I was surprised at how much I was drawn into working with Jen's collage papers. They've revived something that was ready to be revisited, I guess.

We had changed so much over our lifetimes, but others had not. They didn't want diversity, they wanted things back they way they used to be. They wanted their tribe at the feeder and not their competitors. We had learned about the threat of dictatorships, but they would be fine in one.

I was inspired and soon challenged by Jen's new Collage-ish papers, as I tried endless approaches to bring the teal color into the neutral set which I had split into four cards. I then recolored and added a floral Grunge 35 paper for the mango colors, and finally I added one of the pink collage...

Thanks for the challenge, Jeanne. I've been wanting to make something with the untold collection for a while. And I even managed to get your Christmas in there, although it sure seems early to me. :p

Each morning we'd get out for breakfast at NotchTop and a spin through the park. Then we'd spend the day watching the wind and snow or just the threat of snow. We loved all the Christmas lights in a place that would otherwise be just a bunch of dark cabins.

Thanks for the challenge, Claire. I expanded mine, a lot. :p I needed something to flow across the page, at least I thought I did.

I liked our place next to the river, but we didn't make our reservations early enough and the room we wanted was sold out. The cabins across the highway offered the same convenience except without the river view. I was happy that they attracted lots of birds and had pretty lights.

Thanks for the challenge! I'm a big fan of the ColorPlay releases. Here I used new collections from ET and Natali.

On Monday the park had at six to eight inches of new snow, and with a gray sky we studied a stretch of the river. Overnight ground blizzards blew away a lot of the snow by Tuesday morning, and the river was turning to ice in spot. It was cold and windy but we were glad we had at least some sun.

Thanks for the challenge!

On Monday, the number of Steller's jays at the feeder signaled that they were permanent residents. There was no sun to show off their iridescent blue feathers on that morning while it was still snowing, but I was happy to have at least seen a dozen of them just outside our window.

When we wore those long dresses, we knew what was expected of us. The fabric weighed down our steps, a gentle reminder of the roles we carried as steadily as the folds of the skirts

I didn't go wild with the buttons, but I think they're prominent in the title work. ;) Thanks for the challenge.

On Sunday, we watched as the mountains started to get socked in, and it was hard to wait when we knew 3-5" of snow was coming. We got to McGregor and settled in our cabin before the flurries turned to real snow. A magpie explored inside our Jeep while you were unloading.

I have Starry Nights on my mind at this time of year, so that's my inspiration.

My VanGogh conjured forth on this Dia de los Muertos, with respect.

We had record heat Monday, then the next cold front brought us snow and cold by Wednesday. It was the longest warm fall I could remember, with beautiful fall color, and I loved the flowers lasting all the way to the end of October. It looked like we'd have snow days for our trip to RMNP.

On Tuesday it was hazy again and with the cranes 150 yards away, the autofocus that I depended on was often not seeing enough contrast to make a photo. But the birds are so interesting, we'd watch and I'd keep trying. I was very thankful for amazing AI photo processing advances.

It was never easy to be ready for the fly by, while they flying away and gaining yardage by the second. But I knew my chances were better in those few moments when a whole group took off at the same time. Then the challenge would be getting them spaced far enough apart.

I had another female profile idea but I didn't want to use the woman in Jen's most recent bundle, "Inner Peace" because I'd already used her this week. So I went hunting for another profile and found this one. I hope she makes more of her women in profiles. They are definitely special for me.