Falls Colors Fade Out, Winter Fades In
As the cloud ceiling receded off of El Salto this afternoon, they revealed the encroaching snow line on Taos Mountain. Less than 1500 feet above me, the reality that winter is almost here is setting in.
The Snow Line Approacheth
For several days the clouds have hovered just above the house, between 9,000 and 10,000 feet. New Mexico's highest peaks seemed to grab on grab on tight and held them in place. In the mornings, it created a strange gray shelf that extended out into the valley where I could see the sun shining on the mesa.
As we got a heavy shower of sleet yesterday afternoon—our first frozen precipitation of the season here at 8,400 feet—I was envious of the heat being provided on the mesa. It had to be a good ten degrees warmer down there. But despite the constant cloud cap, I have yet to see the snow fall here. The forecast indicates that may change in the next 24 to 48 hours however, as the snow line is expected to creep down to 7,000 feet tomorrow night.
So when the sun started shining in the window this afternoon, I took the camera out and snapped some shots of the last colorful hints of fall fading away into the bleak black and white tones of winter. You can see all the shots I added today starting here. I hope you enjoy them as much as I enjoyed taking them.