I've had this trip with friends to the Rockies planned for months, am happy I can be here, but it's an adjustment.  

I came from the swamps of northern Virginia to 11,500 feet of dry Rocky Mountain air.  

The contrasts are delicious.  

A few days ago Tara and I were lounging in a kayak in the sun soaking in the summer heat. Yesterday we were hiking in a snow squall, sliding off the hard-packed snow into melting snowbanks.  

Last week I started setting up for the hummingbirds. This morning it was 23 degrees and I'm wearing everything I packed.  

Today we'll again hike up on the pass, wearing down coats, hats and gloves. I'll be back in the steamy woods of the mid-Atlantic shortly, most probably trying to remember the feeling of biting wind and lashing snow against my face.  

Robert Frost said he could summarize life in two words: "It changes."
 

iTunes podcast here, online listening here, stitcher here, and Jonathan’s YouTube channel here.