My husband Danny and I decided to hike Quandary trail in Breckenridge. We were not prepared for all the downed trees due to beetle kill and high winds. Though there were many dead trees, I was overwhelmed by the signs of new life .
Click on photos to enlarge
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How did that happen?
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Like gentle giants they swayed above us.
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Carving out existence on the surface of rock.
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Moss finds a happy place to thrive!
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The forest flourishes.
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Tiny new pine trees sprout on the dead stump of another.
This is truly the circle of life.
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The protagonist in my book is a photographer, so I thought I would walk a mile or two in her shoes!
All photos taken by Susie Lindau with a Nikon Coolpix 5205 camera
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Thanks for sharing the pix, Susie. I enjoyed muchly.
I am so “gladly!” Thanks for stopping by!
Beautiful photo essay, Susie. What a wonderful hike!
Thanks Lynn! There is more to come….
Beautiful photos Susie! Seemed like a great little adventure!
Thank you so much! It always is an adventure!
There is a huge forest fire in the foothills west of Fort Collins not too far from Boulder and the wind has changed. It is really smokey here. All those beetle killed trees have become kindling.
Wow… Sounds worthy of a photo. Nature is our free entertainment
I took a few yesterday. Now they are saying it could last until September! So horrible.
Oh dear…
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Love the beautiful pictures..especially gentle giants..
Thanks so much! I am glad you stopped by for the hike!
Do you have grizzlies there? I’d be more afraid of them than of the trees (although blow-down is not to be sneezed at – sorry for how that sounds, haha.)
Giggle!
No grizzlies. There are black bear, cougars, fox, porcupines, and moose! We saw a couple stride by the last time we skied!
Thanks Anneli!
Nature doesn’t take a break. Love the photos. (And sorry for the mixup as per Phineas. The story is located at top of my home page)
Thanks Cayman. I will take a look~
And while we’re on the subject of nature, if you haven’t checked out the History Channel’s “Life after People” series, do so. Very interesting stuff.
Thanks! I will!
This was absolutely beautiful, like a virtual vacation!
Thanks Katie! I am glad that you took a break and virtual hiked with me!
gorgeous pics, susie, mucho telented lady
Thanks so very much Louise! I really appreciate that!
Very, very cool. I love the moss on the rocks! Breckenridge is one of my favorite places, but I don’t get there often enough. Whenever I visit family in Denver, I make a trip up there ~ on my own if needs be. It’s too beautiful to miss.
You have to let me know if you are ever in town and we’ll meet up at either place!
Thanks Tameri!
How funny we’ve both got trees on the brain. They are fascinating even though there are millions of them. I love photo essays they are like grown up picture books.
That is so true Catherine! That must be why I love them so much!
Very cool perspectives! I like seeing you diving into the photos. It looks like you had a great day with this post
Thanks Michael! I thought with everyone so busy it would be good to include of few of them this summer.
Thanks so much! It was fun until the wind picked up!
Yeah, I know that feeling…cheers!
Love checking out how forests recycle! Nice pics…
Thanks Nelle. I am glad that you came with me on my virtual hike!
You are so fortunate to live around such incredible beauty.
I do pinch myself at least once a day! I will try to share a bit of Colorado more often.
Thank you for reading!
Hi,
Lovely photos, looks like a great place to go walking and enjoy nature as well. It is amazing how quickly new growth starts, it may look like it is all over for some trees, but others will be reborn.
That is so true Mags and I love to see that especially while some parts of Colorado are on fire.. Thanks so much!
nice beetle’s eye view. The trouble with taking nature shots – there’s just much to choose from! great selection here.
Thank you so much and for stopping by to hike with me!
Thank you for today’s writing inspiration, Susie! I love the idea of the photo essay, where the photos take center stage rather than being the “Add on”. Did you gain insight into your protagonist’s world?
I did feel that by looking at life through a camera lens it can change the focus! Thanks so much Sally!
Awe inspiring
Thanks Tom!
Survival of the fittest. Nature is indeed an amazing thing.
Good for you for getting into character!
Patricia Rickrode
w/a Jansen Schmidt
Nature is and she has been giving us a real show lately!
Thanks Patricia!
Okay, I have to know what kind of camera you use! The “gentle giants” picture in particular blew me away!
Thank you so much! I use a Nikon Coolpix pocket camera 5205.
I added the kind of camera to the post. Great idea Jules!
