Fall in the Bosque

The Balloon Fiesta has ended, and our unusually warm temperatures

are expected to drop tomorrow. With the beginning of fall several weeks ago,
I wondered if the leaves were starting to change along the bosque 

(forest along the Rio Grande).

The leaves on the smaller and medium sized trees are turning yellow.

So, we went for a walk on the trailhead with the log sculptures

to see more of the fall colors.

One thing I sadly noticed is that the tops of a few wing pieces

on the eagle seem to have broken off.

The eagle's face looks sad!

I hope that they will be repaired.

One experience I had on this outing

was in working my new camera. It was on "auto",

but I am still learning if other settings will work better for different situations.
Not every photo turned out the way I would have preferred,

but it was a learning experience.

I love how beautiful the fall leaves are,

but I also appreciate how the larger trees are still green.
There will be more leaves to watch change color!

This trailhead is a special place because the log sculptures

were created after firefighters had saved the surrounding

property from a fire that burned through the night.
They are remembered in the firefighter figure.

The cottonwood tree next to the firefighter

was covered in cottonwood pods in July.
It now has leaves turning the yellow of fall.

Our other favorite log figure is La Llorona.

La Llorona is a figure in old stories. She haunts the river

at night, looking for naughty children to put into her bag!

The sunflowers next to the arroyo have died and turned brown,

but they are still worth photographing.

This arroyo is an irrigation ditch.

It is not the Rio Grande.

On the other side of the arroyo, there were more trees

turning fall colors.

We enjoyed getting out and seeing this moment of fall!

It is coming along....