Autumn is Tiptoeing into the Rockies

We're back in the Rockies - our favorite fall vacation spot.  This morning as we drove through Big Thompson Canyon between Loveland and Estes Park I saw the first sign of Autumn.

 When we got into the park I saw hints...whispers...of color.

 The elk seem oblivious to the quiet creeping of the autumn yellows.

It's times like these that I wish I were a landscape quilter.  Or a true artist with color.  As beautiful as I find the colors of autumn it's the amazing colors that only God can paint that I so badly want to capture with fabric and thread....and know that I never could.

 Honestly, what fabric could you possibly use to replicate the silver sunshine of the water?

 I love the days when the skies are clear and the sun illuminates everything on the mountains and in the valleys, but the gray, misty days have their own beauty.  I bought a fat quarter of black yesterday that is mottled, similar to this backlit peak...but not exact.

 The rain slipped in and out yesterday and in between showers the sun pretended it was going to come out.  It hinted at what it might show us, and then quietly slipped behind another cloud.

But even in it's misty light you can see just a toe print of color here and there on the sides of the mountains.

Sigh.  Oh to have that creative talent...to be able to reach out and grab that beauty and put it in a quilt.  I'd love that.