flowers Archives - Tena Stetler

Mar 20th The Spring Equinox is almost here!

Sure enough, according to scientists, astronomers and people who know these things, Spring Equinox will arrive at 12:15 p.m. EDT, on Tuesday, March 20, 2018. You wouldn’t know it here in the Colorado Rockies there are still big wet snowflakes blanketing the tulips and daffodil plants that should know better than to stick their tender green sprouts above ground this early. The good thing, when the sun comes up after a coating of snow over night its gone in a matter of a couple of hours.

Did you know Vernal Equinox is another name given to the Spring Equinox or called the March Equinox in the Northern Hemisphere. But in the Southern Hemisphere the March Equinox is referred to as the Autumnal Equinox. If that isn’t confusing enough, when September rolls around (I am in no way hurrying the seasons) the equinoxes are switched – the Northern Hemisphere experiencing an Autumnal Equinox and the Southern Hemisphere having their Vernal Equinox. What is the equinox you ask? Well…the equinox marks the moment the Sun crosses the celestial equator – the imaginary line in the sky above the Earth’s equator.

Whether you call it Spring, March or Vernal Equinox, it brings a plethora of traditions and rituals including more sunlight hours, which makes me happy. I love to watch new life sprout after the dreary, brown last days of Winter. Don’t you? Easter for Christians falls the first Sunday after the full moon subsequent to the Spring Equinox, which this year is April 16th. Others celebrate the Spring Maiden or Goddess who watches over the emerging flora and fauna, a reminder of earth’s fertility. Still others have traditional dances and hunts to celebrate the arrival of Spring.

Another sign of spring is the Crocus who is famous for bursting forth and blooming when it’s cold outside, even through a blanket of white snow! This brave little flower can help banish nightmares and generally infuse your dreamscapes with a cool serenity. Because Crocus reminds us of vibrant beauty even in the most wintry landscape, it’s also considered a harbinger and symbol or happiness. Saffron actually comes from the stigmas and styles of a variety of Crocus. Bet you didn’t know that!

As the snow melts, the thirsty ground sighs with relief soaking up the much needed moisture. Boy howdy we need the moisture this year. Hope springs eternal for the promise of warm sunlit days that awaken the budding flowers and bring spectacular color to our world. Happy Spring everyone! Are the early spring flowers like Crocus, Tulips, Daffodils poking up through the ground yet at your house?

Do you have all your camping reservations set? I have a few, circumstances beyond my control curtailed some of my camping reservation dates, gotta get those six months from the date you want to camp, or you’ll be out of luck.

Posted in My Say What Blog and tagged camping, Crocus, Easter, flowers, snow, Spring, Spring Equinox, Tulips by Tena Stetler with 2 comments.

Mar 5th March Weather – In Like A Lion – Out Like A Lamb

If March weather comes in like a lion, it will go out like a lamb?

Do you believe this? Weather folklore is as colorful as our imagination. Keep in mind many sayings are based on careful observations and turn out to be accurate, others not so much and are merely rhymes, superstitions, or beliefs of the people who came before us.

Our ancestors believed that bad spirits could affect the weather adversely, so they were cautious as to what they did or did not do in certain situations. Those beliefs often went so far as to insinuate there should be a balance in weather and life. So, if a month came in bad (roaring like a lion), it should go out good and calm (docile, like a lamb). What’s your experience with this folklore?

March is such a changeable month. One day we see warm spring-like temperatures, the next snowstorms. So you can understand how this saying might hold true in some instances. We can only hope that if March starts off stormy it will end on a calm note, but the key word is hope. However, this saying seems be to more of a rhyme than a true weather predictor. This year in Colorado March came in like a lamb — though parts of the Northeast experienced just the opposite. Only time will tell how March leaves us.

Yep, that’s April showers

In most of the country the saying is April showers bring May flowers. In Colorado its snow showers bring May flowers –and hope they don’t freeze. That’s why its ill-advised to plant flowers outside until after Memorial Day. New comers to Colorado scoff, but they are the ones outside covering up their tender plants most May nights.

Other March-related weather lore includes:

A dry March and a wet May? Fill barns and bays with corn and hay.

As it rains in March, so it rains in June. – Not in my part of the country. How about yours? In Colorado, March is one of our heaviest snow months. Big, wet storybook snowflakes, a foot to eighteen inches of the white stuff isn’t unusual.

March winds and April showers? Bring forth May flowers. –

Colorado Sunrise

So many mists in March you see, so many frosts in May will be.

