The last of our trees to turn color are the Black Cottonwoods and the Western Larch. I hope they hold their color for another week so I can get a few more photos before all of the color here is white.
October 30, 2017
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Montana Outdoors 
Aren’t you lucky — you still have leaves! I was about to say we have no black cottonwood here. Wrong. It’s found throughout BC and along the eastern slopes of the Rockies in Alberta, with a small population in the SE part of AB. Now you’ve got me thinking — when I see balsam poplar maybe I’ve been seeing black cottonwood. (Apparently they hybridize easily.) Maybe the habitat is the key — it says they prefer low-lying damp areas, with loose, porous, sandy or gravelly soil. And sometimes along riverbanks. Come spring I’ll see what I can see. 🙂
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Comment by Sally — October 30, 2017 @ 1:21 pm
We have a lot of the cottonwoods along the rivers and streams and also in mountain ravines where there is a spring or a seep of water. My plant book says that the Balsam Poplar (P.balsamfera ssp) is a sub species of the Black Cottonwood (P.balsamfera) and its fruit capsules split into two instead of three parts. Seems like not much of a difference!
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Comment by montucky — October 30, 2017 @ 1:50 pm
Thanks for the tip — now if I can only remember to count the capsules come spring!
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Comment by Sally — October 30, 2017 @ 1:52 pm
That cold weather is coming soon! Makes the last colour of the season all the more precious.
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Comment by wordsfromanneli — October 30, 2017 @ 2:58 pm
Yes, snow is in the forecast here by the end of the week. Probably not much though. I love the color contrasts this time of year!
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Comment by montucky — October 30, 2017 @ 4:51 pm
Last chances at colour photography before we change to more black and white.
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Comment by wordsfromanneli — October 30, 2017 @ 5:02 pm
They’re both beautiful trees, but I especially like to see the larches. They’re beautiful this year!
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Comment by New Hampshire Garden Solutions — October 30, 2017 @ 3:37 pm
The larches are about at their peak color now., and they really stand out. I hope that recent storm hasn’t produced any damage for you!
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Comment by montucky — October 30, 2017 @ 4:52 pm
They sure do!
Lots of small branches down but nothing serious right here. Many parts of the state are without power and some are seeing flooding.
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Comment by New Hampshire Garden Solutions — October 30, 2017 @ 5:18 pm
I’m glad that you had no serious problems!
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Comment by montucky — October 30, 2017 @ 7:48 pm
What a glorious end to the Autumn (or Fall). Hard to believe that your landscape will soon be snowy white so soon.
(I’ve kind of missed most of Spring here in Australia as I’ve been glued to ‘home base’ for much of it).
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Comment by Vicki — October 30, 2017 @ 5:48 pm
I always am fascinated at the thought that your seasons are the opposite of ours here. It’s kind of a reality check, and enjoyable seeing what the opposite season is doing!
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Comment by montucky — October 30, 2017 @ 7:40 pm
Stunning photos. The larches remind me of the Monty Python skit about them!
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Comment by jessicagurevitch — October 30, 2017 @ 6:01 pm
This time of year the Larch are really easy to spot the way they stand out. Oddly though most of the old timers here still call them Tamarack, and if you mention Larch you get a strange look.
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Comment by montucky — October 30, 2017 @ 7:45 pm
Great colours Terry, and that blue sky!!!
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Comment by iAMsafari — October 30, 2017 @ 6:28 pm
When the smoke clears and the mist is gone, the sky is indeed a deep blue, and then the stars are bright and one can get lost looking at the Milky Way.
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Comment by montucky — October 30, 2017 @ 7:47 pm
Ah, the Milky Way, that’s when one knows it’s a truly wild place 🙂
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Comment by iAMsafari — October 31, 2017 @ 12:48 am
Yes, it’s too bad that the folks who live in the cities don’t get to enjoy seeing it.
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Comment by montucky — October 31, 2017 @ 8:43 am
I always look forward to your autumn larch photos. So pretty. Ugh, white. Your fall is really short! Seems so early for snow (not that I’m a snow expert, haha).
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Comment by Candace — October 30, 2017 @ 10:09 pm
I think Larch are magnificent when they are wearing gold, and the trails are covered with their fallen needles. We often get an early snow (supposed to be up to 3 inches Thursday night) and then another relatively warm spell. This morning there was half an inch of ice on the birds’ water tub.
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Comment by montucky — October 30, 2017 @ 10:18 pm
The black cottonwood is lovely against that blue sky of yours.
The larch in Denmark are a bit tiny but when they loose their golden needles on the path it looks as if the sun shines down between the trees even on a grey day. As if the tree intends to shine over the forest just until the snow is coming 🙂
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Comment by Hanna — October 31, 2017 @ 4:00 pm
Yes, I love it when the trails and back roads are yellow with the needles. That should happen here in another week or two… but first there will be a snow this weekend.
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Comment by montucky — October 31, 2017 @ 4:27 pm
I’m so happy for you that you have those beautiful blue skies now. The trees are just glorious against such a deep blue. Like others, I look forward to your larch photos, but all of the trees are pretty. I do love the fall. Despite the fact that winter’s just around the corner, it seems like the most energizing season to me. Of course, I don’t mind winter, either, so I don’t experience some of the trepidation that others do. If I lived in the far north it might be different, but I don’t think so. Anyway — you have a fine season to enjoy, and I hope you do get some Indian summer after the little snow.
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Comment by shoreacres — November 1, 2017 @ 9:17 pm
Those blue skies will be gone for awhile. About an hour ago the National Weather Service abruptly changed their forecasts for here, now predicting up to 3 inches of snow tonight, up to 5 inches tomorrow and another 5 Friday. Luckily, this afternoon I started up and checked out my snow blower and got it ready for use. It’s now starting to snow. All of this probably sounds pretty foreign to anyone in your area!
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Comment by montucky — November 1, 2017 @ 9:35 pm
It’s certainly a good reminder of how large this country is! A degree of latitude here, and a degree of longitude there, and pretty soon you’re talking a really different environment!
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Comment by shoreacres — November 1, 2017 @ 9:37 pm
And in Australia, spring is breaking out.
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Comment by montucky — November 1, 2017 @ 9:44 pm
so very beautiful, we do love our Larch!
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Comment by Tammie — November 2, 2017 @ 6:56 pm
Yes, we do. They have their own kind of magnificence!
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Comment by montucky — November 2, 2017 @ 9:46 pm
Aren’t autumn colours beautiful against that brilliant blue sky?
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Comment by Julie@frogpondfarm — November 3, 2017 @ 2:02 am
They were. Today the sky is white and the ground has 6 inches of new snow. The seasons change quickly here!
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Comment by montucky — November 3, 2017 @ 2:03 pm
Beautiful – like tongues of flame! Our larches are a similar colour right now, and a few brilliant leaves are still clinging on to the birches.
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Comment by Jo Woolf — November 5, 2017 @ 1:09 am
Everything is now white here. I can’t tell of the larch has lost its needles yet or not, but we seem to have entered a sepia world.
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Comment by montucky — November 5, 2017 @ 8:20 am
Beautiful. I love also very much two last photos with landscape.
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Comment by Sartenada — November 8, 2017 @ 1:51 am
Those trees live near that small stream as it exits a mountain canyon.
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Comment by montucky — November 8, 2017 @ 9:45 am