Beautiful photos! It’s poetic, even.
Aww! Thanks Audrey! I thought that with summer, posting photos once in a while would be easy for reader to fly through as well as a means for me to get into the mind of my character!
Loving your photos – needed a Nature Break – Happy Tuesday:)
Thanks Renee! I am glad you came by to take a quick virtual hike!
Great photos! I love taking time to living in character’s worlds and heads. Did this trip provide any epiphanies??
Hope you had as much fun as it seems!
The only epiphany we had was, “Run for your life!” when the wind picked up!
I know what you mean though. I think she sees everything in a little more detail than most people and is an observer in life until…. Lol!
It is one of my favorite places so I hope Summit County goes through and cuts down a few of those trees that are likely to topple when someone is hiking! Whew!
You walk well in the photographer’s shoes. Great images, Susie.
Hugs,
Kathy
Oh thanks Kathryn. You are soooo nice! I am practicing…
Awesome…darn beetles laying another down, nature. Hi Susie!
Thanks Lilie! It does make great mulch! (always the bright side here….
)
So many trees eaten or burnt up! It still makes for a great hike, despite. Walking in her shoes you shot some great pics
Thank you! It has been especially crazy out here. I don’t think we will go back to that trail until someone goes through and makes it safer. I am sure they have warnings posted that I don’t know of since we have never seen another soul!
After hurricane Hugo brushed us by in 1989, I volunteered to help clean up my favorite forest area, El Yunque. I almost cried when I saw the devastation the winds had caused. The mountain itself looked bald, most trees were swiped down and leafless. It took some time for it to bloom and flourish the way it was before. Great photos Susie!
Thanks M!
The beetle devastation is not over here in Colorado and it is getting dangerous to hike in some areas. It is bouncing back more quickly than scientists thought possible. Fires are ragin here in the state so that is our greatest fear now…
Oh my. Hope the fires can be contained. Stay safe my friend!
I am pretty far away across the valley so I am. Thanks!
The bottom one was not showing up but I clicked on it and got it.
Wonderful photos and my fave is the tall trees and the sky
HUGGGGGGGG
Thanks Linda! They are nature’s skyscrapers!
Wonderful images! Thanks for sharing some of your area with us.
Thanks SF for taking a virtual hike with me today!
Wow. Gorgeous work!
Thanks El! I am quite the amateur, but am working on it!
Beautiful Shots Susie..hope in every step
Thanks Soma! I am always amazed how nature seems to prevail!
This city slicker thinks that someone should tell Volkswagon to keep their Beetles out of the woods.
That’s right! Sheesh!
Thanks V!
Great essay, Susie!
A+!
Wow! I feel like I am at the head of the class today. Thank you Hook!
Very weird how the tree twisted as it fell. I agree with TedStrutz, lightning hit a tree about 100 ft from our house 2 years ago, it too twisted a bit but not that much. Now it’s a twisted stalk with the knots still in place. Nice shootin’ !
It was massive and healthy. Not at all like the beetle infested lodgepoles.
We are supposed to get more severe weather this afternoon. Batten down the hatches and grab your virtual hard hat John!
Thank you!
Summer storms are brutal…
They are and yet it is Mother Nature’s natural cleanse! Gee that should be the name of a product. It probably is!
Thanks John!
For a girlie product…
Definitely! Hahaha!
My ride thru the forest was great! Nice post, Susie. The second photo is amazing. What could have produced that result? A lightning strike? How big are those Beetles again? It would make a good photo prompt… send it to Madison, I’m sure all those overwrought minds she employes on Friday will come up with some solutions.
Beautiful pictures. Looks like a very fun hike.
On the second moss picture, are those ice crystals around the moss?
No, it was the striation of the granite boulder although we did see snow on the ground down near the stream… Thanks El Guapo!
Love all the photos but the last one, caption included, says the most to me.
Those little tiny pine trees growing in the stump were so precious!
Thanks Emily!
Very interesting in light of our recent/still raging storm!
I got nervous after hiking for a while when the wind picked up. With hundreds of recently fallen trees, I didn’t want to be in the forest when they began falling again!
pictures like yours are the best way to describe that nature doesn’t need us to survive. It is quite different the other way around. Very nice impressions, Susie!
Thanks Andrea! I am constantly amazed at how nature evolves and flourishes even during times of extreme weather conditions.