Doug Beezley Photography | Colorado Wildflowers - Summer 2009
Summer in the High Country - the basins, the ridges, the valleys, the tarns, the cirques, the meadows, the rivers and streams - is more than mountain-sides of flowers or a lot of pleasing photographs. It's really about the experience with everything else secondary. Summer in the Colorado Rockies is brisk mornings, warm afternoons and afternoon showers. It's hummingbirds doing battle over a Columbine. It's the smell of firs, pines, and spruce and the chalky-white of aspen trunks. It's about night skies that glow with the stars and the Milky Way and crisp, clear mornings.
The summer of 2009 was, literally, the summr of a generation as far as wildflowers go. It all started with one of the more prodigous snowfalls in years that left behind water content exceeding 125 percent of historic averages over most of the state and snow packs that exceeded 150% of average in the prime wildflower environments such as those in the Crested Butte area and the San Juan Mountains of Southwestern Colorado. And, after the snow stopped, it started raining - almost every day in May and June. The result - a wildflower bloom not seen in several decades.
Summer in the High Country is about a state of mind and a renewal of spirit and soul. It's about growing and learning. It's not about photographs - they're just the reminders and a way to share the experience with family and friends.
The summer of 2009 was, literally, the summr of a generation as far as wildflowers go. It all started with one of the more prodigous snowfalls in years that left behind water content exceeding 125 percent of historic averages over most of the state and snow packs that exceeded 150% of average in the prime wildflower environments such as those in the Crested Butte area and the San Juan Mountains of Southwestern Colorado. And, after the snow stopped, it started raining - almost every day in May and June. The result - a wildflower bloom not seen in several decades.
Summer in the High Country is about a state of mind and a renewal of spirit and soul. It's about growing and learning. It's not about photographs - they're just the reminders and a way to share the experience with family and friends.
