This all happened over the past 36 hours. 60 degrees to freezing rain and snow.

I desperately want to pull the sheeting and see what might, if anything, be left underneath, but we've got at least two more nights of near freeze conditions and I've decided we've got to leave everything covered.  (Patience, as you know, is not my strong suit.)

​Yesterday, the snow and rain were so heavy, I couldn't clear the plastic. Today, I will try again in order to take some of the pressure off and give the interior more space to warm.

We're sitting on May 19th right now.

​You'd think ... well, you'd think, but then you'd have to remember where you are.
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​Speaking of sitting (around and getting bored), Mr. Bitterman and Furious George finished off their binge watch of "RHONJ" and ran off to Italy  over the weekend, thanks to a poorly hidden credit card, only to return with this new water feature:

They thought they were being hilarious, until the Italian government contacted them, saying they had stolen a gift meant for a soon-to-visit politician of some sort. As of this writing, however, it has yet to be returned. It's in the garage hidden under a tarp that says, "Don't Look Here."

​I'm sure that will deter the Italian Antiquities Authority when they arrive this afternoon.

​One of the things I learned last year at O'Toole's Garden Centers was that Colorado Weather is unpredictable, especially early in the season.

​You are just as likely to get piercing heat as you are gentle May showers. Snow is as likely as a warm breeze. And, hail can come at any time, though mid-May to mid-July seem to be the favorite times.

​With that in mind, thanks to watching customers wander into the O'Toole's in  mid-June, 2016,  trying desperately to replace what they had lost in a hail storm the day before, I decided to get proactive about it and cover both gardens (Nick and Nora) with a thin muslin sheet. (I was thinking about using a thin plastic sheet, as I've got acres of the stuff laying around, but the chance of frying the plants was so pronounced in my wee brain pan that I went with the muslin. Besides, the plastic sheeting is so thin that hail would likely eat it alive.)

​These muslin covers can be easily unsnapped and pulled back on nice days, to take advantage of full sunshine, or, quickly pulled over the hoops and snapped in place when severe weather threatens.

​Will they work? God only knows. And, somehow, I suspect that he is laughing himself sick right now as he watches me puttering around with scissors, plastic ties and snap fasteners trying to make the thing work. One good gust of wind and I'll be watching all my efforts sail their way skyward, directly into the path of Denver International Runway Two-Niner -- just as Dean Martin is struggling to land a damaged Trans Global 707 in a blinding snowstorm.

​Where is Ada Quonsett when you need her?

I suppose all I can do is hope for the best and watch the weather, though I wish I could still get it from Howard Gernette and Buck Matthews.

​These guys were great -- clear, concise, personable, fun to watch and able to adlib at a moment's notice. They are likely the reason that I got into television.
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​So, if you're going to blame anybody, blame them.