October on the Divide

We had our first frost and our first flakes of snow this weekend. It's late this year. Usually, the snow flies on the first day of fall.

None of the snow has stuck. We're supposed to get more tonight. We'll see if any of that sticks. The ground is still fairly warm.


Here's what The Deep Dark Forest (our yard) looks like this weekend. The aspens are turning. Leaves are falling. A few late asters and yarrow are still blooming. The above photo shows mostly the aspens and the Douglas fir. It's a gray and dreary day. The weather is supposed to turn warm and sunny again later this week. We'll appreciate it all the more. The last few pleasant days are always a gift.


This photo and the next are of some visitors we had recently. They wander through almost every day. The photos are a bit grainy because we took them from inside the house. We didn't want to scare away our visitors, after all. The grouse are fun to watch. They make cute little noises.

A few of them sat on our car. Others sat on rocks in the yard, or sauntered around in the driveway and on the ground.

We were running late for an appointment. Eventually, we had to open the door and head out. The grouse called to each other in alarm and flew off to another part of the yard.

They came back the next day.


Introducing Sprinkle



Yes, that's Sprinkle. Sprinkle is a Polka Dot plant, Hypoestes phyllostachya, probably the variety called Pink Dot. The youngest family member chose the plant last year and decided to name it. Why not? We name all the other pets and most of the stuffed animals, dolls, etc., that make our way into the household. This plant's name is Sprinkle. Today we noticed that Sprinkle has decided to bloom.

Sprinkle is an easy-going plant in spite of the rather haphazard care we give it.

A Random Artsy Photo

This was taken on a recent walk in a Boulder County open space.

Teasels aren't my favorite plants. They're stickery and non-native. I do like the way they look when I'm in the right mood. Obviously, I was in the right mood when I snapped this photo.

At this time of year, the weather may be warm or cool. We may have sun, wind, clouds, rain, snow, fog, you name it. The leaves are turning on all the deciduous plants. The grasses are going gold and brown. The annuals have set their seed and given up, except for the few late-season flowers still valiantly blooming. The bird population is changing as some head further south for the winter and others head here for the winter.

There's always that sense of transition. A lot of things are changing along with the season. The earth and its inhabitants prepare for the coming winter while still trying to eke out the last bits of summer.

It's one of our favorite times to go hiking. Well, most times are our favorite times. But fall is always special.