Fall is over

We went back to the cabin today, after more than a month -- I think our last visit was September 1st. Rocket Boy was afraid that pipes would have burst (because he hadn't turned off the water yet), the cabin would be surrounded by several inches of snow, the roads would be icy...

They weren't. None of that had happened. But fall, or at least fall color, is over. You can see the cabin from the road now.

When we were here a month ago, the aspen were just starting to turn yellow. Now their leaves are dead brown, or simply absent.

And even though there was no snow (obviously), and it was warm in the sun, the beaver pond was almost frozen over.

Baby A and I worked hard to try to find a flower, but they are all gone.

Still, I can't complain. I've seen the aspen at the cabin blazing with color in years past, and I'm sure I will see them like that another year. This just wasn't our year (in many ways). Boos had no idea what they were missing and so did not mind at all.

We saw beautiful fall color on the way up (Kenosha Pass is still gorgeous). And as I said, it was warm in the sun. We spent another peaceful afternoon inside the cabin -- but with the sliding glass doors wide open -- reading (me), playing with the old toys (boos), and "playing chess" (again boos -- I would have nothing to do with it, even though they tried to get me to arbitrate).

And when Rocket Boy and I went for a walk down to the pond, I saw magpies!

There is a magpie in that picture, if you look closely. My camera's not good enough to catch one flying. I called to them to be more photogenic, but they were doing their own thing.

We had dinner at the Brown Burro in Fairplay, but I noticed a sign posted with "Winter Hours." After today, they'll close at 2 pm on Sundays. The South Park City museum in Fairplay closes on October 15th. The town seems so quiet. You can hear winter's footsteps approaching.

We won't visit the cabin much more until next spring, so I'm glad we could make the trip today.