Great View

Try seeing the world over your handle bars, it makes a great view. 

The World is Right

The trees shimmered with a fiery brilliance as the sun sent down warm rays from its lofty perch in the cloudless

cerulean sky.  Grass, tall and brown but soft to the wind, waved almost hypnotically in a drowsy rhythm. I was there for a purpose but simply could not resist a brief siesta in the soft meadow.  Drifting in that sweet sensation between consciousness and sleep I remember feeling...the world was almost perfect.

Mary's Mums

Leaves of red and yellow gently drifting toward the ground, skies a deeper azure blue, warm Indian summer days and crisp cool nights that make August just a hot and harsh memory, anticipation of a caramel apple and a hot cup of cinnamon tea, bugling elk in the high country, the aroma of fire roasted chilies as they tumble over the flame, rainbow trout sipping mayflies fattening up for winter, the smell of a turkey in the oven and a homemade peach pie, and the mums blooming in Mary's garden.  These are just some of the many reasons fall is my favorite time of year. 

  

Gone Fishing

Went fishing today and the fishing was good, 4 fat Rainbows all about 19" long.  Can't wait to get them on a cedar plank over a hot fire.

Mellow yellow

And so it begins...the great fall transformation.  It will only get better, but it is getting very yellow up there.

Strange Thing to Find

While walking through the dense pine forest hunting elk, this is the last thing I expected to find.  It almost looks like something from outer space just sat down there in the middle of nowhere.  It is, in fact, a weather station, but it seemed very strange to find it where I did.  I wonder if it is one of ours?

A Different View

No matter how you look at it...Pikes Peak is a beautiful sight.  I have looked at it almost every day of my life and it still amazes me.  This is the view I had this morning just after sunrise.

Changing Colors

As our thoughts turn toward golden Aspens dressing up the high country...there are still a few golden gems to be found in Mary's garden.  Sometimes all we have to do is look right in front of us, right under our noses, to find something noteworthy.  One of my favorite sayings is “I overlooked an orchid while searching for a rose”.   

Another Spiritual Morning

Another breathtaking sunrise greeted me this morning.

Note:  These photos are not enhanced or modified in any way.  They appear just as the camera captured them.

Spiritual Beginning and Endings

When the sun rides low against the horizon, its beams refracting through the atmosphere, the dust, and the clouds, create a beautiful effect...an amazing glow, what I call the magic light.  That's the scientific explanation for a beautiful sunrise or sunset.  When I witness one this incredible, I think there is something a little more spiritual going on.

An Amazing Transformation

Mary found this 4 inch long brute in our front yard. It's an Achemon Sphinx Caterpillar.  Slow...ugly, even gross by some standards, but in not too many more days it will transform itself into a beautiful Sphinx Moth, (also known as a Hummingbird Moth).  We have always been fascinated by the Hummingbird Moths in our garden; as they buzz around taking nectar from the flowers.  If you don't look closely you will actually mistake them for real hummingbirds.  It just proves once again that beauty can arise from some very extraordinary sources.

Our niece took him home as a pet…she named him “Ug the Slug”.  The “Ug” was short for ugly she said. 

Walk to End Alzheimers

As most of you probably know, Mary's mother Barbara is struggling with Alzheimer ’s disease and needs constant care.  This morning Mary, Martha, and I participated in the “Walk to End Alzheimers” to help increase community awareness of this devastating illness. It was actually a lot of fun.  Here are a few photos.

Fungi la Grande

I love sautéed mushrooms, raw mushrooms, mushrooms on pizza, in spaghetti sauce, on Kabobs, over a medium rare steak...well,  you get the point.  I have a thing for fungi.  I discovered this amazing mushroom yesterday while hunting.  Its size is what makes it truly remarkable; it was the size of a loaf of bread.  I just wish I knew if it was an edible variety.

Step Back into History

Fall season success...
Our forefathers spent countless hours hunting the wild turkey and at some point in our history it became a tradition to have turkey for Thanksgiving dinner.   Most households go to the supermarket and buy their turkey for the feast.  We usually do this too, but yesterday I took this wild bird; so this year we will be stepping back into history, so to speak, and we will be roasting a wild turkey for Thanksgiving.  I have enjoyed wild turkey many times before, and I am really looking forward to it.   

 

How Do They Know

As dawn approached I was driving to an area where I planned to hunt elk.  On my way, this herd (I counted 60), crossed the road in front of me and started grazing in a large meadow right next to my truck.  It is a private ranch adjacent to National Forest property, and they somehow knew it was the place to hang out.  Frustrating?  Maybe a little, but it was much too beautiful to be that way.  I listened to them and watched them for awhile and then drove on.  I hunted all day and did not see another elk.

Refreshing Find

The only thing better than finding a nice ripe pear hanging on a pear tree...is eating one of them.  (I did get permission from the tree owner of course)

All Dried Out

Take some dried plants; add a blast of late afternoon sunshine and maybe something interesting will appear.

While We Sleep

It was 1:30 in the morning when he stepped in front of the camera, it was quiet, dark, and we were all probably asleep.  He was out hunting for his next meal and he almost certainly had been at it all night.  He has no options, it's a daily task that he must complete or he will not survive, and I get aggravated when I have to drive to the super market to pick up a gallon of milk.

Be Open Minded

When a new idea comes up, something never tried before, it may be wise to get on board and give it a try.  Many times it's those proposals that seem crazy that turn out to be fantastic.  It’s prudent to be cautions, but don't be the fly in the ointment.

Timing of the Hunt

Dark forms moved ahead of me through the Aspens, silent, keeping low, and traveling fast…there were five of them.  From their movement it could only be one thing…wild turkeys.  In seconds they vanished like early morning shadows gone until another day.  With the passing of another moon I would have followed them, but timing is everything and this day it was wrong, so I moved on.   As I eased further through the dark timber on a bed of pine needles hushed by last evening’s rain, more movement caught my eye.  The familiar bouncing gait of a mule deer gave away his hiding place and his identity.  His antlers, dressed in velvet, were enviable, but again…the timing was wrong.  Elk and small game were the only licenses I held, so I would have to keep searching.  Another hundred yards, then two, then twenty…and suddenly the thunderous frantic rush of rising grouse startled all that could hear.  As frightening as it always is…it is also a very welcome sound.  One lit in the top of a nearby spruce and lingered just a moment too long.  My aim was right and my arrow’s flight was true.  His timing...was wrong.  I will enjoy him in the pot tonight. 
My search for elk…continues.

Life's Little Pleasures

I am not sure who is having the most fun, but it makes me feel good just watching them.

The New Front Porch

Sometimes all a man needs to recharge his batteries is a relaxing afternoon on his new front porch.

Better Left Alone

How many times have you wanted to speak your mind, to just get it off of your chest and say exactly what you were thinking, but your better judgment took charge and you just bit your tongue instead?  It’s probably a wise decision in most situations.  It may be like hitting a hornet's nest.  It's easy to wake them up, but much more difficult to get them to go back in after they are out and on the hunt for who made them mad.

Don't Sit Down

It's definitely a sticky situation

Is Consideration a thing of the past?

Sometimes words are not necessary, a picture is worth a thousand of them, so why say more...

Stay the Course

It appears as if someone did not want to face the stormy weather ahead and made a split second decision to take an alternate route.  Taking what seems to be the easy way out may, at times, look like the best choice but there was no path, no road, just a deep dark chasm in the direction of the skid marks.  They would have been much wiser to stay on course, forge ahead, and enjoy the ride…no matter how rough it got. Life is often that way.

Dreams

Protect them from harm, but don’t hold them down…enable them to pursue their dreams.