April Snapshots

tanjabrittonwriter 61 Comments

I am still trying to process the myriad photographs and thoughts about a recent out-of-state road trip (please stay tuned). We didn’t return to Colorado until April 15 and the weeks since seem to have flown by. It’s hard to fathom that the month is nearly over. To remind myself of the local goings-on, I have been reviewing my photos and would like to share a few.

As in many regions, springtime in the Rockies in general, and in April in particular, is characterized by fickleness. Thermometer readings can fluctuate wildly, similar to precipitation amounts. The month seemed relatively mild overall, and, alas, snow amounts were below average, which was also true for March. This does not bode well, as the snowpack in all major river drainages is low and the decades-long drought in the Southwest seems destined to continue.

Crabapple trees are among our earliest blooming trees. They aren’t native to the region, but are extremely popular in landscaping—their white or pink blossoms being bright harbingers of winter’s end. The warmer the early spring days, the sooner they bloom. And the more they are at risk of being affected by freezes, which can happen until well into May.

To enlarge a photo, click on it. To read its caption, hover cursor over it.

Crabapple tree, white/Holzapfel in weiß
Crabapple tree, pink/Holzapfel in pink
Grape hyacinths/Traubenhyazinthen

Sure enough, at the height of the crabapples’ bloom, a cold front dropped about 5 inches (12 centimeters) of snow on the area. Fortunately, the temperature didn’t fall far below freezing and was short-lived. And even though some of the petals floated to the ground, alongside the snowflakes responsible for their fall, many blossoms survived and will transform into fruit, providing sustenance for the local deer and squirrels and birds (most people do not harvest the fruit, even though many cultivars are edible).

April snow/Aprilschnee
April snow makes birds extra hungry/Aprilschnee macht die Vögel noch hungriger

Trees have been leafing out and blades of grass turning green, thereby replacing our dun and golden winter palette with verdant hues, to the delight not only of human eyes, but of the tummies of grazers both equine and bovine. I imagine it’s not unlike a person gorging on a salad buffet after weeks or months of eating only processed food.

Irrigated field southeast of town on the plains/Bewässertes Feld südöstlich der Stadt in der Prärie

Besides budding flowers and trees, for this “bird head” (which is how my husband teasingly addresses me), no sign of vernal awakening and annual renewal brings more joy and a sense of hopefulness than ample (and amplified) avian activity all around us. Migratory birds have been arriving daily and our local resident birds have been busy augmenting their numbers. This past week, I have seen not only my first ornery owlet of the year, but also my first golden goslings with fluffy feathers and fetching faces.

Great Horned Owlet/Junger Virginiauhu

To enlarge a photo, click on it. To read its caption, hover cursor over it.

Canada Goose family/Kanadagansfamilie
Gosling/Gänseküken
Gosling/Gänseküken
Gosling/Gänseküken

Farewell, April. Welcome, May!

61 thoughts on “April Snapshots”

  2. Whole-heartedly agree, Welcome May. I hope all of your snow is gone for my visit to CO mid-May. Well, at least the parts I am planning to visit. Cute fuzzy gosling photos.

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    • Thank you, Christa. The horse (plus two others) seemed very happy to munch on the green grasses and drink water. And spring would be less joyful without seeing goslings and ducklings.

      Happy May to all of us.

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  8. We’re still waiting for those “dun” hues to be replaced up here…although not all of them (wink wink). The colors in your post, from pink blossoms to green grass to soft yellow goslings, are a sight for sore eyes.

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    • April does have that reputation for fickleness, doesn’t it?! In German, this has led to a proverb, “April, April, macht was er will” (April, April, does what it will).

      I think the owlet is a general favorite. It’s easy to see why.

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  11. Absolutely fantastic photos, Tanja! That owlet and of course the goslings! My heart is melting…

    Fickle is a good word for spring with visits from winter. In your area, the changes are more dramatic, be even here, we’ll be hot one day, a front moves in and we have to dig around for a sweater, coat, and leggings!

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    • Thank you, Tina. I was so happy to come across both the goslings and the owlet. Spring wouldn’t be the same without these kind of encounters.

      I think April’s reputation for fickleness is pretty universal. May can still be fairly changeable, at least here in Colorado. We have had a foot of snow in the middle of the month before. I hope that won’t happen again this year as it’s very destructive.

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  12. How lovely and interesting are your images! I love the Great Horned Owlet image, the Canada Goslings, and the bird feeders!

    Crabapple trees are considered a keystone species. They provide food for countless animals and insects. I didn’t know there were also Native North American species. “Crabapple trees have grown in North America for thousands of years, the trees and their fruits are significant in the life of Indigenous Peoples, as sources for food, tools, and medicine, and are frequently mentioned in traditional narratives. Published in November 1862, American naturalist and philosopher David Thoreau’s essay ‘Wild Apples’ describes the “native and aboriginal crab-apple…indigenous, like the Indians”. The Pacific crabapple, Malus fusca, grows on the western coast and has more genetic similarity to the wild apples of China than to the other American crabapples that grow in the east, suggesting spread of Malus fusca across a land corridor from origins in China.” -https://bit.ly/3YmpCLz

    Crabapples are believed to have originated in the Tian Shan mountains of Kazakhstan. This is where the wild ancestor of both apples and crabapples, Malus sieversii, is found. While crabapples and cultivated apples are distinct, they share a common ancestor. (The Origins of the Apple-https://bit.ly/4lYVHDu)

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    • Thank you, Maria. I’m glad you enjoyed the bird images.

