Autumn is Underway

I am sitting in my coat inside my house as I write this, because it is only 36 degrees outside and I'm too cheap to turn on the heater this early in September. The dogs have a better way of handling this situation: After eating their breakfast and putting on their sweaters, they've crawled back under the blankets in bed to dream of our next hike.

Last weekend we hiked here in the Foothills of the Rockies both Saturday and Sunday, and I expect to do the same this weekend. Most times I go I take along the camera, though I've already taken thousands of shots (not an exaggeration) of the same sites for the past two years. But I never tire of seeing the same trees or mountains or shrubs, because for me, these things are never the same, not even from one day to the next. The light in the sky may cast itself differently upon the face of the mountain, or clouds may shadow or shroud us.  

And surely I am different each time I come to the ascent, somehow altered simply by living a few more days.  

I'm fortunate if I get even one fantastic photo out of the 60 or 70 shots I may take over the course of a couple of hours. Last weekend I got TWO such shots. It's not that these are marvels of photography--the reason I love these both is because I can actually see autumn, transforming my surroundings one leaf at a time.