In what is the weirdest weather year ever, it’s been spring in Colorado since Thanksgiving and summer since March 1st.
So, it’s only natural that April would usher in a cold snap, including snow and freezing temps.
Which meant one thing:
🌳 Tree tipis.
Yes, we (Jim) built full-on shelters over our fruit trees to protect blooms that showed up a solid month too early due to the aforementioned warm pattern.
Just because it feels like summer doesn’t mean it actually is, and that gives us the link to your Sunday Scaries.
1️⃣ Just Because It Looks Ready Doesn’t Mean It Is
A few weeks ago, everything started budding.
Warm days. Blue skies. Trees waking up like it was mid-April.
These are young trees, planted in the fall of 2023. Last summer we harvested our first fruit, so we’re extra excited to see what they produce this year.
🍑Imagine our excitement when bright pink apricot and peach blossoms started bursting onto the scenes. Big white cherry blossoms and the first few apple blossoms were even starting to show. 🌸
It felt right. It looked right.
And then… snow.
💡 Lesson: Timing often matters more than appearances.
2️⃣ Protect What’s Growing
We didn’t just admire the blossoms and hope for the best. Jim is a plant -growing nut, as you’ll know if you’ve been a faithful reader of this column for a year or more.
😱 “We could lose 20% or more of the fruit if it gets below 28 degrees and 40% if it’s below 25!”
So Jim got out there, and spent a full day building structures, covering the trees with frost guard, and doing what he could to protect what had started.
💡 Lesson: Early growth is fragile — protect it before you expose it.
3️⃣ Sometimes You Jump the Gun Without Realizing It
Those trees didn’t choose to bloom early.
They reacted to the conditions they were given.
☀️ Warmth showed up… so they went. It’s what they're trained to do!
Sound familiar?
💡 Lesson: Sometimes we react to short-term signs like they’re permanent conditions. Responding > reacting.
4️⃣ Conditions Can Change Overnight
Literally.
One day: sunshine and 60s.
The next: snow-covered yard and freezing overnight temperatures. Windows closed. Heat back on, and oh yeah…a good old reminder that when you live in the Rockies and don’t like the weather, wait five minutes. 😂
Good thing Jim tracks at least three weather apps.
💡 Lesson: Build flexibility into your plans. Conditions change faster than we expect.
5️⃣ Preparation Beats Panic
We could have waited.
Hoped the forecast was wrong.
Crossed our fingers and done nothing.
Instead, we built tree tipis in the backyard like a couple of survivalists protecting next season’s harvest. 😆
💡 Lesson: Attacking a challenge with a clear, informed plan is better hoping it’ll just magically work out in the end.
6️⃣ You Don’t Control the Season
Colorado is gonna Colorado. Weather is gonna weather.
Warm. Cold. Snow. Sun. All in the same week.
The goal isn’t to control it.
It’s to respond to what’s actually happening instead of what you wish was happening.
💡 Lesson: Stability comes from how you adapt, not how predictable things are.
7️⃣ All That Waiting Won’t Hurt a Thing
And just this morning, Jim uncovered the trees.
🦋After four days in their little frost guard cocoons, the weather finally allowed it.
Happy to report, they look healthy.
Strong.
Covered in even more blooms!
All that work to protect our asset and ensure a future harvest worked out. 💪
💡 Lesson: Seeing the fruits of your labor is what keeps us going.
Sometimes that fruit is literal. 😏
The Sunday Scaries can feel like a fruit tree in that early warmth. Like everything is urgent. Like you need to move now. Like it’s time.
Sometimes it is.
And sometimes… it’s just a false start.
👉 This week, before you jump the gun, ask yourself:
Is this your season, or just temporary conditions?
Your Friend and Coach,
Angie
