Greetings and salutations, everyone; yes, once again it is I, your popular host, Mani the purebred border collie, here today just to show some pictures, since there’s not much else going on. You may remember me from such similarly-themed posts as “Willows And Owls And Mystery Eggs”, among so many, many others.
Here I am in a characteristic pose. 
We’ve had snow on the ground for three week now. This isn’t normal, but it’s the way things are. So there’s no gardening going on.
Well, there was a little gardening, of sorts. The guy I live with and his friend both spent several days packing seeds for the North American Rock Garden Society’s annual seed distribution, so they met at Denver Botanic Gardens, and afterward, the guy I live with then delivered the seed packets to a house not very far from there.
He only took a few pictures.
There’s a Yucca faxoniana at our house, too; the guy I live with said that eventually it will be as big as the one on the left in the picture above.
In the picture below, you can see Cupressus arizonica ‘Observatory’ in the left background. The guy I live with says it’s a “honking big Arizona cypress”. It was grown from seeds collected by the observatory at the University of Colorado in Boulder.
And talk about unusual, this is a Cupressus montana from San Pedro Martir in Baja California.
Here, there isn’t much going on at all. I know this post might seem like the “same old, same old”, but really, very little is happening.
A few days ago, on my evening walk, I noticed something by the big willow out in the field. The guy I live with couldn’t see it, so we walked a little bit farther, and then he said he saw ears.
I really super extra wanted to go investigate, but the guy I live with said No (more than fifty times).
There was a gray animal, maybe the same size as me, curled up, trying to sleep. The guy I live with couldn’t figure out what it was. The next morning it was gone, but then it was there in the evening. Then the next day we both saw it in the field; it was a coyote, just a gray one.
Speaking of coyotes:
Once again I wanted to go say Hi but the guy I live with wouldn’t let me.
The gray coyote was curled up beneath this willow. There’s an owl almost in the center of the picture. This was taken yesterday evening.
This evening, the owl, or its companion, was staring down at me, while the guy I live with took its picture.
So that’s really it. It’s been windy most of the day; the guy I live with said it was sort of a chinook, since it’s a warm wind and a lot of the snow has evaporated.
I’ll leave you with a picture of me, in the slushy snow empinkened by the sunset. 
Until next time, then.
the miserable gardener 
Those Yucca are rad! The other big specimen looks like Yucca rostrata, but could be Yucca elata. The small terrestrial Yucca to the far right looks like Yucca rupicola. The small Yucca at the base of the big Yucca faxoniana looks like a Yucca glauca or maybe a Yucca angustifolia.
Anyway, the Arizona cypress are rad too.
I think those are Yucca thompsoniana in the first picture; elata in the second picture.
You are in the first picture!
but I do see it now. I forgot about Yucca thompsoniana. Yucca elate looks grassy, almost like it looks here. Is that normal for the region?
It is elata. The guy I live with says that there aren’t very many of those around here. People here don’t like deserty things.
We have a couple of them, of course.
Well, of course. Your garden is special.
I hear that it is. I don’t know everything that grows here.
Well, your sort have good ears.
We do.
Empinkened. I love that word.
It’s just the right word for just that time of day. Lovely.
I might have made it up. I was going to have the guy I live with look in the dictionary but then I decided whatever.
Border collies are never at a loss for a correct word or apt expression, and “empinkened” is a word that needed to be made up for describing exactly the snowscape in which you found yourself. And your mention of San Pedro Martir reminded me of the longish stint I spent at a working ranch which billed itself as “dude” and was on the lower slopes of that magnificent mountain range. I might even have caught sight of Cupressus montana. Lots of rare plants up there. The gray coyote of your interest, Mani, appears not to be ill-fed. Lots of bunnies there, you say? I do commend you for your willingness to serve as the guy you live with’s assistant on owl portraits. Today’s was particularly great with the owl seemingly keeping a very specific eye on you. When you assist, I recommend best behavior.
Thanks. It is kind of cool to live amongst coyotes and owls, though we occasionally do find things that the guy I live with says he could do without finding. Parts of things. I think they’re interesting.
There were two coyotes but for some reason the camera only caught one.
I guess, according to the guy I live with, the cypress only grows on the mountain there, in a small population. He had a plant here, but it died. (A familiar story.)
Mee-yow wow yore Yucca’ss are furabuluss!! Mee nevurr seen a Yucca beefore…..youss’ have innterestin plantss there.
Mani mee agreess with yore Guy! Stay FAR away from Coyotess! They can bee furry vishuss an sneeky too! Mee has bin chased bye Coyotess an they are scarey…..
Iss grate to see yore Owl frend again…mee thinkss hee likess you both….
An yore postss are nevurr borin Mani….wee look forwerd to them.
Wee wish you an yore Guy a Meowy Catmass an a kinder an gentler Mew Yeer….2021 just HAS to bee bettur rite??
**purrss** bellaDharma an ((huggiess)) LadyMew
Thanks, and same to you both.
Coyotes are pretty interesting, but they don’t want to have anything to do with me. Maybe they can tell how tough and deadly I can be.
That’ss IT Mani!! Of coarse!! You ARE tuff an feerless an deadly an Coyotess reespect you…maybee even feer you…that iss a guud thing Mani! Mee nevurr wantss to see you hert bye a nasty Coyote!!
Thanks; I think that would never happen, because they can’t get over the back fence, and the guy I live with is always right next to me when I see them, anyway. And they can tell by the glint in my eye how fierce I am.
This iss a BIG reeleef that Coyote(ss) can not get to you!! An I am reeleeved yore Guy iss all wayss with you. Do you have what LadyMew callss “A Flinty Glinty’??? A glint that iss SO-O feerce 4 leggedss run away…. 😉
The coyotes are pretty shy. They don’t want to have anything to do with us.
Shy Coyotess iss a guud thing! No one getss hert that way!!
They are pretty shy. They run away from me. The guy I live with says they run away from him, really, but I like to think it’s me they’re afraid of.
Mew mew mew mee thinkss Coyotesa ARE scaredy-cat of YOU Mani an wary of yore Guy….. so it iss a win-win fore youss’!!!
They make mee **shuddur**….
It helps to be super tough. Cuddly, but tough.
Cuddley tuff soundss iss a grate combo Mani!!!
It pretty much is, I think.
Mee too Mani!! Yore THE purrfect mix of cuddley sweet an doggie tuff! 😉
I agree. Though it turns out I am not really all that tough.
Tuff iss what iss innside when needed Mani….
Tuff an tendurr…..
Definitely me.
Mew mew mew definitlee Mani…
**purrss** BellaDharma
Christmas Joy to you, Boon Companions!
Thanks, same to you.
So, you don’t like to hear the word “no” I guess! That was a very nice looking coyote, thick fur. Sometimes they look so thin and mangy. Pretty pink snow. Have a nice holiday tomorrow. Boo my not-purebred Border collie is getting a new Hedgehog toy. Not his usual, but a bright pink one with lots of nibble-y parts!
Thanks, same to you.
I have three hedgehogs. For some reason, they’re all named Nedgehog. Nedgehog the Hedgehog. They belonged to Chess, the purebred border collie who lived here before me, and also to Slipper, before that, who was Chess’s first cousin.
I hear the word “No” an awful lot, if you ask me. I’m not sure what it means.