December 2010 Free Desktop Wallpaper Calendar

December 2010 is almost here. And if you are like me you are busy with all the preparations to make your holidays special. I hope that my wallpaper calendars make your life a tiny bit easier and fun. I wish you much joy and happiness each and every day. Happy Holidays!

download your free desktop wallpaper calendar for December 2010 here

Easy Instructions
After clicking on the above link
you will be at my Flickr page. Simply click on
"Download the Original size of this photo."
The file will then download to your desktop!

If you have enjoyed this year's desktop calendars you may also like the 2011 Landscapes of the West Wall Calendar. Most of the images you have enjoyed this past year are included in this handy wall calendar where you can save all your important dates. Each photo is featured in beautiful glossy full color. This is a limited printing of twenty and each calendar is signed. Click on the link below to find out all the details and purchase your copy today.

2011 Landscapes of the West Wall Calendar purchase information

Etsy JulieMagersSoulen

Playful Dogs in the Snow

Dog play is one of the most fun things in the world to watch. And when the weather is cold and snowy my two dogs seem to enjoy their outing even more. It all starts with an invitation. You see, dogs have a language all their own. When a rump goes up with tail wagging and then the dog bows it means "let's play!"

Dulcie "play bows" to Rob.

Rob is only too happy to oblige and leaps toward Dulcie.

Now they are both leaping and running in joy.

Dulcie pulls rank with her elder status and calls it quits.

Rob gets back to business, tracking bunnies!

Etsy Buy Handmade JulieMagersSoulen

Eagle in the Mist

Winter's breath frosts the landscape outside my window in every shade of white. Snow is lightly drifting falling floating from the sky. Fog creeps slowly through the pines whispering murmuring calling me outside. I can not resist. I love the softness of the world. I bundle up in layers of soft billowy sweaters. Camera in mittenclad hands I step forth from the porch. The dogs race ahead as I wander down the little trail away from our home.

The snow crunches under my heavy boots. I pass by tiny frosted firs glimmering in contrast to the fog shrouded dark pines, and head toward the saddle, a low point on the connecting ridges. With steaming breath held I watch as a single solitary bald eagle appears out of the foggy mist like a ghost bird and silently disappears. Our mission seems accomplished. With frozen fingers and paws, we return home to our warm cabin on the hillside nestled in the tall pines.

Frosted Pines
Chilling and frigid arctic air envelopes the tiny frosted fir tree in a northern Colorado pine forest.
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Eagle Pines
A snowy mountain hillside shrouded in a cold fog is the home of an American bald eagle.
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Cabin in Pines
A cedar sided cabin is perched on a snowy slope and nestled in a pine forest of northern Colorado.
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Etsy Buy Handmade JulieMagersSoulen

Natural Objects of Art

Nature is my inspiration. Do you remember when you were a child and every little flower and bug in your backyard fascinated you? It is still that way with me when I allow it. That is when I pull out my camera and recapture the natural world of my childhood. My recent photos have sparked a debate in my family as to which one is the "best" or a personal favorite. Tell me which one you prefer.

Mahogany Winter
A mountain mahogany bush with its russet winter leaves contrasts with the soft tones of a fresh snow in Colorado.
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Winter Blues
Bare winter branches thrust up through the snow in a spot of sunlight filtered by green pines.
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Frozen Granite
A large snow covered granite boulder shelters a lone golden stem of mullein, a remnant of summer past.

Etsy Buy Handmade JulieMagersSoulen

Tracks in the Snow

It has been a busy weekend on our mountain top. I love to go out after a fresh snowfall and see who has been out and about. Today the traffic has been heavy. I saw the tracks of deer, a solitary bobcat, numerous bunnies, and the tiny tracks of a forest deer mouse. Do you find their scampering tracks to the tiny hill as humorous as I do?

Mountain or Molehill
Tiny tracks of a forest mouse venture out to explore on a sunny winter day. Is that a mountain or a molehill?
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Bunny Tracks
A trail of rabbit tracks leads up a snowbank and into a forest.

Bobcat Tracks
The tracks of a solitary bobcat on a hunt wander into the deep forest undetected by man or mouse.

Etsy Buy Handmade JulieMagersSoulen

Abstractions in Winter

A winter's walk turns into a meditation. As I amble down the narrow snow banked lane the quietness of the forest seeps into me. The mind's chatter of the many things to do fall away and are replaced with an eternal moment. The common thorny brush turns into a work of art against the fresh snow. A single pine needle catches my attention and becomes center stage, highlighted by the soft glow of a winter sun. I pause and gaze at the beauty, my attention so totally focused on the pine needle that time freezes along with my breath.

Thorns in Snow
A jagged bare bush pokes through the fresh snow providing a contrast between the soft snow and sharp thorns.
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Solitaire
A single pine needle rests lightly on a bed of icy crystals producing a moment of zen.
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Etsy Buy Handmade JulieMagersSoulen

Happy Holidays to all my Friends

The holidays are here and it is one of my favorite times of year. I will be taking time off to spend with my family the next couple weeks. My Mom is visiting from Ohio, my husband has a little time off, and my daughter is with us. So I plan on playing games, taking long walks, baking cookies, and maybe even building a snowman. I wish each one of you a very merry and festive celebration with your loved ones and only the best for the coming new year. I will come back refreshed and ready to go after New Years. In the meantime, I hope you will accept this small gift of a desktop calendar for your computer. Just click the link and when you get to Flickr download the file. See you next year!

download this free desktop wallpaper calendar for January 2010 here

Easy Instructions
After clicking on the above link
you will be at my Flickr page. Simply click on
"Download the Original size"
at the top left of the page.
The file will then download to your desktop!

