The Most Wonderful Time of Year

Though my previous post was an ode to the yellow glow of aspen leaves I do really love those colorful oak and maples as well. In fact, I love almost everything about the autumn in general – the crispness of the morning air, colorful leaf litter on the trails, cooler daytime temperatures, cozying up in oversized flannel shirts, more time baking – not to mention that it is by far my favorite season to hike in. At the low latitude of southern New Mexico many of these signs of fall are slow to arrive despite living at 7,000 feet but on the plus side they seem to last almost up to December. During those months Allie was growing like a fiend and though I was still keeping her from hiking more than 5 miles most days, she and I were still able to spend quite a bit of time exploring all the local trails, taking hundreds of photos of trees (me), and munching on many sticks (her). We both absolutely enjoyed the longer outings and cooler temperatures.