Last Fall Colors

I woke up yesterday morning and saw dark clouds over the mountains. I figured we were in for another blah day, and I was right, except for about five minutes early in the morning, when the sun peaked through some clouds just over the horizon and lit up the trees. I'd estimate that over half the leaves in town have fallen off the trees, and with the impending bad weather, more are going to fall soon. So I snapped away, trying to capture some of the last glorious color on the trees.

Even trees that have lost most of their leaves, like this elm, still looked good with that early morning light and the storm clouds in the background.

The Lombardy poplar's almost vertical branches catch a lot of the leaves as they fall off. During the winter some birds will nestle into the tree, using the leaves as insulation to help keep warm. When I walk by them, the birds fly off and I feel a little bad about disturbing them.

Here are some of our neighbor's cows, with the mountain range to the north in the background. Early morning light really highlights how rough the foothills are.

I can't help but think when I look at these beautiful leaves on the trees that soon I will be raking them into huge piles! The cows love to eat them, so I take them to the pasture. If you're asking why we just don't let the cows into the yard, the answer is simple: cow pies!