit

evening primrose

ninebark

Oregon grape

pavement rose

callirhoe

Jupiter’s beard

orange horned poppy

bartzella peony

And that, my friends is everything currently blooming in the garden! Oh, wait, I just glanced out the window to marvel and realized I missed a purple penstemon. Picture it in your beautiful brain. I’m off…