Mountains or flowers?

What do you think is the best way to spend a weekend? Heading to the mountains for some wide vistas and fresh air or stopping by the Botanic Garden for some colorful beauties? And... please don't ask me, cuz I can't give you a simple answer... I like both options and often can't decide between them... And sometimes, like last weekend, I go to the mountains... Where I can stop at my favorite openings and enjoy a wide view of the valley down below...

 

You can stay there for hours watching the sun roll across the sky and the shadows move around and change the view... Love this place and always stop there even if only for a couple of minutes...

But this opening is just nice to stop by on the way somewhere else... and once you reach your destination, you can follow the trail and hike through the woods to see more mountain ranges in the distance...

The aspens are still green and lush and only start thinking about changing colors... And the snow still hasn't covered the mountain peaks...

But this Sunday we didn't plan to go far from town and decided to go somewhere closer... like... right, the Botanic Garden ;) And... as usual, we weren't disappointed at all...

But here you can feel like fall is coming... the flowers have changed and some of them don't look as fresh and nice anymore... that is what they call the wheel of life, I guess ;(

But others are still blooming and don't look wilted at all...

But... you can tell it's late summer now, not spring... Less wild colors and overwhelming blooms... everything looks mute and not so vibrant... more mature, I think, but also on its way to the end of life...

But... seeing this faded beauty is expected... it's just a different kind of beauty and we should appreciate it too...

The pictures were taken on August 17 and 25, 2024.