Now the Day is Over

We had spent the day driving up along the Cimarron River east of Montrose, CO searching for fall color.

One area that especially intrigued us was a couple of small lakes located up a short 4WD road near Silver Jack Reservoir. We had reserved the evening “golden hour” to visit the two lakes to see what photos we could capture. Arriving with about an hour of light left before the sun set, we hurried to the first lake, took a number of photos and then hastened on to the next lake which lay about a half mile away along a trail with cattle grazing nearby. By the time we arrived at that other lake, we only had about fifteen minutes of direct light left so we quickly set up, took some photos, then returned to the first lake thinking we were done for the evening. But even with the direct sunlight gone from the lake and the aspens, we were still stunned by the beautiful color and the luminosity of the changing aspens, even without direct illumination. They seemed to glow all on their own and so, we continued to take several more photos as the evening turned to night.

There is a beautifully written hymn by Rev. S. Baring-Gould, an Anglican priest, and composed by Joseph Barnby, the title of which we have borrowed for this photo. Here is the first stanza: “Now the day is over, Night is drawing nigh; Shadows of the evening, Steal across the sky.” Another stanza reads: “Jesus, give the weary, Calm and sweet repose; With thy tenderest blessing, May mine eyelids close.” May the beauty and color of this scene help bring you “calm and sweet repose.”