I thought I would post a few photos from our morning walk. I am going to think of all our beetle-killed pines as just changing color for the season. If I think of it that way they don’t look quite so bad.

Bella liked the boggy area of our beaver pond (of course).

The aspen trees in the bottom of our woods are thick and lush. Some of them are so big we can’t get our arms around them.

The little aspens on our “avalanche slope” (as we like to call the huge hill that collects snow in the winter) are changing.

Alex trotting up the road on the last leg of the walk.

Alex and Bella on the road at our driveway. Not sure if you can see them in this photo, but the dark trees on the mountain across the way are all beetle-killed. It has really spread since last year. In my blog header you can see the same mountain as it was two years ago.

beautiful photos, as always
but sad about the pines

That is terrible about the beetles!! Is the state doing anything to try to stop it? I’m so sorry! Other than that- it is still beautiful!!

Hi Letty, thanks! Yes, very sad indeed but we have to wonder that it’s all in nature’s plan. We will be interested to see what kinds of trees Mother Nature will think up to replace the ponderosa pines with.

Jess, they have tried everything and nothing works. All they can do is cut them down. The beetles will move on, to the east they speculate, when they are done destroying the forests of Colorado. It would seem they are unstoppable.

That is definitely an autumnal sky. Beautiful images, btw.

Fall comes early in Colorado, too?

Oh. The beetle kill has been devastating to so many places. Maybe we will have a cold enough winter to get to them this year.  Glad you are seeing the changing of color!  We were up at Chasm Lake yesterday and saw just a few. Nice to know you are in the ‘neighborhood’!