For most of you living at lower elevations fall and winter are a long way off. Here in the high country however subtle reminders that winter will be here before long are appearing.

A few years ago I asked an old timer from here what he thought the coming winter might hold. He replied:
"The only people who try to predict the weather around here are crazy people or newcomers-which are you?"
I smiled and said nothing but the truth was I was probably both-at least by his standards.

Over time I have learned that people all have their favorite indicators of the coming winter. These include: height of the skunk cabbage, size of ant hills, early changing of the aspens, crickets and mice inside houses. Grasshoppers, moss on trees and deer and elk coming down to lower elevations. The list goes on and on and on.
For me, more than anything it is we have had a couple of low snow years. This is usually followed by big snow. A three year cycle so to speak. As the mornings grow colder and the first aspen show yellow I think of the lifts spinning and my first day for this season on skis.

The summer grows short and the cycle of the seasons marches on. We should relish what summer is left and look forward to the coming changes.
Have a great week!