I worked on a big project in Phoenix at Sky Harbour for several years in the early 2000s (had an office/apartment down there for the last year). Those "hellish" temperatures absolutely changed me, because elk hunting in 10-below zero in December here never used to bother me...but it certainly does now.
Speaking of slanting light...
This was the very last day for me up there in 2024, an early afternoon hunt on October the 31st.
My very last bird of the season...
with it's crop examined, birch leaves, buds and seeds
You hear people talk about "drumming logs" in the grouse woods (?), well here is a stellar example.
It snowed hard there two days after this, but I was on the road home to Denver.