last weekend i went for a wander up into the nearby foothills and it was a beautiful day. as you can see the snowline is dipping lower with the trees seemingly in flames down below . . . our fall season has been an extended and beautiful one so far and i am enjoying the profusion of color all around me.

i loved taking these shots of the local seeds, hips, berries, petals and leaves as the local flora approaches it's lengthy winter rest. this is a fairly harsh environment and these things struggle in our high altitude and short seasons. it's both exciting to see the colors and sad to know that it will soon be covered by snow. i am grateful to have my camera and be able to capture and save these sweet mellow moments of this fleeting season.

i only wish that i were as adept at capturing these wonderful natural gifts as my fellow blogger Carolyn at http://www.love-stitching-red.blogspot.com/ . if you want to really see some fabulous photography and how she interprets it into some of the most sensational needlework i've ever seen you should pop on over to her blog. let me warn you that you should plan on staying a while because you will almost certainly find yourself wanting to brew a cup of tea (or two) and get comfortable as you explore her sweet space. she's been doing some still life photography using vellum as a layer within her set ups and it's just one of the many beautiful and oh-so-inspiring things you will have the pleasure of enjoying. she has been on a short blog vacation and i've really missed her but a little bird tells me that she'll be back to posting very soon and may even be hosting a give-away . . . just one more good reason to go over for a visit . . . i'll be there and i hope that you will join me in welcoming her back.