Leaves

Quaking aspens around 9000 feet.

I got out for my usual annual (approximately) hike to view leaves. I had some time constraints so I just went up with the mobs to the Aspen Loop by Snowbowl. Except for the crowds it never disappoints.

But the color of aspen trees varies only slightly. They go from green to gold, or sometimes change to a pale red for a few hours before turning to gold. So this year I've been enjoying the leaves on the ornamental trees and bushes in town just as much if not more.

This maple in front of my neighbor's house always goes through this incredible phased color change in the fall so that every fall color appears at the same time. I'm afraid he'll cut it down. It's an Airbnb anyway so he doesn't live there.

I remember this one year in Tennessee we had unfavorable weather and the trees were dull. Some years are better than others but this is one of the best seasons since I moved to Flagstaff.