      I also appreciate the interesting information on crabapple trees. Even though they aren’t native to Colorado, there are many cultivars that do very well here and people love the beautiful blossoms in the spring.

      I had heard about Kazakhstan as the place where apples originated, but did not know the same was true for crabapples. It’s not surprising, though, since both are closely related.

      I’m just glad they originated at all. Apples are my favorite fruit!

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    • Thank you, Vicki. These little goslings are adorable and I can’t stop smiling when I’m around them. All I want to do is pick them up and cuddle, it would be lovely to caress those fluffy feathers. (I did restrain myself, though. If I had tried, the parents would have expressed their extreme displeasure anyhow!)

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  14. Great to see an owlet…don’t think I’ve ever seen one in the wild. Looks fabulous.

    Interesting also to see the Grape Hyacinths. I am a notoriously incompetent gardener, but my Grape Hyacinths do well despite me! I love their colour

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    • Thank you, Mr. P.

      I have been lucky as I usually see a few owlets each spring. I never tire of them.

      How nice that your grape hyacinths are thriving. I find that many of the early spring flowers do fairly well without much fuss once they are well established. It’s so uplifting to watch them reappear spring after spring.

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  15. Wonderful bird encounters! The owlet looks like he has a lot to say and the goslings are sweetness personified. Love the way that gosling is looking up towards it’s parent in the last photo.

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    • Thank you, Ann, I’m glad you enjoyed the bird images. I love encounters like the ones represented here, they make me very happy. I was able to watch two different goose families. The goslings alternated between grazing, waddling, and resting but no matter what they did, they couldn’t help looking cute.

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  16. The owlet is absolutely adorable, and your goslings are a reminder that it shouldn’t be long until our baby mallards begin to appear in the marinas. I love seeing native blooming trees tucked into the woods; here, purple plum, redbud, and Mexican plum are some of my favorites. I really was taken by the photo of the grape hyacinths popping up in what appears to be a reddish mulch. The combination of colors is especially spring-like. I suppose the best thing about a spring snow is that it’s soon gone, although the moisture is a benefit, too.

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    • Thank you, Linda. Seeing the goslings also reminded me that the ducklings shouldn’t be far behind!

      There are a number of native blooming trees in Colorado, but I think most of them have white blossoms. People love crabapples, especially the pink variety, and it’s easy to see why.

      The grape hyacinths nestled amid the red mulch leaped out at me, too, which is why I took the photo. I saw them in neighboring Manitou Springs.

      Any form of moisture is welcome here, though once the vegetation is thriving, I prefer rain to snow, as the latter can be very destructive when it’s heavy and wet and arrives after everything has leafed out.

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  17. Fickle weather indeed. As I read this, it’s raining… for about the 4th time today. I love the baby owl photo, and I’m looking forward to hearing about your roadtrip!

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  18. Hello dear Tanja,
    Fickle weather it may have been, but Spring has provided some wonderful moments. All of your beautiful images remind me of a sense of hope that Spring always seems to bring. It is a treat to get a glimpse into your Spring, thank you☺️
    (I couldn’t help but chuckle when reading “bird head”☺️)

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  20. Frühling in Colorado, das ist ein auf und ab der Temperaturen. Die Natur dort kommt damit klar. So schöne Bilder zeigst du uns. Das Virginia Uhu Baby ist allerliebst, ebenso die kleinen Gänschen. Ich schaue so gerne Bilder dieser ART an. Schnee, blühende Bäume, erwachendes Leben, alles dabei.
    Liebe Grüße
    Maren

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  22. Hi, Mrs. Tanja-

    Happy May!!

    Your photos are all so beautiful! I thoroughly enjoyed seeing the baby owl! We have had the pleasure of watching a baby bald eagle mature near our home recently! It has been a true treat!

    Wishing you all the best in May! 🙂

    ~Gavin Broom

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  24. Similar to you, we’ve been out of state (our state of Texas, that is) and expect to finally get back home today after 19 days on the road . A sentence of yours that resonated with me is: “I imagine it’s not unlike a person gorging on a salad buffet after weeks or months of eating only processed food.” Half way through our trip we stopped at a Whole Foods to buy a lettuce, a cucumber, and cherry tomatoes so we could have salads for two days—a welcome and much-needed change from hotel breakfasts.

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  25. Flowers are blooming and little new creatures, arriving. This is a new beginning….Beautiful comment on the nature that is showing us again, all her intelligence and creativity. Thanks Tanja for communicating your awareness of this beauty!

    Isabelle Couture

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  28. How lovely to see these stirrings of life in the springtime. The horse actually does look happy in that lovely landscape. The owlet is amazing and goslings must be among the most endearing of baby animals (and they are all endearing!)

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  29. I like “bird head” – maybe I can get Linda to adopt that reference rather than the one she uses for me now hehehe. The yawning owlet is so cute. We missed our annual look at GHO owlets this year do to changing our schedules up a bit so thanks for filling that void (decided to go further west in Texas this year). Rumor has it there were sightings of WildlifeIntrigued hoodies recently at Fossil Beds.

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    • As far as nicknames go, I don’t mind Bird Head at all. Linda might find it in her heart to address you that way, it implies a lot of patience towards our love for birds. 🙂
      Your last comment suggests that Brad made it to the Fossil Beds. I look forward to reading his post soon.

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