Impression Evergreen

Painted Lady Butterflies During a sunny Saturday while searching for the elusive Genesee bison, a seemingly insignificant insect stole the show. In one day, we must have seen a thousand painted lady butterflies perched on purple thistle and yellow rabbitbrush. The painted lady prefers the warmer climate associated with the desert southwest and Mexico but after an especially wet winter, they have migrated north en masse. During the hurried return south this fall, their population has exploded. Fueled by favorable weather conditions and abundant food, they are churning across the American landscape like a cloud of orange smoke. This rare phenomenon is one of nature’s great spectacles, containing an air of mystery and unparalleled beauty. As for the beasts, we found the buffalo grazing peacefully on a steep hillside near the forest’s edge. At one time, more than a million of these impressive animals roamed without hinderance across the vast Great Plains. With their numbers gr

Dispersing clouds over Bergen Peak On an early morning in Colorado's Front Range foothills, Founders Trail was blurred in a haze of smokey fog. Dawn broke dark and cold because the sun's warm rays struggled to reach the earth's shrouded surface. As the day progressed, a west wind was funneled through the pass, dispersing the clouds into tufts of transparent mist. The bleak atmosphere was fractured and translucent beams created a curious pattern of dark and light across the orange meadow. With the low-lying areas swept clean, only the mountains were embroiled in a tussle with overcast weather. Big peaks braced for action as they pierced the gray blanket while crowning a landscape reminiscent of the Lord of the Rings . Look closely and you'll see that Mother Nature is making slight changes that are fueled by the rhythm of shifting seasons. Autumn is approaching just as gradually as the last storm that has now receded. About the same time that the cyan sky bro