Focus on Fall

This morning we awoke to the sound of rain tapping on the windows. The color of the day is grey. The temperature outside is 43 degrees. Fall has pulled into the station right on schedule.

Yesterday, I took a day trip to Rocky Mountain National Park in search of aspen gold. The weather when I got into the park was cloudy with a brisk wind. As I rounded a bend on the park road, I saw the hillsides ablaze with golden leaves in the Hidden Valley. I was excited.

I was prepared for the weather. I had on layers of outerwear and expected to get wet. I hoisted my day pack loaded with a tripod and headed off into the hills. I made my way across a log bridge over a small stream and wandered around looking at the gold leaves whipping in the wind. The weather was changing. To my surprise, it was clearing. The sun was lighting up the hillside. It was getting warmer.

I continued up the hillside and set up my tripod and took some pictures of aspens. I had peeled off layers of clothes and was down to a t-shirt. It seemed that summer had reappeared. I made my way around the hillside and continued to capture scenes of autumn.

The weather began to change again. I put on a layer and made my way back to my jeep. Just when I was changing my shoes at the jeep, a strong gust of wind greeted me and filled my senses with the feel of winter. Suddenly, summer was gone.

Today is the autumnal equinox, the beginning of what I call the season of darkness. For the next 6 months, the light will fade for 3 months and then begin to brighten for 3 months. It is a time of college football, fall colors, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, Valentine's Day, and finally, Spring.

We must embrace this season of darkness. Here in Colorado, we are lucky. We have skiing to get us through the winter. We look forward to the first mountain snows with the hope of powder days with bluebird skies. I feel for the folks back east who must endure the grey. Oh well, they have shopping malls.