It's Fall Y'all in Wyoming

The warm weather in Wyoming continues, with highs in the 70's or 60's.   That is unusual for us.  By now it's normal for us to have felt at least some of the teeth of winter.  Not this year.

Fall on the mountain has been especially delightful this year.  The colors lasted for a long time rather than the usual spit of color to be ruined by very cold temps and snow.

Looking down the hill on our lot.  The fence is our back line.

Note the aspens laying down around this tree.  Snow pushed them over several years ago.

The tree right behind our trailer. 

Looking up through the tops.

It takes hot days and cool nights to produce the extra tannin in the leaves required for the orange colors.

I really cannot describe the sheer delight and peace I find sitting on the mountain and listening to these leaves quake in the slight breeze.

Course, we were really up there to winterize the trailer and get everything drained, tucked away, or hauled off the mountain.

While Hubby was draining the water tanks and blowing out the lines on the trailer, I painted the picnic table.  I decided I wanted it red rather than the redwood color it had been.   I believe I acheived that.   Maybe next year it will go back to 'redwood' which is more normal picnic table color.  I hadn't realized what a RED color would like I think.

We prop the table up against the tree every year so the snow doesn't sit on it.  I ran out of paint several years ago and never finished the underside.  You can see traces of the redwood color.  The dogs, Bob and Baxter are inspecting our work.   

It must have met Baxter's approval as he is off to find some of the pesky voles and dig them out!

Next time -- I will post a series of the pictures I took of one tree on our lot showing the progression of the color and the end of it.  It's interesting at least to me!

And I leave You With Fall in Wyoming 2011

Here are pictures from last weekend up on the mountain - Once again conditions were right for the red to come out in some of the Aspens.  Hot days, cool nights, no hard frost.  I noticed the reddest trees were the ones in full sunlight and the highest on the hill.

Where There is Smoke; There's Supper!

Our lot is in a little valley so the sunlight doesn't hit the Aspens all day.  Not much Fall Action Here.

A hint of things to come on the 2nd tree here.

But farther Up the Hill - WoW Look at that Gold in them Hills!

At the Top where the trees get the most sun---Red Leaves, a unusual color for Aspens.

I'm not sure the really red one is an Aspen but isn't this just beautiful? Or was it just a shadow from the pine deepening the color?  Hummmm, mystery.

These are all Aspens and all have a red tinge except maybe the 2nd tree from the right.

 

The View to the South

Shadows are getting long on the ol' campsite and all too soon it was time to pack up and go home.

We leave for Maine on Friday.  We are planning on visiting the Fryeburg Fair with the horse and oxen pulls and lumberjack contests.  And of course, a trip to somewhere near the Ocean is in order also.  And I will post pictures to the blog till you are alllllll bored to tears!

Happy Fall Y'all!

Fall in Wyoming

Fall in Wyoming is brief -- sometimes it seems a few days and poof! Winter has arrived.  We are very close to fall now.  I've noticed a few leaves on some of the cottonwood trees are starting to turn a vivid yellow.

But the true glory of fall in Wyoming is our mountain Aspens!

September 29, 2007 on Casper Mountain

We've not spent ANY time on the mountain this year.  The Hubby has a crazy work schedule and building our barn sucked up all his spare time.  I've missed our time on the mountain.  We are going up for a last picnic this coming weekend.

Golds against the red dirt is very spectacular.  This was August 18, 2007.  Aspens are just showing a slight hint of the gold.

September 28, 2008

For some reason this year, the Aspens had a bright orange color to some of them. That is unusual.  If I recall right we had an earlier frost this year.  Maybe that affected the color?  This is on the hill coming out of our 'horse patch' on Casper Mountain.

The 3rd of October, 2009 and the leaves have already dropped!!! 

September 9th of 2009 - no color in the Aspens YET less than a month later the display is OVER.  Short, way too short.  Sometimes I LONG for a longer fall.  It's one of my favorite times in Wyoming, warm days and crisp mornings.

The 20th of September 2009 they were in their full glory -- and only 13 days later done, kaput!

And look at This ONE!  October 26, 2010 FIRST SNOW.

Told yah - already snow on the mountain and now snow at 60 miles North of Nowhere!!

Now for the BIG, REALLY BIG NEWS.  In 2011 we will SEE FALL -- in the Northeast.  No not Wyoming; not Northeast Wyoming BUT MAINE!!  Yes, we are going to Maine in October!  Where fall is a REAL SEASON!!  We hope to take in the Fryeburg Fair too - where they have oxen and horse pulls!

Yes, of course I will bore you all to tears with photos! What's Blogdom for except the new modern version of the Home Movie Marathon we boomers all suffered through as children.  Remember watching your neighbors tour Yellowstone for four hours of silent movies?? I sure do.  

Happy Fall to Y'All.  May your red longjohns stay buttoned.

My Summer

Well it's been a long time since I posted -- I thought I would share some of my pictures of summer 2009 since it is now SNOWING (*E*($#&)A#4! In October, oh I'm not ready for winter.
We took this when we went up to winterize our trailer on Casper Mountain. It's from the valley floor between Casper Mountain & Muddy Mountain.
This was taken the end of September, the aspen are still yellow but look -- snow already!! I fear it's going to be a long winter.

I have a photo editor program that will 'stitch' my photos together so this is a panaroma I did of Muddy Mountain that same day.
And I will end with this beautiful shot taken on the top of Muddy Mountain by one of our friends from California. This was taken at the end of August and is my husband Tony with one of our Morgans, Melody. Wow - look at the view from up there!

I guess that will have to hold me till next summer! Sigh.

Hope you enjoy.

Merideth
And I promise to post more often!