202: Old

(Old and rusty fence.)

This week’s WordPress Daily Post Photo Challenge is Old.  I could have posted a photo of me (haha), but I don’t consider myself old and certainly don’t feel old which is, I’m told, what counts.

Keeping the challenge theme in mind, I took a photo of an old fence while M and I were out on our 5k+ hike on Sunday.  I like to try to use new photos for challenges when I can.  Now that I’ve done that, how about a few from the archives?  Oldies of oldies, so to speak.

Red Rock Canyon. Colorado Springs, Colorado.

The thing about old is, there is old, and then there is really old.  Ancient old.  The earth, for instance.  It would fit the category of Old quite well.  Red Rock Canyon in Colorado began its geologic development about 300 million years ago.  It’s old.

Paint Mines. Colorado.

The Calhan Paint Mines in Colorado were used by Native Americans in prehistoric and historic times, so they doubly qualify as old (geologically and historically speaking).

They are also quite beautiful.  If you ever happen to be out that way, you should visit.  The hiking is fairly easy and you don’t need any special equipment unless it rains.  If rain should fall, be sure to have some insect repellent.  The mosquitoes out there can be quite vicious.  M and I were almost eaten alive by them while hiking back to the car in the rain.

This is the first time I’ve really gone through the photos I took at the Paint Mines.  I have a ton of them and hope to share more sometime soon.

Today’s Walk

I walked 3.4 miles today.  Not as much as I would have liked, but it’s been a full day and I have to spend time at that temporary job I mentioned in a previous post.  If I have time later, I’ll go out and see what I can add to that.

Old barn

I went by one of the many neighborhood barns.  This one has been featured here a couple of times in the past.  One of these days I’m going work up the nerve to knock on the door of the house of the owners of the barn and see if I can go inside the barn, or at least walk around the outside of the barn and take photos.

Old thistle

Weather-wise, we’re having a very pretty day here in the Bogs.  The sky is clear, the sun is shining, and the temperature isn’t bad.  In the 50s.  It’s breezy, as usual.  The breeze is carrying the scents of freshly turned earth and spring flowers.  Nice.

Sun peeking around the old locust trees

Sunset last night was really something to see.  Since I didn’t want you to miss out on it, I took a few photos.  A few too many, maybe, so I’ll have to go through and weed them out.

Old Sol setting

That’s the problem with going digital.  It’s too easy to take too many photos, which leaves me having to make a decision about what to keep and what to delete.  Sometimes the decision is easy.  Sometimes, not so much.

There was more death to be seen on my walk today.  I came across a beautiful red fox.  She was lying by the side of the road, apparently not for very long.  I’ve been taking photos of that sort of thing, thinking it’s a record of my year-long commitment, but I couldn’t do it today.  No particular reason why other than it didn’t seem right.

A very-much-alive black squirrel

Perhaps it didn’t seem right because it’s spring and we tend to associate spring with renewal, birth, life, and all that good stuff.  I suspect the early spring might be one of the most difficult periods of time for wildlife.  Some of them may have barely made it through the winter months or they may be just finishing off their winter stores, and there is still not a lot to be found to eat.

One of the side-effects of this outdoor commitment is that I am, without a doubt, becoming an old softy when it comes to the beings we share the earth with around here.  I want to somehow save them all, in some fashion.  That’s not practical, of course.  Or even do-able.

Maybe I need to go hang out with some farmers.  They’ll set me straight on the practicalities of life, death, and everything in between.

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