Autumn is knocking

This morning is a sure sign that fall and winter are just around the corner. Temperatures have dropped and the sky is masked by clouds of blue and grey, the colors seemingly weaved together. The windows have been open for the last few weeks (one of the great things about Colorado this time of year) and today there is a certain chill in the air that is beckoning some old blues from the likes of Billie Holiday and Dinah Washington. The dogs after their morning reprieve even returned inside and curled up on their beds instead of sitting on the deck and keeping watch over the neighborhood. It's a rather dreary day with the feeling as if mother nature is mourning the passing of summer. Today's the perfect opportunity though to get things done around the house, knowing that the upcoming weekends will be spent in the mountains chasing down the colors of autumn. I've looked back over my photos from last year and have mapped out this years trips chronologically. I learned last fall that the changing of the leaves migrated from northwest to southeast in Colorado starting from a weekend in Grand County at a friends cabin in late September. Having been back in Colorado just over a year now I have had the opportunity to find the nooks and crannies of the Colorado Rockies that most people don't take the time to explore.

I'm also on the hunt this year for a pumpkin patch in the Colorado Rockies. While living in Atlanta I made a yearly trip with friends in the fall to the big pumpkin patch in Dawsonville, GA. However I learned a few years ago to plan my annual trip around their Moonshine Festival (yes, I'm serious). They had pumpkins of every shape, size and color, although the sign at the entrance noted that wheelbarrow drivers must be of at least a certain age (I always found that rather amusing). It's one of the things I miss doing with my friends there, and am hoping to resurrect the event with friends and family here. This year though I hope to get to more of southern Colorado and I have a friend there on high alert to notify me when fall shows up at their door. It's hard to believe how fast this year has gone by, and the majority of the summer months seem as though they just vanished out of my life. Before you know it we will get our first snow fall and the living things of Colorado will go into a state of hibernation. But as plants and animals prepare for the cold winter months the countdown until the opening day at Winter Park has begun!