After The Storm.
A rainbow sets up in the sky over the Australian bush after an afternoon storm passes through.
Tree Ferns In A Misty Gully
Groves of Tree Ferns grow abundantly in the shady moist gullies of the Great Otway National Park, Australia. Their majestic fronds add an interesting texture to the understory of this Mountain Ash forest.
Forest Shades Of Green
Tree ferns grow prolifically and gracefully in the understory of forests of the Otway Ranges in Victoria, Australia. Moss and orchids growing on branches of black wattle trees provide an interesting texture for the wild bush environment.
Travelling Down A Bush Track
This bush track winds through a stand of Mountain Ash in the heavily timbered forests of the Great Otway National Park. Not knowing what awaits around the next corner, the wet misty day gives the forest a feeling of mysterious foreboding.
Mountain Ash Reaching To The Sky
Strips of bark fall away from a symmetrical group of young Mountain Ash trees as they grow upwards to the sky through an undergrowth of Black Wattle in the Great Otway National Park, Victoria, Australia.
Pointing The Way
On the slopes of Mount Goliath in the Mount Evans Wilderness Area near Denver, Colorado, USA, the gnarled skeleton of a dead Bristlecone Pine tree stands where it has for many hundreds of years. Some of these trees at Mount Goliath are believed to be over 1,700 years old while some in California are over 3,000 years.
Nature's Ancient Sentinels
Still standing guard but finally yielding to the test of time and harsh alpine conditions, these ancient bristle-cone pines leave behind their twisted skeletons among new growth on the slopes of Mount Goliath in the Mount Evans Wilderness near Denver, Colorado. Bristle-cone pines are thought to be the oldest of living single-organisms on earth. Some of these trees at Mount Goliath are believed to be over 1,700 years old while some in California are over 3,000 years.
Standing Strong
After a long life withstanding the ravages of savage weather conditions, this Bristle Cone Pine tree finally perished on the slopes of Mount Goliath, Colorado, USA. Nevertheless, its sturdy trunk will remain for many more years as a testament to wilderness survival. Some Bristle Cone Pines in this area are over 1,000 years old.
Fabulous Fall Colors
As the seasons change, deciduous trees change their leaf color to provide a brilliant display of nature's beauty in Denver, Colorado, USA.
A Garden Splendor
A mixture of garden plants, (including broad leaved Coleus and Brunnera, vines of Clematis, Vinca and Euonymus), surround a colorful patch of Impatiens flowers growing in Denver, Colorado, USA.
After An Autumn Snow Storm
Blue skies return after an early snow storm brings a taste of the winter to come to the garden. Tree branches, still cloaked with leaves showing their changing colours, bend under the weight of the fallen snow.
A Mountain Wildflower Meledy
Thriving in a meadow seepage area on the side of Pawnee Peak in the Indian Peaks Wilderness of Colorado, USA, this patch of wildflowers shows vibrantly against the grasses. Flowering here are Elephant Heads (Purple), Paintbrush (Pink), Bistort (White), Cinquefoil (Yellow) and some Sedges.
An Alpine Sunflower Blooms
Acclimated to a life in a harsh alpine environment, this Alpine Sunflower, (Tetraneuris spp.), survives and thrives in the tundra vegetation at the top of Kingston Peak, (12,147 ft / 3,702 m), Colorado, USA.
An Aster Wildflower Bloom
An inflorescence of one of the many Aster species within the Asteraceae family that is commonly found flowering during the mid-summer months throughout the high country of Colorado, USA.
Apple Tree Blossoms
Spring time blossoms emerge from a shoot sprouting from the trunk of a white-flowering ornamental apple tree in Denver, Colorado, USA. While it's an unusual place to find flowers, this tree trunk had suffered winter snow damage. By sprouting the beginnings of a new branch, this flowering shoot was nature's response to injury.
Cottonwood Trees In Sandhill Country
Seemingly out of place on the prairie, this group of cottonwood trees interrupts the rolling, otherwise treeless, landscape of the "sandhill country" grasslands near Sutherland, Nebraska, USA
Ponderosa Pines Along Lake Tahoe
A group of Ponderosa Pine trees growing on a rocky headland jutting into Lake Tahoe, Nevada, USA are reflected in the clear waters below. Trees growing on the far bank of the lake are reflected in the still waters beyond the headland.
A Fireplace Creek Waterfall
The afternoon sun lights a hardy ponderosa pine tree in the Yosemite National Park while a waterfall on Fireplace Creek, full with springtime snow-melt waters, thunders into the Merced River valley below.
The Upper And Lower Yosemite Falls
The atomized waters and mist at the base of the Upper Yosemite Falls reform in the mid-fall gorge before they plummet once again, over the lip of Lower Yosemite Falls into the Merced River below.
Green and Gold
As winter approaches, the leaves of Aspen trees in the high country of Colorado , USA, change from their summer green into brilliant golden yellow colors. They provide breathtaking contrasts with the surrounding evergreen forrests of Blue Spruce and Lodgepole pine trees.
Kenosha Pass In Gold
Surrounded by Aspen trees displaying their characteristic gold leaves in full autumn colours, a stand of pine trees competes for a place to survive on Kenosha Pass, Colorado, USA
A Misty Mountain Morning
As winter approaches, Aspen trees and scrub oak brush on the hill sides begin to show their golden colours on a cloudy day in the high country near Vail, Colorado, USA.
Along Pine Creek In Autumn
A hike along Pine Creek near Aspen, Colorado, USA, reveals striking views of ridge lines, rugged terrain, creeks and clear waters rushing over cascades. The yellow autumn foliage of Aspen Trees contrasts with the vivid blue Colorado skies. At the far end of the watershed, Cathedral Peak reaches into the sky.
Shade And Sun In Autumn
Snows from a brief overnight autumn storm have already melted away on the sunny side of a gully in Genesee, Colorado, USA, while the stand of pine trees growing on the shaded side of the gully were still covered with a dusting of snow.
Ski Trails Through A Peaceful Glade
The afternoon sun casts its long shadows on the snow and lights lodge-pole pine trees on the slopes of Copper Mountain, Colorado, USA. In the distance, is Peak 8 from the neighbouring Breckenridge ski resort at 12,990 feet, (3,960 m). It is one of the peaks on the Ten Mile Range.
Apollo BayBushEcologyEnvironmentForrestGreenHillsideNatureTextureTree FernTreesUndergrowth
From Open Spaces