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Category Archives: Autumn

All the Colors

Sky and I had a nice walk in the hills yesterday. I think it was the first hike this year where we did not encounter anyone else. It seemed like such a luxury after all the days of busy trails. Even at midday, the colors were astounding and nothing beats the light this season. There were layers upon layers of color from the various plants and trees and water and sky and distant hills. Oregon grape is notoriously difficult to photograph so I tried the same plant in sunshine and shade. The aspens were all colors of yellow to orange to dried up and brown.

Wind and rain and maybe snow are in the forecast so these days are probably numbered.

I made lots of pictures of Sky too. You will see them soon.

Good Dogs Out On the Trail

A few members of the Good Girls’ Club got together to enjoy a fall meeting/walk recently. Topics on the agenda included fall colors, sticks, pine cones and cold water. Since Luna no longer attends these meetings, there were no notes taken so we will never know what decisions were made.

Fall Images

Fall is finally here with cold, frosty mornings, occasional fog and sometimes rain although it remains oddly dry and dusty. Fall colors are finally coming on here in the valley. Here are a few images from our hill.

One More Fall Hike

This is my favorite trail, I’m pretty sure. I can return to it multiple times during a hiking season. It does have the very worst road though. It’s a place where the sub alpine larches are enchanting in their early summer greens and amazing when they turn golden in the fall. Pikas are frequently heard and sometimes seen while crossing the talus slopes. Earlier in the year marmots let loose with piercing calls to frighten even the bravest dogs and people too. Now they are underground. The pikas continue to harvest greens to dry in their ‘hay’ piles and then store under the rocks for the long cold winter soon to come.

At the trailhead, the wildfire smoke was thick – we could taste it as well as smell it. But we’d driven all the way so we headed out and gradually, there was less of it but it was always present. While I am not quite ready for winter to set in, it’s the only thing that will quell the wildfires burning in the mountains throughout the northwest.

Color of Fall

What a strange fall it’s been. Unseasonably warm and very smoky from wildfires in the mountains. I have not been hiking as much as I’d like to. A friend was driving across the North Cascades so we met at one of the busy trailheads up there to soak in a few fall colors.

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