Brenda Whitman, Realtor, Laramie, Wyoming

One of the coolest things about going to our dentist (if anything can be cool about going to the dentist!) is the flower garden by the front door. Somehow, it is in a perfect sheltered south facing location letting it sprout up earlier and stick around longer. Thus, I was delighted to find these beauties in bloom when I visited today.

Nature must be pretty stong willed - as from the looks of this rocky, parched, non-nutrient rich soil, I say these blooms were never "nurtured" at all!

The beautiful state of Colorado is only 25 miles south of Laramie on Highway 287. While Colorado is known for its wilderness and majestic mountain beauty, our family likes to head that way for an escape to urban civilization. This is the sign that greats us when we arrive at the border:

It's true, Colorado is colorful, indeed! And now with the continuing invasion of the pine beetle, Colorado, and Wyoming, too - is becoming more colorful each year. Look closely and you'll see the burnt orange color of the dead pine trees in among the green. Maybe not the color we want to see... but yes, it is colorful!

All right you people out there with your pictures of flowers and grass, butterflies and trees... Here in Laramie, Wyoming, we are showing signs of spring as well. Ha! I even have evidence of it, a photo of our lilac bush, today, May 3, 2011 with....wait for it...wait for it ......... a BUD!


And by June - we may even have leaves on our trees! Hate to brag or make other people feel bad.... but I think spring could be on its way!

When I was a kid I remember going on endless country drives with my parents . Back then, I never understood the purpose and did not look forward to the boring explorations of the dusty back roads where we lived. Halfway through the drives, my brother and I usually ended up with our heads tilted askew, fast asleep. (Hmmm, maybe that was the purpose....)

Now that I'm grown up with kids of my own, I realize - at least in part - what the draw might have been. Life can get a bit mundane and it can be fun to get out and just drive, playing the role of explorer.

Every now and then on such a drive we are rewarded with the discovery of something novel. On this day it was this unlikely little tunnel of corregated pipe supporting the train tracks above, while letting cars safely pass underneath.

To think, only 25 minutes from town, this lonely intersection of metal and dirt has been standing sentry for years and years. I wonder how many people even know it is there...

Life is ironic, isn't it.?! I can't tell you how many late nights I have spent in my self-assigned role of Santa, Easter Bunny and even Leprechaun quietly creeping around in the dark and cold thinking "I can't wait until I don't have to do this anymore..."

Well, now, I officially don't have to.

Our youngest, now nine years old, came to me with a box she found in a hidden place that clearly had held Easter goodies at one time. "Mom! Tell me the truth....are you the Easter Bunny?!"
I tried to lie but she clearly meant business as her bright blue eyes pierced my soul and before I knew it I had broken her heart with the truth. Her older brothers and sister gathered around offering hugs and reassurances while she stoically tried to keep her tears from falling.

It is a moment I know has to come in every child's life, but maybe because this was our last "baby", it was particularly heartwrenching, even though I knew she would live through it and be okay.

Somehow ....I have a feeling that the Easter Bunny and Santa will still be coming around anyway.