August 2, 2026
Fir trees all over the West are dying due to insect damage. I ‘ve seen it in WY, CO, NM and AZ. It is heartbreaking to lose millions of trees, including pinion pines at lower elevations. The long drought enables bugs to overwhelm the trees. Though some new ones grow, I wonder if the same sort of forests will return in our warming climate.
I took this photo at 11,000 feet. Note how close together are the trees. Lightning could burn the whole dead forest. But that would also nourish and open the land to new growth, maybe better able to tolerate the changing climate. I must recognize that such changes are part of nature. Nothing stays the same for long, even for humanity. Ancient Anasazi ruins at Chaco Canyon are a testament. Though we might delay changes, Nature rules all on earth, even us.
That applies to the burgeoning human population. New houses are filling adjacent land as people seek less crowded conditions, ironically ruining what we desire. There simply are too many of us for what the earth can reliably support. I grieve the loss of trees but even moreso what we are doing to our planet. Without a change of attitude we risk being like the overcrowded forests, primed for lightning to strike. We need to ask God for the humility and wisdom to care for earth, God’s creation and our only home. And then for us to act on it.
