A Peaceful Existence

Our peace shall stand as firm as rocky mountains. -- William Shakespeare

I've been thinking a lot about peace lately. Not as in world peace, but rather as it relates to me as an individual.  "Simple pleasures" has been a theme on this blog in the past, and I believe that it is the simple pleasures in life that help promote a peaceful existence. 

We certainly enjoyed a peaceful afternoon yesterday at the Red Barn Pumpkin Farm in Eaton, Colorado. 

The owners, friends of ours, sent us home with a nice collection of pumpkins and other Fall goodies. 

As much as we enjoy trips to the Front Range, it always feel good to get back home. Dennis commented yesterday that we're "mountain people", and I have to agree. There's just something about high altitude living that appeals to us. We enjoy the peaceful environment and count ourselves fortunate to be so close to Rocky Mountain National Park, which never disappoints.  

Take this morning, for instance. We grabbed our Starbucks and drove to the Park, arriving just as the sun was coming up.

The red glow through the golden aspen was stunnng.

I was very excited to see this bull and his harem. It's the largest herd I've seen to date. Dennis says he's seen harems as large as 700, about 10 times larger than this one.

We had seen this crowd earlier, but the herd was so spread out then that I couldn't get a good shot of all of them together. 


I did enjoy snapping this photo of a few of the cows in the water, though.

While photographing the herd, I noticed another bull approaching the harem. He had been bugling from a distance, but now was closing in on the cows. The defending bull made a beeline for the challenging bull.

The challenger left with little fanfare. (Hey, let's face it. The defending bull didn't get a harem this size on charm alone. He had to be a formidable opponent.) 

Now the owner of the harem begins bugling to round up his girls. (I wonder if this guy gets any peace.)

On the outskirts of the herd, the young bulls -- or "spikes" as they're called -- spar and hang out together. Their time will come. (The spike hunkered down in the grass looks pretty peaceful.)

These beautiful rose hips in Endovalley spoke peace to me.

"Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord." 2 Peter 1:2

Autumn Days in RMNP and The Farmette

There's a subtle change in the air and in the landscape. The days are shorter and mornings are cooler. Bull elk are beginning to bugle in preparation for rutting. From our apartment I hear their strange sounds in the distance. This morning in RMNP I photographed a bull on a mountainside.  The third one I've caught on camera in the past week. They're such magnificent animals. I may start a whole page just devoted to the elk. (The bush in the foreground of the photo is full of fall color.)

Our backyard has changed from green, pink and purple -- to tan, brown and gold. 

Yesterday Dennis participated in the Lyons Farmette Plein Air.  A benefit for the Boulder County Arts Alliance. The farmette is a delightful place and I enjoyed capturing the event with my camera. The artists' work hung on trees and fences.

Dennis enjoyed painting the irrigation canal. 

Betsy, the farmette owner and host (along with her husband Mike) dubbed the painting Redneck Riviera, which is what they call the canal.

It's always a pleasure to meet the other artists. Seeing them paint with chickens scratching around them brought a smile to my face.

The gardens of the farmette are beautiful. So many lovely flowers to paint.

 

After Dennis finished painting, we took advantage of the delicious catered food and the fantastic music.

I love the quaintness of the farmette.

The farmette animals seem to love it, too.

Even on the farmette, autumn has arrived.

Tomorrow we head off on a road trip to the Western slope. More joy!