Welcome to the last Friday of October for this week’s edition of Nature Friday where we observed some urban Nature. As always, we’re joining our PNW pals, Rosy, Sunny, Arty and Jakey from LLB in Our Backyard.

While parts of the both Coasts were pounded by rain, the Mile High received a pittance of wet stuff and what did fall was more leaves than moisture. It was very windy for a couple of days so a lot of leaves are no longer on trees. I was determined to find any remaining color on yesterday afternoon’s walk and  was quite surprised at what I encountered. Care to tag along on a walk through the ‘Hood to see what we found?

First off, many trees still look like those in my yard. Green with brown edges. Even my two Locust trees are only slightly yellow, fairly unusual for this time of year. The Catalpa looks as if it’s still channeling summer. Its leaves mockingly stare with a look of disapproval when I pulled out the leaf rake. I think I heard it chortle, “Fat chance, lady-you ain’t getting rid us any time soon.”

Ok, big boy, but your day will come…one way or another. Think wet snow, dude. Many oaks I’ve come across look similar but not nearly as arrogant as the Catalpa. I think they’re just trying to figure out what the heck is going on this autumn.

As I wandered about, I was determined to find some colorful trees. And I wasn’t disappointed. Looks like it pays to take different routes on occasion to see different landscapes. Ahem…you hear that Elsa…Miss Can’t Possibly Deviate from the Route” walking partner. I feel rather foolish for kvetching about a lack of color on our daily walks. I stand corrected, Mother Nature, with my apologies.

While this maple had a lot of green on it, there were a fair number of red mixed in on the lower branches.

This maroon beauty was especially pretty even in the shadows of a corner lot.

There’s nothing I enjoy more than a long autumn walk on a clear day. We’ve been blessed with lots of those trademark Colorado bluebird skies lately and they stand out in between colorful leaves.

Colorado’s rising COVID numbers may be depressing, but receiving a healthy dose of Vitamin D daily helps keep the spirits up.

Turning onto a new street, this red beauty practically screamed at me.

At least it should be easy distinguishing fallen leaves on the ground from brown grass and leaves as shown on this nearby sidewalk.

A detour over to Sloan’s Lake shows how clear the skies were yesterday. The downtown skyline gleamed.

While on my walks, I’ve been noticing Halloween decorations. The neighborhood has really gone all out. My favorite house that I pass every day has a colossus skeleton, a dozen life size skellies, and a dog skelton (they are the people who had the gigantic Aragog spider that I featured earlier). Yesterday they had added 3 vultures overlooking their fence. Earlier in the week, the colossus was engaged in a game of tug-o-war (see on our Instagram feed) with the skellies. These folks must have a great sense of humor. I always laugh at their latest arrangement with the decorations.

People seem to be embracing costumes too. This local pup was dressed in prison stripes behind bars of his yard which made me giggle. “Louie” was not amused by my response and barked ferociously as I passed.

It’ll be interesting to see if any Trick-o-Treaters will venture out this weekend. The weather is set to change here with rain/snow showers starting Sunday evening. Typical Colorado weather for Halloween. I’ll be prepared just in case some fool trick-o-treaters decide freezing is worth a piece of candy.

What are your plans for the “Howl-oween” weekend? Staying in or going out? Whatever you do, we hope there’s some outside time taking in all that Nature offers us when we only take a moment to look. Stay safe but have fun.

Live, love, bark!  🐾