subtle signs of fall in the desert 10/12/08

I board my 5 horses up in the mountains. Actually, I enjoy driving up there. It is a whole different world and mind-set up there. I found a wonderful lady who boards them. But she does more than that! She actually loves them! Thank you, Cathy! Anyway, here in the desert southwest, especially in the low desert, some signs of fall are late coming, if at all. There are some bottle trees that eventually lose their leaves and my cottonwood loses some of its leaves, but not all. Sycamore trees do shed their leaves, but I don't have a sycamore tree. It is easier to see signs of fall up in the mountains. At 4,000 feet, our local mountains don't have aspens, but they do have other trees that are turning colors. Here are some at the ranch where I keep my horses. This past week they had nights down to 33 degrees. The horses are getting their winter coats.