5-31, Timbers Walk

I have a 'thing' for trees.  It must be my Montana roots (Bitterroot, that is) shining through.  During an initial house-hunting trip to Colorado, I was shocked when our (first but not last) realtor said that, "Trees are not native to this area."  Umm.... excuse me, WHAT?!  Does anyone think of Colorado and NOT think of trees?!  I felt like I'd been kicked in the gut and that maybe Maryland wasn't such a bad place after all since there's a whole lot of trees there.  My brother attended the US Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, so my whole life I've thought of the entire state of Colorado looking like the academy grounds snuggled at the foot of the Rockies.  THAT  has been a hard expectation to let go of, let me tell you.  Take one ride out to the Denver International Airport and you'd swear you can see Kansas.  It's flat.  FLAT, FLAT, FLAT.  That just doesn't get a Montana girl's creative juices flowing.  I need trees, mountains, and thanks to my time at the US Merchant Marine Academy, water.  Well, the water is something I just have to let go of while Colorado is home.  There's water around-- a little here, and a little there, but that's about it.  So for now, I cling to the trees and our home nestled in a beautiful community called The Pinery.  In fact, I've even created a name for an imaginary, secondary photography business should that need ever arise.  Hint:  it has something to do with trees.  But, for now, I'll continue sharing the world with you As Eye See It........

Not quite the lamp posts that grace New Orleans street corners,
but it's a little bit of city mixed in with the country.

"Where the Sidewalk Ends....." (thank you, George Strait.....)

Sadly, quite a few of our pine trees are succumbing to the Pine Beetles.  I don't know if that's what's happened with these trees, but it's sadly ironic how their colors know mimic that of the grass tops that surround them.  

"Run, run as fast as you can, you can't catch me, I'm......"
1) I've read the Gingerbread story to my daughter one too many times, and
2) that is exactly what this rabbit did when he just couldn't sit still any longer.

Caught in the act!  Don't put out to the trash what you don't want the deer to eat!

And, such an innocent face!