Etsy Buy Handmade JulieMagersSoulen

Sunrise Snow

Sleepy eyed I peeked my head out from under the warm covers. A rosy glow was painting the ponderosa pines outside my window a lovely blush. I slowly crawled out of bed and grabbed my robe. On my way to fix coffee I noticed that the room was flooded with the early eastern light casting pink glows and purple shadows across the room. Fortified with a cup of coffee I threw a coat on and ventured out into the front yard. Last year's dried flowers were pushing up from under a blue blanket of snow in the soft pink light of sunrise. I hope you like this wintry picture too.

Sunrise Snow
Last year's dried flowers look lovely under a blue blanket of snow in the soft rose light of sunrise.
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find out how to get a free matte for this photo here

Etsy Buy Handmade JulieMagersSoulen

A Mountain Home in the Colorado Rockies

The cold arctic air continues to dip down into the Colorado Rockies and sprinkle us with snowfall. One thing that is different for me from most people is that I live five miles from a paved road. Much of this dirt road is private and does not get plowed by any government entity. So anyone that lives on this road is responsible for keeping it passable in the winter months. My husband typically plows about a mile and a half of steep treacherous terrain with his sturdy Ford F150 and an attached snowplow. The other three neighbors pitch in for the remainder. That is another thing that is different for us. We really do rely on our neighbors.

Many of you know I live in a remote off-grid home and I thought I would share a bit of my lifestyle with you. There is too much to talk about in one post so I will try to mention just a bit at a time. If any of you have questions, please ask. I may even do a post about your question.

Stellers Ridge Snow
A winter wonderland of snowy pines greets me when I walk down my mountain top drive in the Colorado Rocky Mountains.
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Snowy Home
This is a textured artistic interpretation of my off-grid home on a snowy winter day.

Etsy Buy Handmade JulieMagersSoulen

Snowy Trees in a Winter Landscape

My boots crunched as I walked the dogs in the frigid morning air. Their breath puffed out in jets of steam as they charged ahead. The fresh snow outlined everything in lacy sparkling white. I had to pause and soak it in, the cold forgotten. I am the "Winter Girl." The cottonwoods on the valley floor remind me of old oil paintings of the romanticism period, with pastural meadows and large trees. It would have looked the same to a passerby one hundred years ago. My contemplations are abruptly ended by dog noses nudging me forward. It is time to continue our walk.

Mesa Cottonwoods in Winter
Snowy cottonwoods line a creek at the bottom of the towering western mesa pointing to a water source and creating layers of subtle color.
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Snowy Cottonwoods in Blue
The western landscape turns a subtle shade of blue under the intense azure winter sky and highlights the stark row of cottonwood trees.
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find out how to get a free double matte for this photo

Etsy Buy Handmade JulieMagersSoulen

Chickadee Snow Note Cards Set of Four

I woke up to a fresh blanket of snow covering the pine forest. After fixing coffee I went about my morning routine; build a fire in the wood stove, feed the dogs, and fill the bird feeder. All the little birds were huddled in the snowy boughs waiting for me to hurry up. There were lots of mountain chickadees, nuthatches, and stellers jays. One little chickadee reminded me of a holiday ornament he was so puffed up and round, so I had to snap a photo. Then I thought he would make a very cute holiday note card for sending those thank you notes. So I got busy designing and here is the end result. Hope you like him!

Chickadee Snow Fine Art Note Card Set of Four

No longer available for purchase.

Etsy Buy Handmade JulieMagersSoulen

Spring Snow on Stellers Ridge, Colorado

The snow that we were waiting and waiting for finally arrived. It caused major mayhem on the freeways and in town but on Stellers Ridge we were happy to see it.

This was a moderate snowfall for us. One that really did not cause us much trouble at all. One that we are very grateful to receive. So the snowplow came out of the corner of the garage at last and onto the F150. A path was plowed from the house to the saddle a third of a mile away where our street sign tells us where to turn. (If the sign looks out of place to you in the photo you can imagine how we feel about it.) And in the last photo, if you look real close, you can just make out our mountain abode at the end of the road. Drop in for a visit anytime. But be prepared to stay awhile if it snows.

Abstractions in Nature

Abstractions in nature always catch my eye. I'm always the first in my family to see wildlife and I think it is because I see patterns in nature. If there is an interruption in pattern it draws my eye everytime.

On a cold winter morning I happened upon the graceful feather prints left in the snow by a wild turkey flapping its wings. It took me a couple minutes to figure out what I was looking at but a nearby prehistoric looking footprint tipped me off.

Rose hips are a favorite subject of mine and the green background set them off perfectly.


























A summer walk along the Colorado River in Rocky Mountain National Park found a beaver pond just as the sky opened with a gentle rain.



























Woody stems from last summer poke up through the crusty snow to form shadows of an ancient alphabet.




















A Colorado blue sky framed by tumbleweeds catches the flight of a single raven.