Wild Iris Loop - A Storm is Brewing

Wild Iris Loop

It's a warm, winter day at the Alderfer Open Space. The tranquil hike is a regular walk in the park. Eastward, long shadows are cast toward a trio of rocky crags while puffy white clouds drift across a clear blue sky. Known as the Three Sisters, the local landmark is gleaming in the golden light.

The evening's events are routine. Black crows gather in the yellow stubble while a herd of wary deer emerge from the dark forest. In the summer, this place is a lively meadow full of riotous wildflowers. In March, it's a bowl of broiling, back-built maelstroms that bury the foothills in heaps of heavy snow.

Out for a lovely stroll, everything in my little world is just fine until suddenly the landscape changes. My peaceful promenade is interrupted by a disruptive squall of winter stew. Heavy clouds descend onto the scene and the panorama of sweeping, white peaks melts into the gray firmament.

Caught in an eerie forest of lodgepole pine, the murky dusk gets dark in a hurry. Cold seeps into my aching joints and a merciless wind spatters my face with ice pellets, bringing tears to my eyes. With a congenital determination, I ignore the pain and proceed full-steam ahead. I must get home and prepare for the difficulties looming on the horizon. A storm is brewing.

Alderfer Open Space Park

Clouds drift over the Three Sisters

Mule deer emerge from the forest

It's a routine event

A lively meadow in the summer

Heavy clouds descend

White peaks melt into the firmament

A broiling back-built storm

Difficulties loom on the horizon, a storm is brewing

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