Greetings and salutations, everyone; yes, once again it is I, Mani the purebred border collie, filling in for the guy I live with, and here today to talk about the totally strange thing that happened yesterday. You may remember me from such similarly-themed posts as “Yet More Weirdness”, among so many, many others.
Here I am in a characteristic pose.
I’m surveying the total weirdness that took place yesterday. If you look closely, you can see it.
Yesterday was Christmas Day. That was normal, though I was surprised that the guy I live with wasn’t as sad as he usually was on this day. He just wasn’t.
You can see here we had a tiny dusting of snow this morning. That’s not the weird part.
The weird part is that the ground is wet.
About three-thirty yesterday afternoon it started to rain. It rained for five hours. We got 0.66 inches of rain (about 17 millimeters).
It doesn’t rain in Denver in the winter time; it snows. But it did this year (and two Decembers ago, as well).
Some of our neighbors were freaked out, because it’s “supposed” to snow here in Christmas. It hardly rained at all east of us, in Denver itself, but it rained a lot on the west side. The garden is completely soaked. And muddy. It was soaked before, from the snow in November, but now it’s really soaked.
I was very disappointed, but a little after nine p.m. it stopped raining and the guy I live with took me on my evening walk, which made everything better.
In other words, it hasn’t been very cold here so far, and we’ve already exceeded the average precipitation for December.
The cactus know it’s cold, though. You can see they’re all wrinkly.
They do this to prevent water between the cells from freezing.
There are a lot of snowdrops up. I mean a lot.
Some people think that this is too early. It isn’t, and nothing bad will happen to them if it gets cold later.
Gardeners are kind of weird that way. Our winter has been pretty mild so far, and some people are saying we’ll “pay for it later”, which he says is a completely absurd way of looking at things.
‘Potter’s Prelude’ is still flowering. This has been moved so many times it’s a wonder its still alive. 
There are seed pods on Galanthus bursanus, which the guy I live with hopes will ripen.
Still talking about snowdrops, the guy I live with decided to transplant some snowdrops that were almost in flower. He told me that people say not to do that, which is a cue for him to do it. These were Galanthus plicatus subspecies byzantinus, and a form from Colesbourne, the famous snowdrop garden in England. The flowers are somewhat larger.
I promised not to tell anyone he did that.
We have a terrible infestation of voles here and the guy I live with was worried about the snowdrops maybe being eaten.
He also did some work on the bulb frame.
He sawed the cedar boards with his Japanese saw. He said it was quicker than dragging out a power tool.
He loaned this out once and some of the teeth were broken. He should have known better.
So that’s what happened yesterday and today. The guy I live with said rain on Christmas Day was “stranger than fiction”, and he’s almost always right.
I also have some willow pictures for you. The pictures depend a lot on the background sky.
This one was taken on our walk last night. It started to rain a little, again, as we were walking.
The willows in the green belt are very photogenic, but this one is pretty special.
That’s all I have for today’s post.
Untl next time, then.
the miserable gardener 
It was strange to get rain on Christmas (only .05” in our SE Denver garden). Wonderful to see more willow shots, Mani.
Thanks. The guy I live with said the heaviest rain was from southern Jefferson County north to Leyden.
We now have exceeded the average precipitation for December. And that comes after three times the average precipitation for November.
Yes. It’s interesting and also sobering, given how much Denver’s climate has warmed over the last century. (Two degrees F, is what I understand.)
The guy I live with said it’s easy to see how much things have changed when you go outside. Back in the last century there used to be week- to ten-day long periods, sometimes more than once a year, with nothing but mist, drizzle, and rain. Any time between March and October. Last time he saw that was 1995.
Not unusual to have warm weather at this time of year, but rain, at least this much rain, is super weird.
