Temple Turtle

I wish I could remember the story behind this turtle in a South Korean Buddhist temple, but I don't.

But it's still my Vintage Weekly post for the week.

Emerald Valley

Here are the last of my photos from Sunday's hike in the Emerald Valley area, off Gold Camp Road just west of Colorado Springs.

Near the beginning of the trail we found a ruined cabin.

We crossed a small stream a couple of times.

The fallen leaves made for a beautiful trail.

It was a lovely hike, and the photos qualify for both Scenic Sunday and a meme I don't believe I've joined before, Weekend Reflections.

Aspen Skies

For Skywatch Friday, here are a couple more photos from Sunday's hike in Emerald Valley of the aspen trees turning their classic gold.

By this time of year we could see snow any time.

Fall in Colorado

Fall has fully arrived in Colorado, as the aspen have turned. A five-mile hike on Sunday in Emerald Valley yielded plenty of natural beauty and photos, starting with a single tree surrounded by evergreens.

But there was more to see as we gained elevation.

And despite the drought which has stressed the trees, in places the trail had plenty of color.

And finally a meadow gave us great views of mountainside aspen groves.

That's my part of Our World Tuesday.

Temple Front

This week's Vintage Weekly entry shows the front of the temple I've been showing for the last couple of weeks. I like the contrast between the modern road and cars and the classic temple.

And it's definitely a vacation photo, which matches Tina's PicStory this week.

Outdoor Socks

Little Socks loves to go hiking with me, so I always take him. He frequently looks at me to make sure I'm there.

And he shows up well against a very bright background!

I'm linking this to the Camera Critters meme, and to one that's new to me, Pets Forever.

Stormy Garden Tree

Digging through the archives for a Skywatch Friday photo I found this one from January of a tree in Garden of the Gods on a stormy winter day.

Snowy Peak

We finally had our first good rain in months last week, and on our local mountain (Pikes Peak, elevation 14,110 feet, or 4,300 meters) it was snow.

So I went to Garden of the Gods on Friday morning to get some photos of the season's first snow.

And here are those photos!

It's my part of the Our World Tuesday meme - winter is coming.

Temple Eaves

For Vintage Weekly, here's a close-up of the eaves under a temple roof. This is scanned from a 1998 print.

San Luis Obispo Flowers

For the Scenic Sunday and Weekend Flowers memes, here is one of many beautiful blooms I noticed in San Luis Obispo this summer.

Sunday's Moon

Here's a photo I took specifically for Skywatch Friday on a hike on Sunday morning. I hope you like it!

I have several more photos from this hike whenever I can get to them.

Mountain Shadows Concert Bands

For Our World Tuesday, here are some photos of bands taken during the Mountain Shadows neighborhood concert a few weeks ago. There was quite the impressive lineup of local bands - this was Big Jim Adam who played a mean guitar and sang convincingly. I'll be looking for him in the future.

Phil Volan and Joleen Bell are well-known local performers and I was most impressed.

For some fine electric music, Aaah Real Monsters played some very energetic guitar-based rock.

And The Samples are a well-known regional band from Boulder - here's their lead singer. They were generous enough to stick around until the thunderstorm passed over, playing well past their allotted time, with many very dedicated audience members!

Many thanks to everyone for donating their time and talent, I heard so many positive comments wandering around the audience.

Rainy South Korean Temple

I think one of the themes that's arising from my one trip to South Korea back in 1998 is rain. Here's another rainy photo from a temple.

It's my Vintage Weekly shot.

Avila Seagull

I tried taking some seagull photos on Avila Beach and the pier, and this was my favorite as the bird posed beautifully for me and let me get quite close.

I'm linking this to Camera Critters, a meme I need to join more often, and to the I'd Rather B Birdin' blog too. It's the last of my beach photos from this year.

Summer Aspen

Looking straight up on a Colorado summer hike can be very rewarding.

This was taken on a hike up Mount Herman a few weeks ago, and it's an obvious Skywatch Friday post. Before long these aspen will be shimmering gold.

Destruction

While I was volunteering at that Mountain Shadows concert a couple of weeks ago, I had the chance to see some of the destruction from the wildfire. In places it's like nothing happened.

And 50 yards up the street you see what used to be a neighborhood.

Some of the scenes were surreal - here's something I saw on the sidewalk, a half-burned page from a book. How?

This is an unfortunate part of Our World this summer. And I'm stretching to make it work for Tina's PicStory's theme of I, "incredible destruction."

Pagoda

This week I'm starting another series of photos taken in a Buddhist temple in South Korea back in 1998. First is this huge pagoda on a rainy day.

More old photos can be seen at Vintage Weekly.