Autumn in Eddyland!!!

This morning I noticed an old friend was back and I had to take a picture of it's (very) short-lived glory.

We call this our candle tree because it is so tall with absolutely no branches or leaves until the very top, making it look just like a birthday candle. I'd guess it to be around 60 feet tall. It is an aspen tree and this time last fall Ari and I had just come home from my surgery and post surgery stay with my Parent's. It had been nearly six weeks since we'd been home and here, right outside our living room window, this little tree was waiting to welcome us back. My sister Jessica had come up to stay with me and help for that week. She and I called it our candle tree and we fondly watched it turn bright yellows, firey oranges and reds, and suddenly, all in one windy day, it lost all of it's leaves just like some one had blown the candle out. We made sure to make wishes! : )

It is so gorgeous up here this time of year! The aspen leaves are spectacular, these intense splashes of color against the dark grey mountain faces, some of their peaks sprinkled with the stark white of freshly fallen snow. Creation literally takes one's breath away around here. I am forever choking back tears and singing praise and glory to God for the beauty He has given us to enjoy. At times I feel like this particular tree, this flower, or the way the sun is highlighting a certain mountain peak for just a few breif seconds, I feel like God did this one little show of His glory just for me, as if to say, "Hi, I love you and I haven't forgotten."