December 30, 2025

Today I took off near noon and went walking by Sandy Wash Road. I went off the road and across a couple draws. Did about three miles was all. The elk sign in there is crazy. They’re all over. You’d think them being that low would mean they sense a bad winter coming. But, that’s obviously not the case. It was cooler today but still above normal in the mid 40s. Nikon P950

Badger Den???  I'll be back to watch it for awhile.

 December 29, 2025

Gunnison

Today we decided to head up Gunnison way.  We were hopeful to see some wildlife, but the warm weather and lack of snow made that a bust.  We did see two coyotes roaming but couldn't pull off the highway to get a photo.  It was pretty nice going - not much traffic.  That was not the case coming home.  It's getting less and less fun to get out and roam on the highway.  Nikon P950

 December 28, 2025

Exhilaration Rd. Walk

We didn't have church this morning due to the four services on Christmas Eve.  So, this afternoon I went for a walk on Exhilaration Rd.  I hadn't been on that road this winter so far.  It was a cool day - only 34 when I started.  The wind howled last night and yesterday.  The mountains got a little snow, but we didn't get anything.  What a strange year.  Anyway, the elk have been all over up there.  They are sure down low for this being a dry warm winter.  Nikon P950

 December 27, 2025

It was supposed to be stormy today 75% chance of rain. So I decided to walk at the river early. LOTS of people. It was windy and fairly cool when walking south. I saw a few birds though nothing different. As usual, the precipitation didn’t happen. They’d better get control of the beavers down there.  There were at least 25 trees that they cut down last night. Some were quite large. There is beaver activity all along the river. Nikon P950 

 December 26, 2025

Sunrise & River

The sunrise was gorgeous over the mountains this morning.  We were supposed to get a bunch of rain yesterday, but as usual it didn't rain a drop.  Warm again today and windy.  Mid 50s.  We took down Christmas decorations and then I did my usual ramble at the river.  It was a very good day!

 December 25, 2025

Christmas Day

The kids and grandkids are coming over for Christmas.  Sis has a cold, so she can't come.  Sharon is in Ohio with Heather.  And - Mom and Dad Lovato left us this year, so the day is a bit bittersweet.  So it's not going to be a full house this year.  The light on Horsefly was Christmasy this morning.  It was an unbelievable 58 degrees this morning when I got up.  Anyway, the light on Horsefly reminded me of the reason for this day.  The Light of the World - Jesus - came bringing us hope and abundant life forevermore!  Nikon P950

December 24, 2025

Changes starting today.  I've decided to get back to more simplicity in photography and in sharing photos.  I'm going to try to share at least one photo per day for the foreseeable future.  It may be from that day (as much as possible) or from the past.  Each photo will involve little if any editing - keeping it simple.  It's all about showing off God's creation - not any skill I or a computer program might have. OMD EM1 III

This was from a couple weeks ago up near Ridgway.  Since then, it's been way above normal in temps and way below normal in precipitation.  

 

 December 24, 2025

Walk At The River

We went to church this morning and this afternoon I took a walk by the river.  Did my usual 4.5 miles…sauntered today and soaked it in. Upper 50's.  Unbelievable how warm it's been lately.  We broke records for a couple days this week.  It was a nice walk.  Lots of people.  Nikon P950

 December 12, 2025. Friday

Another warm bluebird day in the low 50s. I walked 4 miles today up on the Sandy Wash Road. About a mile above the power lines there were elk tracks everywhere. Maybe they know a big winter is coming, so they’ve come low early. Maybe they just like that country as they were in there last winter too. I had fun taking photos of the vegetation and stuff. I’m surprised I made it 4 miles with as much stopping as I did. I took photos in just JPEG. It was refreshing to try to get everything right and not correct things in editing. Just like the old film days. 

Death of a tree.

New life of a tree.

December 5, 2025. Friday.

Wednesday and Thursday were spitting snow all day so didn’t walk outside or nuttin’. Today we went up to Ridgway and Ouray. The backroads were a slimy mess. They don’t seem to use gravel anymore, just dirt and mag. Anyway not much wildlife. There was a large herd of elk way out in a private field. When we got home I took a walk. It was cloudy and chilly. Love it…so much better than that heat stuff. But, next week we go back into high pressure and temps in the 50s. It’s mostly been drought and above avg temps since we moved to Montrose in 1997. 

 December 1, 2025. Monday.

We got our first snow last night…about 2”. That’s more than we got last winter. It’s quite late but better than never. I didn’t have to shovel snow as due to the warm concrete it only accumulated about a half inch which melted quickly. In the afternoon I went and walked at the river. It was very nice…slick in spots. Finally a few different birds are showing up at the pond…wigeons and Ringneck Ducks today for the first time. It was only in the 30s today. It felt so good to wear heavy clothes and a stocking hat. I’ve been waiting to do that since last winter. Panasonic G97