Impression Evergreen

Fall color on Rabbit Ears Pass I've been helping out with my 11 year old son's soccer team for six years now and it's been a lot of fun. Soccer is a great sport because it's a player's game. Once the whistle blows the action is non-stop with little or no interference from the coaches. The players are free to make their own decisions concerning positioning and ball movement. As the boys have grown older, my duties have evolved from tying shoes and wiping noses to shagging balls and picking up cones. Sometimes at practice, if the numbers aren't right, I have to jump into a drill and if I'm lucky I might even get to play in a scrimmage. I think the boys accept me like a teammate, I know I've grown very attached to them. We recently traveled up over Rabbit Ears Pass and down into Steamboat for a league game. It was a tough first half as our team constructed some good buildups and took great shots, they just couldn't finish. There were near misses, ...

"Canada Goose" Colored Pencil A Canada Goose bathes in the warm sunshine of an early spring day. Its reflection shimmers across the surface of chilly, Evergreen Lake. During the cold winter, the lake becomes literally an ice skating rink. When this happens the geese leave searching for a milder climate. They're not gone for long, though, because they are easily tempted back to even the smallest pool of open water. These elegant birds are delighted to swim about and graze on the local vegetation. A long, sleek, black neck and a black head with a white chinstrap distinguish the Canada Goose. The body plumage is colored with rosy beige and golden ochres. Because these large waterbirds are so common, I think their beauty sometimes goes unnoticed. The goose is loyal to family and will fiercely defend its territory. If threatened they are well equipped to handle the situation. The Canada's powerful wings are capable of delivering a blow of surprising force. Rarely ...

"Bergen Peak Summer" Colored Pencil On a warm summer day in Evergreen, Elk Meadow is dry and yellow. Weathered farm structures contrast with the fresh wildflowers. Bergen Peak provides a dark, green-violet background as low clouds drift across the shimmering, blue sky. At 9,200 feet, Bergen Peak is an Evergreen landmark. People don't describe this mountain as awe-inspiring but the views from the top are. Bergen doesn't attain the same status as a fourteener and some even dismiss it as just another gentle foothill. I've learned not to underestimate Bergen Peak because it can be quite defiant. The easy accessibility and excellent trail system make this park an Evergreen hot spot. In the summer, the trails are filled with hikers, trail runners, mountain bikers and horseback riders. The resilient mountain takes a beating from the heavy usage but if you're not careful it will bite back. I've gotten very sick from racing to the summit and I've taken...

Full Moon over Epcot It was a normal day, up early, off to work, pickup kids from school, soccer practice and supper. But that night was different, my wife announced those five famous words "We're going to Disney World." Wait...what? I know what you're thinking, so was I. How cliche, a family of four on the obligatory pilgrimage to the Mecca of amusement parks. What about snorkeling with penguins in Antarctica or that photography workshop in the Galapagos or studying the Old Masters at the grande museums in Europe? Not Disney World, the symbol for everything that goes against what I believe in. As a humble artist living in the Colorado mountains, I cherish simplicity, peace, morality and spiritualism. Disney World is about complication, confrontation, decadence and materialism. I'm a sensitive soul searching for answers to life's great mysteries, not a seasoned tourist on a frenzied quest for fun. Try and explain that to my two boys who were dancing hys...

"Stellars Jay" Colored Pencil Perched in a conifer forest at 8,200 feet, a solitary Stellar's Jay contemplates its familiar surroundings. Unassuming and reticent near home, this intelligent bird takes on a much different public persona. When on the search for food it reveals itself by squawking boisterously. Now bold and confident, the Stellar's Jay will bully the smaller birds away from its favorite feeding areas. This bird can become one of the forest's more raucous, year-round residents. When hiking, I've often found myself on the receiving  end of an unprovoked scolding. A striking appearance reflects the Stellar's Jay's obnoxious behavior. Its blue plumage is accented by dark bars of color, creating an interesting pattern on its wings and tail. A large, unkempt crest of feathers adorns the bird's head. From this distinct crest a beautiful gradient of dark Indigo Black blends down through the head and chest into the True Blue coloring of...

