Just a nice picture.

Autumn is such a pretty time of year.  I love the colors.


This picture was taken from land owned by the University of Colorado, here in Colorado Springs.


Pike's Peak is the snow-capped mountain in the background.  The foreground contains the kind of vegetation found on the grassy plains, like sage and scrub oak.

Not just any day.

This morning as Dusty was driving to work, he called me to let me know that the city below was shrouded in a sea of clouds. So I did what anyone would do. I jumped out of bed, threw on my shoes, grabbed my camera, and ran down the road to catch the Sunrise.





Normally, you can see the city lights down there, but today is not just any day.





Twenty minutes later, I was in the perfect spot to capture the Sun beginning Her daily watch.





As Her light begins to reflect off the silvery clouds, the forest comes to life with sounds of the morning.





Birds and chipmunks begin chirping happily. A deer family awakens, startled by my sudden outburst of song.





"♪ ♫ I have to say it now ♪ ♫ it's been a good life all in all ♪ ♫ it's really fine to have a chance to hang around ♪ ♫"





Rarely is the cloud cover so low.





For the last three days it's been rainy and foggy up here. It's nice to have a clear morning for a change, but I love how the rain turns the mountains so green.





This is my Just-Woke-Up look. I'm thrilled, really!





I meandered back home to finish getting everything in order for our upcoming Road Trip. It's going to be a long day, but it started out just perfect.





♪ ♫ Lyrics by John Denver

Rocky Mountain Springtime

We've gotten a lot of rain lately. Last week, almost every day it rained (and it's sprinkling a little right now, actually). As a result, the ground is becoming greener by the day.

This picture was taken while on a hike up yonder hill. My camera takes really good closeups. These tiny plants are growing out of a cut tree stump by a creek.



Another image from the same hike. The meadows are filling out nicely.


My husband looks so handsome getting ready for work.


The waterfalls are the most humid places around here. This one is the same waterfall pictured here just 2 months ago.



I'm working on building a garden bed in the front of our house.


I've planted Columbines,


And Cat Nip.


This is what it looks like today:


I've scattered wildflower seeds and lined the border with treasures found on our hikes. We have a very short growing season up here, so I'm experimenting this year.

The Top of the World

It is necessary to do a lot of exploring, since we have national forestland surrounding our neighborhood.



There is a place the locals call Gog & Magog, although I'm not sure how it gets its name. Gog and Magog are found in several ancient folk traditions, referenced as being giants or supernatural beings or the respected lands of these creatures.



Our Gog & Magog is located north-west of Manitou Springs, at the base of Cameron's Cone.



We plan on hiking up Cameron Cone when we have the same days off again.

Caught in Limbo over "Our" Home

Well, due to this "credit crunch" and ensuing over-corrections made by lenders as if they feel regret for all of the illegal loans given in the last several years, we do not know when our house will be "ours" and we may not know for several weeks or a few days...



Our credit is "golden" as we were told, but the underwriters are unsure of this house we want to buy. How can we convince them it's NOT a log cabin!! The siding happens to be log, but the log part is making Countrywide very nervous, throwing us into limbo, where we will be waiting for our broker to find another lender -- please soon!

Meanwhile, let's look at some pretty pictures of our sooner-or-later-to-be new neighborhood!


This is the view from "our" property:



This is a view of Colorado Springs and Manitou Springs from the road leading up to "our" property:



And this is what the side of "our" mountain looks like at the moment:

The Perfect View

On my way home from work, the sun was rising over the horizon, the temperature was negative six and the sky was a frosty blue. I looked up at Pike's Peak clothed in a thick white blanket and thought: what a great picture that would be!

I drove up to Mesa Road and stopped at a plateau that looks out over the Garden of the Gods. I could only take these few shots before I started losing feeling in my fingers.


Take a close look at the side of that mountain to see the switchbacks of Crystal Park Road.


A view of the south side of the city, that mountain is Cheyenne.


And there it is! Pike's Peak towering over the Garden of the Gods and looking over the city where I will always call my home.