COLORADO!

 I will be presenting this short (under 10 minutes), slide show of our October trip to Aspen, Colorado to my camera club, The Capital Area Camera Club. Click on that link for the club's web site and information about us. We've got a really snazzy web site thanks to our Webmaster and club member, Tim True. My presentation is Tuesday, December 15th at about 7Pm at the Pine Tree State Arboretum in Augusta, Maine. It's free and non fattening! I hope you enjoy the slide show. It's full of scenic landscapes, wildlife and birds. For the full screen viewing option, click on the little rectangle between the speaker icon and the triangle icon on the bottom of the video screen. Remember to give it a minute to load (buffer) so it will play smoothly. Let me know what you think, too!  

Aspens

ASPENS are as beautiful as everyone told me that they would be. And what greater place to see them in their classic loveliness than in Aspen, Colorado? Magnificent swaths of ‘Colorado Gold’ spill into every valley offset by dark spruce and snow. The most wind sensitive broadleaf in the plant kingdom, they whisper, rustle and quake just as legend has it. The leaves begin to turn from green to shades of amber in September. By October, they are drifting through the air and piling on the ground like sparkling coins. The massive clonal colonies get their starts from single seedlings. The trees above the ground live 40-50 years, but the roots below live for thousands. Each tree is a clone of the rootstock below. For this reason, it's rare to see pink or orange Aspens in the natural world. In Utah, the Pando (‘Trembling Giant‘) Colony is believed to be 80,000 years old, the oldest known living organism on earth. Aspens are indicators of ancient woodlands; they are also climax trees. In forestry, this means the trees that naturally dominate after other trees have died off. Where avalanches plow down mammoth stands of spruce aspens take over. I almost climaxed myself seeing wave after wave of the divine trees. If I had gasped “WOW!” one more time, my jaw might have dislocated.

This is the best part of the road on Hagerman Pass which runs between Leadville and Basalt. It quickly turned to serious off-road ruts and dips. Thank God for the rental Jeep!

Every bend in the road where there was a creek revealed beaver activity. I've never seen so much beaver action in my life! They love the soft wood of the Aspens.

A rare stand of pink Aspens, photo taken on Hagerman Pass looking south 

A Cedar Waxwing in a field of gold