Friday, February 22, 2013

The Tenacity of Trees

Yesterday I had the great fortune of a mid-week personal day.  Thursdays Ammon doesn't have class, so we high-tailed it to our favorite ski resort.  We love it because my mom gets us free passes there, and it's close.  When you're living on love, those kinds of things are important.


Ammon finally got to try his new snowboard... my parents did a great job picking it out!

We lucked out with snow conditions... A light snow falling all day, no wind to speak off, good lighting, and 3.5" of fresh snow in 12 hours.



 What really impacted me the most, though, was the drive home.  I have made the drive up and down that canyon for 21 years now.  It is beautiful, and every time I make it, regardless of the season, I see something new, or something interesting strikes me.  Today is was the trees.

The lodgepole pine is the predominant tree around here.  They are so prevalent in our mountains that the pine beetle infestation is a real and major concern.  It could de-forest most of the state.  What I noticed today is how tenacious these giant pines are.  They grow out of the side of mountains, sometimes starting perpendicular to the ground and making a 90 degree turn to grow towards the sun.  They grow where there is little dirt, and where their roots often become exposed due to soil erosion.  The have to be able to suffer intense climate changes, the challenge of high elevation, drought, rain, snow, snowmelt, and flash-flooding... sometimes all within the same year.  They have to fend off beetles even after managing to persevere through each and every other obstacle.

It astounds me what these trees manage to do.  How they create a space for themselves where other trees will not go.  And even though the situation with the beetles is dire, the forestry experts say that the trees will eventually come back.  Once the beetles die off, and the old trees are cleared, the new ones will take root.  They will not give up.

And that is a story of the tenacity of trees.

9 comments:

  1. Just another reason why Colorado is amazing, and I need to move there. But only if you teach me how to snowboard, because I'm terrible.

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  2. aww I love this :-) what a gorgeous state!

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  3. I am SO jealous. It's pounding snow right now. and I work fifteen minutes away from THREE resorts. Life isn't fair.

    and those trees are awesome.
    stupid beetles.

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  4. Nature is amazing, isn't it? Thanks for reminding me to appreciate its magnificence. I've spent a couple of weekends lately in the snow, and it's been so nice, especially since I'm originally from a place that doesn't get snow. So when I'm in it, it still feels a bit like vacation to me. :) Glad you had a nice day off and hope you have a great weekend!

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  5. You are such a great writer. Loved reading this! And I love love love those Colorado trees!

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  6. Those are my favorite kinds of winter scenes, with snow all over the trees. It's lovely.

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  7. This is so beautiful. Colon and I went skiing in Flagstaff this weekend. The conditions weren't as amazing as yours, but we still had so much fun!

    I am glad you guys did too!

    Xo Lourdes

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