The Aspen Tree....

All photos in the last two blogs were taken in Placer Valley where I live

It has long been determined in my mind, that the Aspen Tree is my favorite tree. There's nothing like hiking through a thick grove of aspens, towering above you in the blue sky, leaves swaying in the wind. Aspen trees are part of the willow family and live in usually cool and dry climates, such as the mountains in North America. The leaves of the Aspen are unique in that they have flattened leaf stems that allow them to flutter and move with the wind, swaying and bending with ease. Aspens are derived from a single seedling that branches out into a massive underground root system that allows for groves of Aspen colonies to pop up and grow very quickly over terrain. They are very resilient trees, and can survive forest fires because their roots are so far beneath the earth. In Christian folklore the Aspen tree was said to be present at Christ's crucification and was the only tree that did not quiver.....thus depicting the endurance and resilience of the leaves and nature of the Aspen. They are God's beauty displayed in all their simpleness and survivability. And there is no better time to view them than in the sunlight of a fall day...