The weather in Denver last weekend was perfect for taking a lazy walk, dawdling lakeside, meandering around an old cemetery or enjoying a sightseeing, people-watching drive around the city.  Sloan Lake Park was sprinkled with folks leisurely strolling, energetically walking, healthfully jogging, racing around on bicycles or dutifully pushing strollers.  Kids were playing with bright colored balls and floating balloons on strings.  Games were being played on asphalt courts. Bits and pieces of conversations, carried along on gentle autumn breezes, could briefly be overheard .  Geese obliviously plucked at the still-green grass or enjoyed a dip in the azure blue water.  Two fluffy squirrels perched high atop a building’s rooftop ledge kept a nervous eye on all below.  The sun’s warm rays cast a burnished red on drying plants and tall cattails at the water’s edge.

The sloping hillsides of the historic Golden Hill Cemetery are scattered with aged headstones: some still standing tall, some leaning over with age, and still others toppled over.  The landscape seems long ago consumed by nature’s overgrown grasses, weeds and leafless trees. The stillness of the afternoon air provoked a certain melancholy.  Yet the quiet beauty of the late fall day was apparent – and appreciated.