Tenacity

While hiking in the Colorado mountains this month, I saw the full cycle of tree life. 

A pine tree caught my attention. The bark had fallen off the lower trunk. No pine needles adorned its bare branches. A huge crack indicated the tree was ready to fall down under any pressure from strong wind to a heavy snow. 

This is a large tree, compared to others nearby, but not close to record-setting. If you want to know more about ancient or giant trees, check out the Monumental Trees website.

As we walked, we saw hillsides covered in trees in every condition, from pinecone to sapling, from vigorous growth to the end of their lives. 

Even when they topple to the ground, trees still provide life to the forest. The Rocky Mountains in my area are dry. The soil is poor to non-existent. Weather is harsh. The plants and animals living here must be tenacious.  

There is beauty in life and growth. But there is also beauty in the end of a cycle. I found one fallen tree, slowly decaying in a climate not conducive to rapid decomposition, with new life sprouting from its ruins. One tree falls, and another takes its place.

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