I live in the lovely San Francisco Bay Area. There are marvellous things to be said for this heart of liberalism. Having 4 seasons is not one of the things you will find here!
Growing up in the intermountain states of Utah, Colorado and Wyoming mostly, I loved the seasons. There is a crispness in the air for autumn, the leaves are crunchy on the streets, and no matter your age you have fun kicking and crunching autumn leaves.
In Utah Halloween always seemed to get the first snow in the valley. Although a dusting of snow always was there on top of the Wasatch mountains.
I loved vacationing, and still do, in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado (southwest corner) in the autumn. The knees have gotten a little old for skiing, but Telluride is spectacular in late September and early October as well!
*San Juan Mountains ~ Aspens and Snow*
Despite the political bent of most people in Utah, the country is beautiful. And fortunately for most of us that love the out of doors the wingnuts tend to stay in the cities. People that hang out in the off road part of the mountains tend to a little more on the independent thinking side of the spectrum.
*Wasatch Mountains ~ Autumn Leaves and Snow*
The turning of the seasons is deep in our souls if we listen to it. For a couple of months my inner voice kept saying it was time to get ready for winter. Perhaps the genetic memory of our ancestors flows deeper than most will acknowledge. A time to be out of doors when necessary and nesting in our own dens when the cold and dark descends upon us.
This is just a mini break from politics…a time to reflect on the best parts of autumn and winter.
A few of my favorite parts of winter
. Hot Chocolate, with just a bit of whipped cream
. Warm quilts to snuggle under…
. A fire on a stormy day, with a good book in hand of course!
. Warm, preferably fuzzy sweaters…kind of like kitty fur next to the skin.
. Baking spicy cookies and cakes. What is there about the smell of warm cinnamon on a cold day that makes me feel safe?
. Walks in the snow after a cold night…and crunching the icy layer on top
What are your favorite things…and pictures are most welcome!
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in
Tucson
I think of winter in your neck of the woods as the canal flooding out; but then, I used to be a liveaboard down there. Sorry about the pic size :} Mt. Tam, and you’re right…I took this at the end of winter, but you can’t farking tell…
If for no other reason than this mind and bod said enough sad, enough mad, this is who I am and this is the space I take up in the universe and I’m going to spruce up around here in my space. My space is going to be so damned cool and so damned happy that wingnuts and NeoCons are going to get jealous and need to get a similar space of their own cuz let’s face it, their spaces sort of always suck…no peace, nothing pretty, stuff is always self destructing. It is wonderful being human because we can adapt and overcome the most amazing things. In my frustration I have said we are sheeple, we are lemmings, we are wolves, we are none of those creatures though. We are something much different and if we are capable of extraordinary things from within ourselves it can only mean that what we can accomplish outside of ourselves can be similar under the same time and pressure 😉
I photographed these fall color shots, reflected in various streams, this past week around southwest Virginia. I got a ton I haven’t even looked at yet.
Come Yule. We’ll scrunch across the crusty whitened meadow, down to the river where I’ll break the ice and listen to the trees tell their crackly tale whilst I sit in breathy mist and feed my bait to the Robins in their fine scarlet waistcoats. At dusk we’ll sing the old songs and I’ll sniff a whisky while I drink hot coffee – a treat for me and listen to one of the old men intone the sad story of the Mistletoe Bough.