Aspens
Many of you in cold climates don’t get excited by a photograph of a deciduous tree turning colors in the fall, but on October 19th we were driving back to Flagstaff from the Grand Canyon when I saw a few yellowing aspens (Populus tremuloides) along Highway 180 and felt compelled, as someone visiting from a warm climate, to pull over and take pictures.
© 2016 Steven Schwartzman
Portraits of Wildflowers 
Gold on blue, always a beautiful combination. My old school colours too.
Gallivanta
December 9, 2016 at 4:27 AM
Gold on blue, from us to you, and your school colors too.
If your old school is in New Zealand (as opposed to Fiji), perhaps people there can plant some trees that turn this color in autumn.
Steve Schwartzman
December 9, 2016 at 4:36 AM
That could be arranged. The blue sky may be harder to organize.
Gallivanta
December 9, 2016 at 5:24 AM
We’ll waft some over to you from Texas (though it’s been in short supply here for several days).
Steve Schwartzman
December 9, 2016 at 5:32 AM
The aspens and conifers leaning toward one another reminded me of a ceremonial arch: particularly, a naval saber arch. Beyond that, I never think of aspens without thinking of Ansel Adams. Your photo’s different, but just as pleasing. Who could resist that color?
shoreacres
December 9, 2016 at 7:26 AM
Who could resist that color? Not I. Next time, however, aspens will star in quite a different because much less colorful photograph, one that I find more impressive.
Steve Schwartzman
December 9, 2016 at 9:13 AM
Did you know that the aspen in northern Minnesota goes by the common name of popple? It’s apparently a shortening of the taxonomic name, Populus tremuloides.
krikitarts
December 9, 2016 at 8:57 AM
As soon as I saw your word popple I thought about Populus, and then I saw in the rest of your comment that popple is indeed taken to be a version of Populus. That then reminded me of the Latin saying “Vox populi, vox dei,” “The voice of the people is the voice of God.”
The dictionaries I’ve looked in define popple as a poplar, which is in the same Populus genus as the aspen. From what you say, northern Minnesota usage has departed from the dictionary definition.
Steve Schwartzman
December 9, 2016 at 9:23 AM
I have a mental list of my very favorite trees, and the aspen is in the top ten. I have never been west in the autumn in time to see them dressed in gold. Lovely photo.
Dianne
December 9, 2016 at 9:04 AM
Happy gold to you. I saw more of it two years ago on our previous Southwest trip,
https://portraitsofwildflowers.wordpress.com/2014/10/20/aspens-turning-yellow/
which took place a few weeks earlier in the season, but I was happy to find at least a few aspens still turning at this later date.
Steve Schwartzman
December 9, 2016 at 9:28 AM
Super images Steve .. I love seeing trees colour and drop their leaves 😃
Julie@frogpondfarm
December 13, 2016 at 12:52 AM
Austin has had an unusually dull year when it comes to even the little bit of fall foliage we normally get, so the colors I caught in Arizona and Utah were welcome.
Steve Schwartzman
December 13, 2016 at 6:56 AM
I certainly get excited about deciduous trees during Autumn – I just wish we had Aspens over here in the UK. It’s the tree that excites me when I see images of that white bark and yellow leaves. We have Silver Birches (Betula pendula) that also have white bark but they never put on a good display of colour in the Autumn.
LensScaper
December 13, 2016 at 12:13 PM
In the same part of the country where I saw aspens I saw tall, narrow trees with yellow foliage. I asked what they were and someone told me poplars. After I searched online I decided they were Lombardy poplars and therefore not native in the United States. Too bad. I’m assuming you have at least a few native trees in Britain that put on a good display of autumn foliage.
Steve Schwartzman
December 13, 2016 at 12:34 PM