Wrapping up 2023 with all of you and the Life in Nature column, and hoping everyone had an enjoyable year of my ramblings from our grand back yard! It has been incredibly heartening to hear your comments and compliments regarding the articles when I see folks in public. It makes me quite happy to know the writings are so well received.

We covered a lot of ground this year, from sledding foxes to a multitude of moose on the loose, a sprinkling of meteorology and geology, autumn adventures with Kickstand and the rest of the elk up in our “north 40” (Rocky Mountain National Park), and a little kitty PSA! Nature always has a story to tell, it just takes a patient ear to hear the tale (or lessons), and I am grateful for your patience with me.

As I look back at those lessons and tales, I am inspired and look forward to the upcoming new year of adventures and knowledge to be gained by time spent in this great gift we have as a backyard. While I’ve certainly covered a good bit of ground over the last quarter century, there are always new paths, new lessons and a host of wisdom to be gained (and shared).

I hold hope that you can take some of these lessons and knowledge and get out and appreciate your own paths, wanderings, and ramblings in nature. Stop and take some time to hear the tales our wild neighbors have to tell for yourself. I promise that if you have the patience and the presence of mind, you will hear tales you never dreamed of. From the chatter of the birds and the squirrels in the treetops, to the mighty calls of our majestic elk, to the whispers of winds and waters, the story is always changing and growing.

As I write, we are in our second day of winter, and having crossed over the darkest day of the year we are also on our second day of gaining more light every day as the sun begins to once again creep farther north. From the perspective of photography, this makes me quite happy, as it provides more time to be out and about in our forests with our wild neighbors, capturing images to share with you all. While we still have the main brunt of winter to get through, I am excited to get out and get after it, especially enjoying the advantages of a little Christmas present for Life in Nature and the rest of the photo business in the way of a new camera!

Since you will be reading this on December 28 or later, I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas, Hanukkah, Kawanzaa, or however you chose to celebrate the season. And I wish you the very best New Year’s Eve! As seen in this week’s image, I give you all a thumbs up from my heart and our own little slice of the great Continental Divide, and can’t wait to see you all for an amazing 2024!

For additional information about James DeWalt Photography, check out https:// jamesdewaltphotography.com.