Cars, trucks with camper trailers and RV’s are streaming out of the mountains by the thousands today as the end of the Labor Day holiday marks the unofficial end of summer. Of course here in the high country of Colorado, that means snow could come any day now which is fine by me, although there will be plenty of nice warm days all the way up to Thanksgiving and sometimes beyond.
A futile visit to Manitou Lake yielded very little, by first light hikers and fishermen were already piling into the park scaring away any birds that we might have been able to photograph. There were a couple of distant blue heron to dispel any rumors that they have already migrated, a couple little yellow birds that were far to elusive to photograph, and this cute little family of merganser ducks, which finally did pass by close enough for a picture.
Much to our surprise though, it was trip to Walmart that proved the most successful. As we drove into the parking lot we spotted a red-tailed hawk sailing down the dry creek bed and soon there were two hawks circling overhead in an amazing raptor dance high in the sky. So here it is… my last image of the summer!
Tonight I’m just relaxing as a calm has settled in over my little town, and hopefully tomorrow the birds and animals will begin to get a chance to return to their pre tourist season behavioral patterns. To sum up my feelings about the end of summer, “Thank God it’s over!”.
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Now the wife used to rail at me for doing nothing after work but I contend that hanging out in the back yard drinking a beer with the dog IS doing something. Or perhaps the dog was just better company… as time passes I’m leaning towards the latter. Come to think of it, looking back at my life I can’t think of a single moment that I regret hanging out with the dog… Plus now that I have moved to Cripple Creek, this is gold country and Big Dog loves to dig in the yard. I like to think of myself as prospecting, not wasting time 🙂
Noticed three empty drinking water jugs in the backseat and I have always wanted to stop at the spring for water. Almost at the split in the highway to Victor or Cripple Creek there is a big tank to catch the spring water coming out of the ground. A rubber tube funnels the water into the tank and anyone can fill water jugs from the spout for free. Animals, including elk, deer, and all sorts of big critters can also benefit from the big tank, and of course there is water spilling from the constant flow onto the ground for the little ones. Got my three jugs filled and headed on into 
Then me and the doggies were off to Little Grouse Mountain for a hike to the spectacular vista of the Sangre De Cristo and Collegiate Peak mountain ranges. Storm clouds were building over the Collegiate Peaks and a heavy haze made the Sangre Peaks almost invisible against the cloudy sky, not worth stopping for pictures but the billowing clouds off to the west were kind of neat. I felt this one looked much more dramatic in black and white, the elimination of color seems to have cut through the haze better. By the time we got back to the bottom the doggies were satisfied and ready for a nap.
couple of free brews to wet my parched whistle before heading back over the pass to Woodland. As I cruised through Gillette Flats I thought I could make out some snow up high on Pikes Peak through the storm clouds… the first sign that the fleeting summer in the high country is nearing an end. Figured I’d take a better look when I got to Woodland with it’s good views of the north face. Sure enough, from the excellent vantage point in Woodland it was apparent that the first snow of the year had fallen down to about 11,000 feet on the peak. But when I went to my usual vantage point the best view of the snow wasn’t visible so I took a swing up Paradise and on up into Paradise Pines for a better view which paid off… it was the perfect spot. The north face of the big peak shows a little dusting but the most snow can be seen on the little peak, which might be Cheyenne Mountain, towards the middle left of the frame.
Then on my way down I could not believe my good fortune… two beautiful buck mule deer grazing in a meadow of wildflowers. Once again, extremely happy I had set my camera up for 
Photographer S. W. Krull Imaging 