Our Littleton farm sits on the west wall of the South Platte Valley, less than a mile from the scenic floodplain and several miles from rugged canyons of the Front Range foothills; within an hour's drive, we can explore mountain forests and alpine tundra. Despite these magnificent nearby ecosystems, it was just too nice to leave the farm today.
Sunny skies, warm temperatures (low 70s F) and a gentle breeze kept me on the property where autumn colors now adorn the landscape. While the farm maintains itself at this time of year, I managed to find a few chores to address and otherwise potted around our three acre refuge. I wasn't alone; the calls of magpies, flickers, blue jays and collared doves echoed across the farm, chickadees and bushtits twittered in the hedgerows, cottontails scampered across the drying pastures, our lone spotted towhee scratched in the leaf litter and flocks of robins fed in the junipers, not yet having to compete with wintering solitaires and roaming flocks of waxwings. Even fellow humans likely peered down from above as a parade of commercial airliners drifted NNE toward DIA.
My decision to hang out on the farm was also influenced by my shortened visit. While I usually stay for weeks or even months, I have plans to visit friends in Dallas on my return journey to Missouri and will thus be leaving this weekend. More on that side trip in the coming days.
