The Aspen

Well, with all of the side travel I encouraged on Granpa we've managed to fritter away the whole day.  We have barely reached Sedona and the sun is beginning to set!  Granpa, still being a sweetheart, has decided we should head back to Kingman and come again some other day.  But the Lord still has some surprises for us - which I believe is His way of rewarding Granpa for his kindness and patience with me!

As we head for the interstate we come upon a grove of Granpa's most favorite tree in the whole world - especially in the Fall.  The Aspen!

The long, skinny, flexible leaf stems allow the leaves to "tremble" even in the slightest of breeze, hence the name, Quaking Aspen (Populus tremuloides.)  The wood of the Aspen has long been valued for it's sturdiness.  The Greek name for it, Aspis, translates to "shield," and indeed the Ancient Greeks used the Aspen for making shields.


The Aspen is seen in mountainous areas at elevations from 6,900 to 10,500 feet.  There are three different varieties of this tree.  The one most often seen in North America is the Quaking aspen.  What you see in the photo is not a stand of individual trees, it is actually a single organism because they all grow off of a single root sucker!  The aspen does flower and put out seeds in the spring, but once a seed produces a plant, it produces a stand like you see above.  The largest tree in North Dakota is70 feet tall with a canopy spread of 39 feet.

We also came up on a small pond of water close to the road and flush out a group of ducks.  Granpa got them in flight.

What a surprising, beautiful day - especially with the generosity of spirit Granpa gave to me!

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