Golden, Colorado has really impressive open space and trails. While I was there for a month for a temporary work assignment, I got to go hiking right out my door almost every day on a mesa that looks into Denver, Boulder and spans the front range of the Rockies, and is home to coyotes, deer and plenty of other wonderful wildlife smells for Bon. These bushes were so delicate and pretty that I had to get a closeup of them, with their sporadic paper circles that shimmered in the light.  Free parks, plenty of open space, well-developed trail systems – Jefferson County offers a lot to its residents. Preserving space and land is something I wish the east coast would learn to at some point.

And here I was worrying about missing the snow by living on the east coast? Ha! I love the way snow looks, I love how you can play in it, I love how my dog loves it. But I don’t love how the DC area is not prepared to deal with it, so I don’t expect to be able to drive for at least a couple days, given that it’s not supposed to stop falling til tomorrow evening. This normally wouldn’t be an issue, but I have stuff to do. I’m on my way to Colorado next week for a temporary work assignment, for which I’m totally stoked. It’s funny how things just fall in your lap sometimes. But I guess for now I’ll just catch up on my reading and play with “Bon Hiver,” nickname number 11 for  the snow-addicted canine princess.

I’m really happy to say that my photo of elk running through Mountain Village in Telluride, Colorado has been published to Patagonia’s “Freedom to Roam” campaign. Protecting wildlife corridors is a critical environmental issue and I’m proud that my work has done a small part to raise awareness. Having lived in crowded suburban and city areas and remote mountainous regions, I’ve seen wildlife corridors damaged and invaded upon in each place. This balance between human life and wilderness is very fragile, and as I examine my work more closely – both written and photographed, I’ve begun to notice that it is the central theme of everything I do, whether I knew it at the time or not. Be sure to check out Patagonia’s campaign and do your part to help.