A Magnificent Fall in Colorado!

I have to declare that this has been the most lovely of all fall seasons that I have experienced living on the Colorado Front Range for the last 9 years!  We had a wet spring which allowed for the trees to grow healthy leaves and a warm fall with minor frost that has enabled them to keep their leaves for a long time.  The Emerald Ash tree growing in front of my house is a kaleidoscope of yellow, green, orange, and red leaves!  My oldest granddaughter is standing under it. and behind her is a neighbor's house.

Every time I look out my front window this season I see the glow of leaves from my tree and it makes my spirits soar.  One morning, as I raised my shades, I was treated to a group of deer sitting outside on my lawn.

As always, the deer were interested in what they could eat and enjoyed a salad of the "Snow on the Mountain" perennial plants growing under my tree.

The aspens have been lovely...

...and the cottonwood trees in our neighborhood also turned beautiful shades of yellow and orange.

It has been a colorful joy to walk on our trails and enjoy this autumn season.  Usually, by now we'd have had a hard frost or a snowfall, but this year flowers were still blooming and the wild prickly pear cacti actually grew fruit.

Early one morning we drove over to the nearby town of Golden, Colorado.

There we took a long stroll on paths along Clear Creek. 

Many interesting sculptures line the paths along the creek, and there was also a weekend Farmers' Market in town to enjoy and an outdoor history museum.

One of the foothills above Golden is 7,062-foot (2,152 m) Mount Zion, which is famous for its letter "M."  If you click on the collage above --click twice for full enlargement--you can read a placard that explains that the M is the symbol for the prestigious engineering Colorado School of Mines that is located in Golden. All freshmen attending the school climb the mountain and each adds a rock on the "M" which they can take with them when they graduate. This is a tradition that has been going on since 1908 when the M was first created. The "M" has been permanently lighted since 1932.  Can you spot the paraglides flying above Mount Zion?  That is a popular activity in good weather!

This is a photo taken from our moving car, as my husband and I were on our way to the airport to pick up our daughter from a business trip, but I wanted to show how the high Rocky Mountains in the distance behind the foothills have already had a few snowfalls. A few extra thousands of feet makes a big difference in weather, and some of the ski resorts are actually opening next week. 

I hope fall (or spring if you are in the southern hemisphere) is a beautiful season for you too!

You can also find me on

Instagram Twitter Facebook 

Pinterest

I'm linking this post to some of the following blog events:

 Mosaic Monday, Blue Monday, Through My Lens Monday, Hearth, and Soul Link Party, You Are the Star Blog Hop, Inspire Me Monday, Home Matters Linky Party,  Good Random Fun, Nature Notes, Grand Social, Travel Photos, Travel Tuesday, Happiness Is Homemade, Create, Bake, Make, Our World Tuesday, Ruby Tuesday, Tuesday's Treasures, Tuesdays With A Twist, Wordless Wednesday on a Tuesday,  Party in Your PJ's, Wordless Wednesday, Oh My Heartsie Girl's Wonderful Wednesday, Wednesday My Corner of the World, Wonderful Wednesday, Signs2,  Little Things Thursday, Thankful Thursday,  Thursday Encouraging Hearts and Home,  Thursday Thinking Out Loud, Friendship Fridays, A Morning Cup of Joe, Friday Features Linky Party, Skywatch Friday, Weekend Roundup,  Pink Saturday, Saturday Sparks, Saturday Critters, Sunday on Silverado