Red in the morning, sailors take warning, Red at night, sailor’s delight.

One weather folklore that rings true in most parts of the country is:

When there’s a ring around the moon, rain or snow is coming soon. Well at least you can bet there will be a change in the weather. Even in unpredictable Colorado.

If you know any Weather related rhymes, please leave them in the comments. Have a great week!

Posted in My Say What Blog and tagged April, flowers, Folklore, Lamb, Lion, March, Moon, Sailors, Showers, snow, Weather by Tena Stetler with comments disabled.

Jul 20th Monsoon Rain Quiets the Fire Danger.

Good news! In part due to monsoon season, my garden is doing phenomenal! We are harvesting lettuce, snap peas, kale, loads of tomatoes on the vines, and carrots about ready.

It’s monsoon season in Colorado, massive amounts of rain, thunder, lightning, hail, and more rain. Don’t get me wrong, the rain keeps us from having catastrophic wild fires like we had in 2012 and 2013. But the worry for flash floods is real on the burn scars. After the unbelievable softball hail storm July 27^th 2016, when storm clouds gather now I worry rather than revel in them. Along with most of our community we still haven’t completely recovered, roofs and fences are still being replaced. The upside, lots of work for contractors.

Any way I digress. With the monsoons come the overnight appearance of two to five foot tall weeds in all shapes and sizes. I pull ‘em up one day and the next morning two take their place. How does that happen? On the flip side it gets me out of the house away from my computer as I fight the never ending weed battle. You know what I mean?

My utility bill, grass and flowers are loving the moisture, except for when the hail comes and we haven’t had much of that so far. Fingers and toes crossed. For only the second time since we’ve lived here (going on 23 years) we know the sump pump works cascading water out of our rock retaining wall. Good to know. LOL

However, this year my outside plants are portable, on a little red cart and I haul them into the garage. An all-purpose fabric screen is rolled on the side of my garden waiting to be hauled over the garden for hail protection. All this works IF we are home at the time the storm is predicted or occurring. But it’s all we can do in Colorado, land of the frequent hail and lightning storms. I wouldn’t trade it for the world, Colorado is still a great place to live. How is you summer going? Did you plant a garden? I’d love to hear from you!

Posted in My Say What Blog and tagged cart, Colorado, Fire danger, flowers, garden, hail, monsoon by Tena Stetler with comments disabled.

Apr 4th Finally, Mother Nature Found Her Calendar – Spring Has Sprung!

Here in Colorado, the Month of March came in and went out like a lion. Several inches of snow several times, blizzard conditions, and cold. My poor crocus looked like they’d died in the last blizzard of the month.

But low and behold, they revived and look great. Yeah!

Over the weekend, after Mother Nature finally found her calendar, we were able to prep the garden soil, plant kale, carrots, spinach, and sweet basil. I also tried an experiment and planted a few tomato seeds outside in the garden. What’s different this year? I have hoops and covers for my garden, the covers are of three different weights. Heavy weight for now, since it’s still freezing at night. Medium weight and light weight for protection from the Colorado hail that devastated my garden last year. I’ll see which one stands the test of hail, pounding and wind driven rain. LOL

Inside the sunroom, I started tomato plants and pumpkins. If I can keep them from getting spindly, they’ll go into the garden in May after Memorial Day. Never safe to plant flowers or veggies outside before Memorial Day, frost or snow will get them every time. Not to mention we have had snow in July. Gardening in the Rocky Mountains is always a challenge! But one I gladly take on for the reward of fresh veggies and tomatoes that don’t taste like cardboard. Know what I mean?

Working in the sun and fresh air was wonderful, and because there was very little wind, made it even better. Parrot, dog and turtle joined us in a supervisory capacity. Talk about too many bosses and not enough workers. LOL

Got a little color on my face and arms, even with sunscreen, curse of being blonde and fair skinned. Wore shorts for the first time this year and I didn’t even get cold. Yep, spring has sprung and summer is headed our way.

Now back to the keyboard. I have a new book to finish, the second in the Demon’s Witch Series. Waiting on a release date for A Witch’s Journey, hopefully early summer, and turned in A Witch’s Holiday Wedding, sequel to A Witch’s Journey to my editor at the Wild Rose Press a week ago, we’ll see how it goes.

Well, that’s how my world spins and how I spent my weekend. How did you spend yours? Leave me a message you know you want to. I love hearing from readers and authors alike!

Posted in For Fun and tagged books, Colorado, flowers, Gardening, Rocky Mountains, snow by Tena Stetler with 2 comments.