Barbara Lawlor, Peak to Peak. Last Thursday's snowfall was barely an inch and in most places didn't even stick. The fog rolled in during the day, the temperature dropped, and moisture took on a solid form, greeting mountain residents in the morning.

Smart mountain residents brought in their plants or covered them, prolonging their fall beauty until the next frost. Other residents woke up to sad, humbled sunflowers, their golden crowns tipped with white. Aspen leaves took on weight and bowed to the ground; frozen grass leaves made criss-cross patterns. Geraniums turned liquid and hung limp from their stalks.

Heartier plants like squash, pansies, petunias, and most perennial plants survived, their petals reaching for the next day's sun.

Some of the foliage is gone, some remains; the snow was a harbinger of the leaf season now just beginning.