Welcome to this week’s edition of Nature Friday where we join our hosts, Rosy and Sunny from Adventures of the LLB Gang. Don’t forget to click on the link to see what others have shared. Elsa here with the latest scenes from around the Ranch. I’ll be joined by the House Pony who, as it turned out, had a successful batch of visits at the hospital. There may be hope for that lummox yet.
Wilson: {ignoring the snark} Hello, mates. Like my sister said, we’re here to share slices of nature we’ve seen. As Mum mentioned in our last Nature Friday post, the plan was to take in some leaf peeping over last weekend. Along with 87,000 of our closest city friends {sarcasm}. You probably saw the photo Mum posted earlier this week. In Mum’s voice, “what. a. cluster.” It was a good thing she was with good friends otherwise she may not have survived without making a fuss. After days of all the local TV stations telling everyone to get out and see the glorious colors on what was billed as prime leaf viewing, guess everyone heeded the advice because there were thousands of them lined up for miles and miles. Mum had never seen as many Teslas and trucks, some of whom got their side mirrors ripped off when they stupidly carelessly parked on the road to the summit of Guanella Pass. Bloody fools!
As you can see, it was quite the line heading back toward Denver. They were told there were hundreds of cars ahead of them and it took 3 hours to drive a mere 3 miles. But it was a gorgeous day and all they could do was sit in queue and ooh and aww at the beautiful changing colors.
Elsa: So tell me more about this Guanella Pass. I know Mom knew a bit about it but I’m not familiar.
Wilson: As it happens, I have some interesting info about Guanella Pass which is located about 56 miles west of Denver in the Front Range in southwestern Clear Creek County, near Georgetown. It was named after long-time road supervisor and commissioner, Byron Guanella.
The pass provides a route between Georgetown in the valley of Clear Creek to the north and Grant in the valley of Geneva Creek, a tributary of the North Fork South Platte River, to the south. The pass is traversed by the Guanella Pass Scenic Byway. The road provides a link between Interstate 70 to the north and U.S. Highway 285 to the south. [source: Wikipedia]
Elsa: Hmm…learn something new every day. What’s the scoop on the trees and why are they so special?
Wilson: Glad you asked. Colorado is known for its Aspen trees (also known as quaking aspens). They are native to colder climates which is one reason they do well in this state. Did you know that Colorado averages the highest number of peaks in the lower 48 states and has more thicker concentrations of these trees than anywhere else in the U.S. They do well in Colorado because of their ability to sprout new growth after large wildfires – of which there have been many in recent years. It is usually the first tree species to re-colonize a burn area. Aspens however are more fire resistant than other native trees such as the various kinds of evergreen trees. Aspens have a unique ability to the photosynthesis process in the white bark, while most trees carry out this process in their leaves. That means in winter once the leaves have fallen and snow begins to fall, the tree continues to produce sugar for energy which helps provide a food source for deer, elk and other animals. And finally, aspen trees cluster closely together because they clone themselves as roots sprout new trees and share an identical genetic makeup, making them extremely large organisms. Even though there may be multiple clones in an aspen grove, the grove’s leaves turn at the same time.
Elsa: Hmmm, you don’t say? I knew they were one of the largest organisms in nature but didn’t know the part about genetic makeup turning the leaves at the same time. So what else you got?
Wilson: What I got is some great photos while everyone waited to get through the gridlock. While Colorado is known for its bright ribbons of gold, Mum and her friends managed to see some spots of orange and red. Check out this gallery of pics:
Elsa: Gosh, no wonder there were so many people catching glimpses of those trees and shrubs. You gotta love the humor of the locals with that sign. Mom initially laughed but after waiting 3 hours to reach US 285 to head back to Denver, she kinda lost her humor. She said she’s never seen it that congested before.
Wilson: Can you blame her? Everyone was jonesing for their ‘Instagram’ moment and not really appreciating the beauty of nature. She was irritated that too many people were looking down at their devices rather than enjoying the scenery. How is it that people watch TikTok instead of enjoying being in Nature? I just don’t get it.
Elsa: There are so many reasons to not be able to understand humans and what they seem to value. I mean you and I would be running around sniffing up a storm and enjoying it all.
Wilson: Seems like a wasted opportunity. I do have one more local image to share…some mutant squash Mum and I encountered on our walk the other day. I thought it was a starfish at first.
Elsa: You’re right, that is weird. For the record, I’m not eating that.
Wilson: Oh no…me neither. Can you believe it? Me not wanting to eat something. That has to be a first.
Elsa: Egad, Mooommm, Wilson must be sick, he didn’t want to eat that squash!!
Wilson: Oh come on…it’s not that unusual.
Elsa: Ha! Don’t make me laugh. So…anything else you want to share?
Wilson: Well no more beautiful changing leaves but I did want to let everyone know that even though it was delayed a bit following a deathmatch between a couple of contestants which messed up the bracket, it’s Fat Bear Week. You can vote here.
Elsa: Oh for crying out loud…you’re promoting Fat Bear Week {paw smacks forehead}? This is not some sleazy tabloid, dude.
Wilson: I’m quite serious. Don’t forget to vote for your favorite Alaskan bear. I’m rooting that 128 Grazer will repeat.
Elsa: Oh jeez. Forget voting for a fat bear. Instead, enjoy this week’s Halloween scene from just around the corner from the Ranch. A skellie watchdog is better than some old fat bear. Have a great weekend and enjoy walking about in nature. Get out there and really savor it.
Wilson: Savor? Is there food somewhere I don’t know about?
Elsa: Oh for heaven’s sake…I just can’t. Have a great weekend enjoying nature.
Live, love bark! 🐾