As the year is winding down, I am sharing a few more photos. They either show favorite places, or activities, and have not made it into my previous posts. I am trying to embrace the motto expressed on a historic clock in downtown Colorado Springs: Dum Vivimus Vivamus. While we live, let us live.
I hope you had a good 2016, and I wish you happiness, good health, and peace for the coming twelve months.
JANUARY

Snow Mountain Ranch, YMCA of the Rockies, near Granby, Colorado. Our preferred destination for Nordic Skiing.

My favorite view in Garden of the Gods, Colorado Springs, Colorado. January is often snowless along the Front Range.
FEBRUARY

Snowshoeing at Mueller State Park, Colorado, with view of the Western Mountains.

Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum.
MARCH

Pasque Flowers, some of the earliest bloomers in Colorado’s foothills.

Heavy spring snow along Colorado’s Front Range. I wonder how the Pasque Flowers fared. And I hope the birds will find enough to eat.
APRIL

Blooming white crabapple tree and Barker House, Manitou Springs, Colorado.

Blooming pink crabapple tree at Evergreen Cemetery, with view of Pikes Peak, Colorado Springs, Colorado.
MAY

Yellow Warbler. By virtue of its location at the border of the Great Plains and the Rocky Mountains, the Front Range is a haven for migratory birds in springtime.

Spring brings new generations of Cottontail Rabbits into our neighborhood.
JUNE

Manitou Lake with view of North Face of Pikes Peak, Teller County, Colorado. The snow has not been gone long at this elevation (7,700 feet).

Great Blue Heron at Heron rookery near Manitou Lake.
JULY

Colorado Blue Columbine (Aquilegia caerulea), our state flower. June through August are best for viewing wildflowers in the mountains.

Mariposa Lily (Calochortus gunnisonii).
AUGUST

View of the Front Range during a typical afternoon thunderstorm from the plains east of Colorado Springs.

Clark’s Nutcracker in an aspen tree in the mountains of Colorado.
SEPTEMBER

Fortuitous photo-op during sun- and birdrise.

Black-tailed Prairie Dog. This iconic rodent of the Great Plains often is the victim of development.
OCTOBER

City Hall, Auxerre, France. During my trip to Europe, I visited my best friend and her family.

Auxerre is situated along the picturesque Yonne River.
NOVEMBER

Landscape of my childhood. Rhine River with fall colors, Germany.

More fall impressions from my dad’s hometown in Germany.
DECEMBER

Frosty view of Pikes Peak from the deck at Fountain Creek Nature Center, south of Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Virginia Rail in Fountain Creek Regional Park.
Click here for the German version/klicken Sie bitte hier für die deutsche Version:
https://tanjaschimmel.wordpress.com/2016/12/28/das-jahr-in-photos/