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Fall colors? Look no further than your own backyard!


 Last month we mixed business with leisure in yet another of our “bleisure” outings. Sometimes called “bizcations”, but either way it has become our regular practice as we squeeze in downtime in between meetings.  No surprises here, but as we continue to build our client base, as sole proprietors, there is no official downtime for the team at Pyalla Technologies, LLC. Then again, the flexibility this affords us with all the plans we make, we wouldn’t have it any other way.

You may recall in last month’s post that the focus of our downtime was the fall colors of north eastern America. Starting in Canada and then tracking down the coast all the way to Florida was considered the best way to see the deep reds of maples contrasted with greens and golds of adjacent forests. However, it was hard to become excited by the vista as a wet summer delayed the onset of fall. Only patches of red were on display and for the most part, they were anything but spectacular.

On our return to Colorado it was a different story. Long known for the colorful display of Aspens as they blanket the mountains in gold, it was the new neighborhoods surrounding us where the reds burst through. Landscapers have gone to great pains to ensure a mixed variety of foliage is nurtured and now, we have a spectacular array of maples of all types that lend an entirely new color to the traditional fall palate we know so well. Neighbors who have become recent Coloradans are surprised to find that there are numerous varieties native to the state.

With temperatures dropping daily and the first snowfall reminding us that winter is not far away, we still make the trek to our local golf course café for breakfast. More often than not, we drive but even so it allows us to take in the full scope of fall. Or perhaps, better said the fall scope in full! No matter, after sailing down the east coast of America, we are bearing witness of more color combinations than we were fortunate to view just a month earlier.  

This may be our front yard but its clear red has become our favorite color. The car that Margo fell in love with essentially, falling head over heels, just happens to be red with a slightly different shade of red for the ragtop. As the fall colors begin to fade it stands out and becomes just another element in the predominantly red landscape– after trading our beloved red Corvette a couple of years ago we thought we were done with red cars, but that turned out not to be the case.

However, there simply isn’t anything quite as enjoyable as carving up a canyon road in a convertible that emanates a distinctive V8 rumble.  Did we mention that in this configuration our beloved Jaguar all-wheel-drive and all is only a couple of horsepower down on our former mighty Dodge Viper? Amazing how tech continues to advance to provide creature comfort in a vehicle with extraordinary capabilities. Against a backdrop of fall colors it was tempting to forget that others would take in our Jaguar as we passed by and consider it as just one more shade or red to be enjoyed. 

There are still traditions to be honored even at this time of year when you can still tour with the top down. One of those traditions just happens to be the photo opportunity that we exploit whenever we drive Colorado’s Peak-to-Peak highway. A small roadside Catholic church – once visited by Pope John Paul II when he last visited Denver – always provides a great backdrop for any car we happen to be driving tempting us, as it so often does, to pull over for a snapshot.

Fall is not just a reminder to us of traditions to be maintained but rather, a timely intrusion into daily routines. There is Halloween to be celebrated followed by Thanksgiving. In no time at all we are planning our Christmas celebrations. Suddenly it isn’t just about the red so much as it is about the green as well and with the foliage always providing a green backdrop, this temporary splash of red is welcomed.  


From a splash of red across the vista to a splash of red in a glass! Nothing could be more inviting than to spend an early evening with a sip of wine. The days have shortened rapidly to where they are ending in total darkness. It’s not surprising to see this happen as we are well north of the equator. While not as far north as our travels to Alaska and Quebec have taken us this past summer into early fall, nevertheless for a young lad from Sydney, it still takes a while to adjust.

There is a line in a popular song celebrating birthdays that we like. It goes something like “Just one more candle and a trip around the sun.” We don’t necessarily have to wait for birthdays to be reminded of this perennial journey but then again, having lit sparkles at Christmas follows a similar line. A reminder of that constant voyage around the sun! With age may come wisdom but also increased frailties. While Margo and I have nothing too serious to be concerned about, every now and then we are reminded of where our true strengths lie and coordination may no longer be one of those strengths we have relied upon for so long.

And then there was a splash across the floor. You would think that unboxing a wine shipment from one of our favorite vineyards would be something that gives us both a lot of pleasure. However, the latest shipment left us dismayed. Yes, our wine cellar isn’t as big as the one in our former home in Niwot, but it still provides us with ample storage for a reasonable stock of good wines. Unfortunately, the builders never designed it for bottles of red wine – they need just a little more space to properly accommodate that supply of good red wine.

Disaster struck unexpectedly as bottles already put down in a partially filled cubicle suddenly let go as I added that one last bottle to the top of the cubicle. All told a number of bottles from Justin Vineyard met their demise on the floor below. Two were broken beyond redemption but amazingly enough, one bounced and remained intact. It was a Merlot and given that our good friends and neighbors happened to like Merlot, it seemed appropriate to hand-deliver that salvaged bottle and gift as an omen of good things yet to come. 

Look no further than you backyard? Well, how about across the street as yet one more new home takes shape. Unfortunately, fall is now giving way to winter. The reds are now a memento of past lazy days spent on our deck. Snow has fallen but fortunately, not to the point of being snowed in like the folks back in Buffalo, New York. I just read of how, in Biblical references, colors are used to convey messages. For instance, red is one of the most powerful colors as it addresses everything from life, blood, sin, flesh, to earthiness.

Life, it would seem, continues to challenge us all and if red is of such importance, then taking in the colors of fall is just a reminder that the trip around the sun represents little more than pulling pages from the calendar. When you are very young you look forward to counting up as you will the world to pass and for you to become older. Later in life it seems as though you are not enjoying the count down quite as much. And with that, let’s light that calendar, put the shortening days behind us and celebrate the arrival of perhaps the best of holidays any year has to offer.   








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