When starting our walk at Aspen Corner, we saw indications that others had been there before us.
People Were Here
Flecks of Gold
Golden aspen leaves stood out among the green as we wandered along a path in Flagstaff last week. We are looking forward to a return trip in a couple weeks- fingers crossed we see them at their peak!
Snow Trees
Although there are signs of Spring, winter has not loosened its grip. Although this photo is from two months ago, I could have taken a similar shot this week. Snow is only on the ground in patches currently, but it has snowed more days than not in the last week.
Muted
Although there were signs of Spring in the blossoming of fruit trees, Winter still had us in its grip last week. Days were cold with a few snow flurries, and the bare branches gave little evidence that it is Spring according to the calendar. The muted colors of this scene off the Peavine trail at Watson Lake reflect our muted lives these days, as we adhere to social distancing and develop new routines in our individual houses.
For me, these days are revolving around connecting with friends and family through phones and internet, planning and eating meals, hand washing (washing everything, it seems), ordering groceries online, editing photos, doing some organizing projects, and streaming and binge-watching TV series. It’s still a good life- it’s just pared down to the basics. So each day we choose to practice gratitude, appreciate our loved ones, focus on the positive and enjoy life as it is right now.
Gratitude
For the month of November, our church has been having us keep track of all the things we are grateful for- writing them down and saying them out loud. I am grateful for my wonderful family and friends- and this month especially I am grateful for my brand new bionic knee and the promise of a more active and pain free lifestyle!
Happy Thanksgiving!
And of course I’m grateful for autumn- my favorite season!
Roadside
More aspens- these along the road as we drove up to Snowbowl.
Aspen Glow
We were fortunate to be in Flagstaff a couple weeks ago on a beautiful Fall day when the aspens were in all their glory. It made my heart happy to see so many other people up at Snowbowl, late on a weekday afternoon- everyone there just to catch the late afternoon sun hitting the aspens. Unforgettable!
P I N K
Last week’s pink moon as it rose above the trees.
More Green
More Alaska today! This was taken on the trail at the beautiful Eagle River Nature Center (just down the road from where our daughter’s family lives).
Your Basic Alaska-ness
Everywhere you look you see this GREEN! We were there only a few weeks ago, but I imagine that there are spots of fall color already. Summer is short and INTENSE!
Blue Trees
I was housebound for almost three weeks with a tenacious virus, and am glad to say that I seem to have recovered finally. I haven’t been out with my camera since our Holbrook trip, and as a result, have been pulling photos from the archives to edit and post here, the exception being the sunflowers and chair photos from last week. Next week, we will be in Alaska- and finally I will have some opportunities for photography!
When I’m sick, I tend only seem to have enough energy for Words With Friends and photo editing apps on my iPhone. Below is one of my favorite recent iPhone creations. I took the photo out the car window as we were approaching Prescott on the trip back from Southern California in March and then edited it last week on my phone. I cropped it heavily and layered it with several textures, playing with blend modes until it looked the way I wanted. I added one more texture to the trees in Photoshop- and voila!
By the Pond
Just a peek over the reeds at Watson Pond
Autumn Reflected
Here is another image from last week’s walk in Watson Woods. There were ducks- and I waited 15 minutes for one to swim into the orange reflection. I ended up liking this photo better- it’s all about the trees!
Wet
When we were out driving around Sunday, we stopped at Watson Lake for a short while. There was some snow on the ground, but what interested me was the high water level. Areas that we could normally walk through in Watson Woods were flooded, which made for some nice reflections.
Same photo, tighter crop. . .
Cabin Fever
My husband and I began to develop a bit of cabin fever over the weekend, as the weather had kept us inside for most of Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. By Sunday we were ready for an outing and decided to drive over to Lynx Lake. The road was plowed and we were able to have a nice view of the lake before the snow began. The rest of the day wasn’t snowy, at least where we live, but we are expecting more today.
melinda anderson photography 