Springtime Snow!

Over the past few days, I was taking photos of our first wildflowers...

... and of the Mountain Bluebirds who had ventured up to our elevation.

And then we woke up to a big snowstorm today.

By the time the snow abated, we had accumulated more than a foot of heavy snow that made it very hard for me to snowshoe this morning. Shyla didn't find it easy either but she's a young pup with tons of energy!

Actually, this is normal for a Rocky Mountain springtime. We get the biggest snowstorms of the season in March and April in our part of the mountains. These snowstorms are usually critical in providing water for the plants that are waking up. I expect more storms this month...

But, the snow is so heavy that it's very hard to hike in the forest for a mere human like me. I snowshoed with Shyla this morning, and I'm still paying the price - a very sore lower back (I have a multi-level surgical fusion of the vertebrae there so I'm used to paying this kind of price for having fun).

I think it was worth it to watch Miss Shyla have a blast!

She wanted to spend our entire outing storming through the cement-like snow. She stopped only when I asked her to. She struck a dainty pose on a boulder.

At the end of our hike, we passed our birdfeeders which were mobbed. This white-breasted nuthatch waited his turn on a nearby Ponderosa Pine. I'm amazed that delicate little birds can thrive in our environment.

Here's to Springtime in the Rockies! I'm rooting for a bluebird day tomorrow so we can enjoy the beauty of this snow!