October Snow

“Snow not falling but flying sidewise, and sudden, not signaled by
the slow curdling of clouds all day and a flake or two drifting
downward, but rushing forward all at once as though sent for."
~ John Crowley

 

My daughter braces herself against the wind-blown snow.

A blizzard dumped nearly four feet of snow on us last week. While not extremely unusual for Colorado, it's not exactly welcome this early in the season.

But, when it's over, the mountain, and our home, are blanketed in beauty.

Our house after the storm.

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Light and Shadow on The Sawtooth

"Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's
peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The
winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms
their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves"
~ John Muir

Late afternoon shadows move across the face of The Sawtooth.
Guanella Pass, Colorado

 I made a short trip to nearby Guanella Pass last month to do some shooting. The trees were not at their peak so I wasn't able to capture the spectacular foliage shots I was looking for, but it was a perfect fall day and I can always find something worth aiming my camera toward. The light and shadow on the side of this mountain is a perfect example.

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Aspen Leaf on Glass

“Autumn carries more gold in its pocket than all the other seasons.”
~ Jim Bishop

A single Aspen leaf rests on our glass patio table.

While fall Aspens are normally bright yellow, they can on occasion be a brilliant orange or red, which makes the trees bearing such leaves truly stand out in the crowd. 

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Morning Elk

“An animal's eyes have the power to speak a great language.”
~ Martin Buber

A young bull elk on a morning walk through the forest.

I had to stop for a beautiful bull elk and his harem as they crossed the road in front of me last night. Being the perfect gentleman, he let them cross first, then, when they were all safely on the other side, he ran full speed to catch up with them, tossing his head and kicking up his heels like a playful horse. I imagine he wanted to make sure he didn't lose any of his harem. It is rutting season, after all, when males compete for females. You don't often see them running like that; he was magnificent.

It was too dark to capture any images last night but the above photo of a young bull among the aspens was taken from my deck early one summer morning a few years back.

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Mesa Verde and The Ancient Ones

"The American Indian is of the soil, whether it be the region
of forests, plains, pueblos, or mesas. He fits into the landscape, for the hand that fashioned the continent also fashioned the man for his surroundings. He once grew as naturally as the wild sunflowers, he belongs just as the buffalo belonged."
~ Luther Standing Bear, Oglala Sioux

The Cliff Palace at Mesa Verde National Park

I feel a strong affinity with Native cultures and ancient peoples: there is pure magic in the lands where they lived and worked, laughed and cried, hunted, cooked, tended children and created art, for so many thousands of years. To walk through their homes, sit quietly in their places of worship, gaze upon their rock paintings, and hike their trails, fosters a deep sense of connection to these people, to the earth, to time itself. . .

One such magical place is  Mesa Verde National Park. The ancient homes of a vanished people are located there as well as at Chaco Culture National Historical Park, and other sites throughout the Southwest. These cliff dwellings, nestled deep into the canyon walls, far below the mesa tops, are hidden from view and difficult to get to.

Aspen Gold

“The tints of autumn...a mighty flower garden
blossoming under the spell of the enchanter, frost.”
~ John Greenleaf Whittier

Aspens from a previous fall near my home in Conifer.

Autumn is by far my favorite time of year and unfortunately, due to illnesses running through our household this year, I missed it. And it missed me. Even here on the mountain, which is normally glorious, there was a dismal show of color. I imagine the foot of snow we received earlier in the season had something to do with the aspens simply going from green to brown.

But, thanks to the magic of photography, I have more than memories to go by.
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Greeting cards and prints of this photo may be purchased at:

EcoPrints Landscape and Nature Photography

Beautiful Colorado landscape and nature images offered as high quality recycled paper greeting cards, framed and unframed prints and eco-friendly prints.

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