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ENTS,WNTS,
I am in the process of sorting through
an intimidatingly large number of photos I took on Monica's and my
just concluded western adventure - while concurrently accumulating
new images. Sweeping western panoramas and cozy eastern woodland
scenes are being featured today.
The first image is astraddle the continental divide at
Lobo Lookout in the San Juans. The location is at about 11,500 feet
altitude and looks into the vast Weminuche Wilderness of
southwestern Colorado. The San Juans include more land above 10,000
feet than any other mountain range in the lower 48 states. The
mountains are well watered so that the forests are unusually lush
for the Rocky Mountains.
The second image is of an idyllic mountain meadow
framed against the backdrop of 12,000-foot peaks in the La Platas.
The La Platas are a subrange of the San Juans. As seen in the image,
tiny patches of snow hang on in the higher elevations. The La Platas
are relatively unknown to mountain aficionados, but offer plenty of
remote country and spectacular forests that include the tallest
accurately measured Rocky Mountain ponderosa pine and tallest
Colorado blue spruce on the planet. A total of 6 peaks (I think)
exceed 13,000 feet with Hesperus Mountain being the highest at
13,232 feet. Alas, no charismatic fourteeners here, but that does
not matter to devoted mountain lovers. the La Platas rise boldly
above the Durango area.
The last two scenes are in the Fitzgerald Lake
Conservation Area, a 10-minute walk from our house here in Florence,
MA. Cattails along the boardwalk and sunlight through the white
pines suggest the intimacy of the settings. The lake likes beyond
the trees. With all the summer rain, the plant life in Fitzgerald is
luxuriant. Nature has organized her bounty into compact communities.
There is nothing overpowering in Fitzgerald, but the intimacy of the
plant communities is quite satisfying. Bird life is abundant and
nature is slowly healing past timbering excesses. The area includes
over 600 acres of preserved forest.
Bob
Continued
at:
http://groups.google.com/group/entstrees/browse_thread/thread/c31fa58febb5d58f?hl=en
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