Fall Colors Without Trees

I was born and raised in Maine so New England fall foliage will always be tops in my book but after 20 years in Alaska I have witnessed other ways, more subtle perhaps, that fall can announce it's appearance. In central Alaska, and other areas as well, you have brilliant yellows of birch leaves contrasting with the emerald green of spruce trees. Travel far enough north - Denali National Park is a perfect spot - and you will see all the colors of a New England fall expressed in stunning miniature as the tundra changes colors.

Out here in the Aleutians trees are very few and far between but you do have some of those mosses, shrubs and tiny tundra species that put on their own show - not as spectacular as the Northern Interior, but still beautiful in their own right. In the top photo are small shrubs growing on an abandoned WW II bunker; in the middle are fireweed plants, still beautiful long after the flower has gone by; the bottom photo shows fireweed among old driftwood at Morris Cove, pushed far ashore by a huge storm long ago.

Sorry the posting has been sporatic, I am trying every night but the internet has been horrible out here lately. Often I put 45 minutes into getting the pictures uploaded, on the third try, and then the internet crashes all together. A recent study revealed America has very slow internet compared with many other developed countries; Alaska has the slowest internet among the 50 states; and yes, the Aleutians have been mentioned as among the slowest in Alaska. Do the math folks, what I'm dealing with out here lately is The Slowest Internet In The World!

Luckily, what I lack in bandwidth, I make up for in stubornness - otherwise I'd never get anything posted! Cheers and good night!