“Autumn’s Fire” fine art print available here

Leaf peeping is at its height here in the mountains of Colorado and I feel like there is a renewed interest in learning to appreciate nature and its gifts. We were lucky to be able to drive up Guanella Pass — one of the most popular aspen-viewing drives that begins just outside of Georgetown. We were able to enjoy some of the most brilliant colors this past week (mid-week…because the weekend is nuts and you know I don’t like big crowds…unless it’s a rock show…and even then I barely tolerate it for the music…so much sweat and hair and body heat….gag me). Anyway, the mountain air hits different in the fall. Mountain air is always magic to me but there is something ethereal about it in September and October.

“Autumn’s Light” fine art print available here

Breathing it in gives me energy like I don’t feel any other time of the year. It’s as if my soul absorbs it, stirs it about in my heart. The autumn air in the mountains is like the last breath of a dying soul — both indescribably beautiful and tragic.

“Autumn’s Warmth” fine art print available here

Each tree, each leaf, each flower that withers as it’s kissed by the warm autumn sun and cold, frosty nights is beautiful. Every angle, every view provides me a new perspective that is unique — special to that moment in time.

“Hello Autumn” fine art print available here

That moment? It won’t come again. It rushes in as silent and quickly as a wretched stomach bug (one of which I’ve experienced this week, bleh) and leaves just as quickly — you briefly wonder if that moment was ever real…or if it was simply something you created in your mind. I love to capture those moments, hold them close.

“Lakeside Dreams” fine art print available here

This trip was special to me, not only because I was able to capture some of nature’s most gorgeous moments with my kids — but because it was my mom’s birthday. This seemingly simple journey was shared with both my mom and dad — something that I never planned and certainly feel grateful to share for countless reasons.

“Leaf on Fire” fine art print available here

I think that is one of the most precious gifts that nature provides us — a backdrop to meaningful moments with the humans that make us feel loved, safe, secure.

Treasured and loved — that’s how I hope you feel. I also hope you enjoy these tiny moments in time captured through my lens. Soak them in, here — know that you are loved, too.

Peace, love, & light (after coffee and chocolate-covered almonds),