An American Robin keeps a watchful eye while perched on an aspen tree branch near the Weller Lake Trailhead on Independence Pass one morning in late April.
Spring officially sprang on March 19 — some seven weeks ago — but the Roaring Fork Valley often arrives late to the annual second-season party. There was, in fact, a healthy dose of winter weather early Monday as a cold and driving rain, sleety snowfall, gusty winds and cold temperatures passed through the Aspen area in the manner of an unwelcome visit from an annoying relative.
Still, recent weeks have given us more than a few days of sunny skies and short-sleeve temps. And while a great number of burned-out service-industry and professional workers have bolted town over the last three weeks for destinations known and unknown following a long and hectic winter tourism season, the annual exodus has been offset by the emergence of various critters just about everywhere you turn.
Aspen Daily News photographer Jason Charme, in his daily trips across the valley in search of news and feature photos, took the time to train his eyes toward the many outdoor visual prizes who have awakened from their winter hiding places. Here are some examples of what he found.
Two ducks find refuge in the waters of Aspen’s John Denver Sanctuary on the cusp of May.
Deer graze on a residential property off McLain Flats Road last Sunday morning.
A Great Blue Heron relaxes along the Roaring Fork River in Carbondale in late April.
A donkey and its foal share a spot in a field off of Emma Road in the midvalley in late April.