Susan at Garden Rant just posted photos from one of my favorite cities, Charleston, South Carolina, adding, “And all y’all gardenbloggers, I just LOVE seeing your nature- and garden-filled travel photos, so keep ’em coming.”
Well, anyone who says “y’all” can have what she likes. Here ya go, Susan, and anyone else who wants to see how Mother Nature gardens.

Aspens in Colorado
I wish I could take credit for the photos in this post, but they were all shot by my husband on a hike this week in Colorado. Unlike Austin, the Front Range of the Rockies is vividly autumnal. I’ve never been there in the fall, so I am definitely envious of his visit.

Wildflowers along Gray’s Peak trail
We saw lots of wildflowers in the Colorado Rockies back in July (see July 2006 for photos), but I didn’t know they’d still be blooming this late in the season. David shot this photo on his way up to Gray’s Peak, one of the “14-ers” (14,000-ft. peaks; Colorado has a lot of them).

Gray’s Peak in the clouds
Once you hike above the treeline, it obviously isn’t fall anymore but winter. A forbidding landscape, but beautiful.
After a summer like Austin just endured, it’s helpful to remember that there are places where summer’s grip is weak and Old Man Winter comes early. That sure would have sounded good a month ago (I’ll go pack my bags! ), but now I’m content to wait a few more weeks for Austin’s slow-as-molasses but glorious fall weather.