"Great Blue Heron" Colored Pencil Near the edge of a small pond, a Great Blue Heron remains motionless. It waits patiently for a chance to strike at its unsuspecting prey. I was excited to discover this large bird spear-fishing at Buchanan Ponds. It was like meeting up with an old, familiar friend. As a kid living in Western Nebraska the Great Blue was a common sight during our excursions on the North Platte River. If we interrupted its hunting foray, the irritated bird would let out a loud croak and then fly away to a more secluded area. This large heron’s plummage is an elegant blue-gray. Indigo and ultramarine accents on the back and wings glisten in the summer sun. The long, sinuous neck is slightly reddish and a beautiful white stripe is flecked with a black pattern. A white head is capped with deep blue and the bright yellow eyes have a dark outline. The sharp, yellow bill is a lethal weapon. Although the Great Blue Heron is common in North America, I didn’t re...

I'm drawn to water - lakes, ponds, waterfalls and especially rivers. Being near a still lake or reservoir has a peaceful, calming effect. I prefer rivers because they have an essence of ebb and flow. A wild river sculpts the land and is always changing. It's dynamic, constantly seeking a new course to carve its bed and flooding its banks to deposit fresh silt. A riverine landscape improves the scenery and offers the chance to study a wide variety of plants and wildlife. Throughout human history rivers have been the scene of important milestones. They have been crucial in determining political boundaries and defending countries. Most major cities of the world are situated on the banks of rivers. A river can be a great source of abundance or catastrophic destruction. As a result, people have developed ways to manage and control rivers to make them more useful and less disruptive to human activity. This summer we visited three rivers. The Rio Grande near Alamosa, Colorado, the...

"Red Fox" Colored Pencil Foregoing the comfort of a den, this red fox has chosen to sleep in the open on a bed of sticks and grass. The long, bushy tail wrapped around his nose acts as a warm cover. His red-orange coat is contrasted against the soft, blue-green background. In some corners of the world, the red fox is reviled and hunted as a pest. Not here, we find them friendly and their always entertaining behavior fun to watch. The resourceful red fox has adapted well to human environments and is now geographically widespread. From farms to suburbs, to the interior of big cities, its range has actually increased alongside human expansion. Usually nocturnal, we see them here at any time during the day. The kits are playful and seem more curious than frightened of people. The adults use creative hunting tactics that employ exceptional cunning and trickery. If strategy doesn't work then spinning, jumping and pouncing appear to be very successful. Because of their ...

"Mountain Lion" Colored Pencil Reclining lazily on a rock ledge, a contented Mountain Lion basks in the warm summer sun. It's interesting how much it resembles, in both pose and manner, a domestic house cat. But don't let its graceful nature fool you, this long, sleek feline is a fearsome hunter. The Cougar is probably the most dominant predator prowling the Colorado Rockies. It inhabits the Montane Zone staying close to its favorite food source, the Mule Deer. This king of the mountain beasts is beautifully robed in golden ochres and warm brown tones with a bleached underside. The face is remarkable, featuring various colors including a pink nose and vivid, green eyes. Dark black trims the muzzle and the always expressive ears. The black tipped tail is outrageously long and the paws are huge. I've never been lucky enough to catch a glimpse of one of these elusive cats in the wild but I know they're around. Wherever there is an abundant supply of deer...

The Awesome Walrus Guest post by Theo Miller It was the frosty winter of 2006 and snow was falling from the Northeast. A sudden flash of light came from behind me, then everything went black. When I awoke, I thought I was back home, but there was no wind, frost or even snow on the ground. When I turned around, I realized what happened to the snow... There was a 25 foot tall, glass window and people were watching me. There were little kids, old kids, smelly kids and teenagers taunting me. The parents were on their phones not aware that kids were dangling themselves over the wall, almost falling into my habitat. It looked like I was going to have the same day for the rest of my life. One day a child got pushed into my enclosure. I brought him to the glass wall and showed his mom. I climbed a rock and gave him to his mother. That was the right thing to do until I realized I was out of my pen. Now the chase was on! The Zoo Crew chased me to the San Diego beach. I used my swimm...