Amaryllis belladonna is almost a weed here. It often grows where it is not wanted; but because it is too pretty to simply discard, I relocate it to where it is wanted. Supposedly, the best time to do so is between bloom and foliation. This technique allows it to bloom, but also allows it to grow and recover so that it can bloom for the following year, sort of like moving them while still dormant. Well, I do not monitor them that closely. I see them bloom, but will not rush out there to relocate them. By the time I do, they already have foliage on them. I relocated them anyway, and, as you can guess, they do not bloom for the following season. I do not mind. It is still better than discarding them. If relocated prior to bloom, which is how I would prefer to do it, their bloom can be damaged or ruined. I have relocated their bulbs at various times to get them out of the way of roadwork. Roadwork does not conform to a gardening schedule any more than voles do.
The guy I live with says as long as the roots aren’t damaged, bulbs can be moved any time.
Amaryllis belladonna is ridiculously resilient and nearly impossible to kill, but is surprisingly responsive to root disturbance. Even if relocated at the best time, and even if it grows like a weed afterward, it is unlikely to bloom for the first season afterward. I do not mind. I expect such behavior.
Huh. Well it’s not hardy here, though.
It is just as well. He grows much more interesting species.
I mean that the guy you live with should not be bothered with something as common as Amaryllis belladonna.
A falling of snow would elicit the same surprise here in Ireland, something rare and unusual and welcome for that. We have had an uncommonly mild Christmas with temperatures of 10C+ but hardly any sighting of the sun as it has been continually overcast with light misty rain and fog. Soft days!
The guy I live with says fog sounds very nice. We hardly ever have it here, though we used to. (We also used to have pheasants, by the way. The guy I live with said he hasn’t seen one here in over sixty years.)
Strange to walk on the muddy canal road this morning; it’s usually dry even after it snows.
Today he ordered two snowdrops called ‘Xmas’. No guesses as to when they flower.
Rain anytime is welcome…no matter what day. Though I’ll admit, it was definitely odd. Happy holidays to you, Mani (and the man you live with).
Thanks, same to you. It was very odd, but nice. Eastern Colorado didn’t get any, or the snow earlier this month.
The guy I live with told a friend that one December when he and his wife drove out to Simla “just to look” at border collies puppies, there was no snow out there. Maybe that’s normal. They came home with Slipper.
Sometimes it’s fun to do what one shouldn’t do just to prove someone else wrong. Many authors also say that transplanting Calypso bulbosa orchids will kill them. Complete and utter nonsense. Plants are usually more resilient and adaptable than we give them credit for.
My precious saw was abducted from the tool shed and used to hack down brush in the back woods. The blade came back permanently warped. I’ve had to move on somehow, but the grudge is still there.
The guy I live with says yes, so long as the roots aren’t damaged, most things can be moved. Even if snowdrop roots are damaged they’ll grow back next year.
He also said “never loan tools”, though he still does, sometimes. Tools and books. If you loan someone a book you’ll probably never see it again.
Howdy, Mani and the Guy you live with,
It rained and rained here, too, in north Texas on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. White Christmas? What’s that?
It thundered and flashed and just kept rolling through from the southwest to the northeast even though the silly satellites and their radar said it would stop. What do they know? Not so much apparently.
Happy New Year soon!
Thanks; same to you, though New Year’s Eve is no fun for me. Firecrackers.
We didn’t have any thunder at all when it rained, which made it even stranger.
The willow photos The Guy made are stunning–like a cross between the art of John Constable and the films of James Whale.
Happy napping, Mani.
Thanks.
Rain in December is very odd. At least it’s some form of precipitation. We haven’t had anything in the month of December. Fun to see the snow drops and yes those willows are very charismatic. You look very comfortable so the warmer days and exercise must be tiring you out. Glad to hear that Christmas was just a normal day for you both.
Thanks; it was pretty normal, except for five hours of real rain. The guy I live with says we now have a “fire weather” watch on Monday, which just adds to the weirdness, since everything here is soaked, even the canal road, which is usually dry in winter, is muddy.
Eastern Colorado though is bone dry.
The willows are very attractive. Every time we get a wet, heavy snow some of the branches come down. Fortunately not while I’m walking under them.