With the weather of the warmer months finally turning out, it’s time to improve the visual appeal of the outdoors.

The landscaping businesses of Northwest Colorado are getting ready for the rush of people looking to spruce up their homes and businesses.

The staff of Bears Ears Landscapes, 1815 Moffat County Road 183, recently brought in its big shipment of flowers, trees and other plants for customers craving something new and colorful.

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“It’s definitely our busy time of year now that winter’s over,” owner Suzanne Meyer said.

“I like taking bare land and making it something people can enjoy for a long time with texture and variety.”

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Meyer said she has stocked up on shrubs, trees, annuals, perennials and vegetables, the usual items desired by customers.

She aims to please in bringing in plants unusual for the area.

She has had requests in previous years from people looking to deck out their homes with pampas grass, azaleas, rhododendrons, redwoods and more.

“Pretty much any variety that’ll grow here,” she said.

“A lot of people are requesting lilacs and tomatoes.”

Bob Meckley, owner of Tunies & Such, 690 Yampa Ave., said he has already broken ground for the spring.

In addition to taking on customers needing home work done, he is focusing on providing landscaping services for local businesses.

“We’ve got a couple projects we’re bidding on,” he said.

“Landscaping is about three weeks ahead this year compared to last year, so we’re starting off with a bang.”

Meckley’s new stock of flowers includes pansies, petunias, violas and Dusty Millers, to name a few.

Types of trees available are crabapple, Canadian cherry, aspen and more.

Meckley, who has owned Tunies for 22 years, said the early interest is positive, but it could have a downside.

“People are really concerned about the drought this year because the river’s so low,” he said.

“It was about 20 years ago when it got so bad they were talking about water restrictions, but it didn’t happen, luckily. We’ll just have to hang in there and see what happens.”

Meyer said she has faced the same concerns.

She cautioned people in the area to take close care of the plants they already have.

“Since it was a dry winter, they really need to water their trees and shrubs, really soak them up good,” Meyer said.

For more information on Bears Ears Landscapes’ services, call 824-2348. For Tunies & Such, call 824-4729.

Craig author sees big online response, anticipates strong release for latest

For many authors, their main focus is the written word, while relying on others to handle the business of selling their work.

However, local writer RaeAnne Hadley has made it her objective to keep a close eye on sales of her books.

Hadley’s newest book, “A Wrench in the Plan,” will be available for Kindle Edition download Tuesday on Amazon.

The story is a sequel to “Mechanics of Murder,” which the author re-released in January in a newly edited version.

Hadley said she has gotten a great amount of interest in the further adventures of heroine Josephine Lingenfelter, with readership strong among both men and women who enjoy a good mystery.

“I’ve had a lot of men tell me they enjoy my stories even with all the romance in it,” she said.

To promote “A Wrench in the Plan,” Hadley recently ran a special on “Mechanics of Murder,” making it available for free download for a short time, tallying about 600 downloads the first day.

Marketing to Kindle users has worked well for Hadley.

Another of her novels, “With Love; Now & Forever” has garnered more than 40,000 downloads since its release and was ranked as the No. 1 download in the Fantasy Fiction subcategory of the Romance genre.

Hadley said she receives 70-percent of the profit from the site, though much of the download traffic comes when the $2.99 price is temporarily marked down to free.

However, being on Amazon has helped Hadley gain fans outside Craig.

“I’ve sold quite a bit over in the (United Kingdom),” she said.

As for a hard copy of “A Wrench in the Plan,” Hadley is hoping to have the published work out within the next few weeks.

“The digital format is always available first, and it should be out in paperback pretty soon,” she said.

“I’m hoping to do a book-signing, but I just need to get all the details worked out.”

Hadley said she has more books on the way within the coming months.

“We’re hoping to put at least two more books out this year, so I’m writing frantically,” she said.

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