The East Troublesome Fire started off innocuously on October 14th, 2020.  Then about a week later it burned over 100,000 acres in one day.  Strong winds pushed it over the continental divide and onto the eastern slopes of Rocky Mountain National Park. Now it is almost 200,000 acres. It is funny that I've been photographing the same view from the edge of our neighborhood for years now.  It is fun to walk the mile from our house and admire the mountains.  Here are some pictures from Octobers. I never realized that I would be cataloging what the Park looked like before the fire.  We're back in Estes Park now, but our bags are still packed.  While the fire looks calm beneath the snow, we know that it is still smoldering and is just a strong windstorm away from flaring up again.  Can you spot the differences? Dates are in the caption. Click on any image for a larger photo.

There is a beautiful stone walkway that goes between our house and our neighbor's house.  Years ago, the two houses belonged to the same owner and this is a relic.  We have trail cameras at the base and top of the stairs, and it is fun to see who comes by.  Most of the time it is deer, but lately, the kitties are back in town.  No wonder Tiva is afraid of the dark!  (Note that the clock on one of the trail cameras is off -- it was only ONE mountain lion that walked by).  Enjoy!

Fall is when I love to touch up the house.  I paint, wash windows and generally clean up.  It is so nice to be outside when the weather is almost perfect.  On this Friday, I had to wait almost all day to get started because a herd of mule deer decided to nap in our back yard.  We marveled at how many trail camera pictures we'd get since one doe napped right in front of the trail camera.  All afternoon, we watched and waited as they dozed and chewed their cud.  Finally, a young fawn decided it was time to nurse.  We watched as he woke up his mom and demanded a snack.  The pictures we got on the trail camera ended up being priceless!