Epidemic

Just to hear the word epidemic makes most people cringe. There are so many epidemics in this world it would normally be hard to talk of just one. I have first hand knowledge of one as it has a direct impact on me. I can see it almost every day.

One small beetle and all its kin are at the root of this epidemic that has killed thousands upon thousands of pine trees in my state of Colorado. There is no discrimination. Everything from the smallest and scrawniest to the largest and grandest Ponderosa Pine is fair game for this little bug. It lays it's eggs under the bark and within a very short period of time another majestic tree will be cut off from it's life-giving nutrients. In a few short months the dying tree will be the host to yet a new generation of the tiny takers of life. And so it goes...

The tree that had lived for so many years providing both food and shelter for the forest dwelling birds and mammals has only one more thing to offer with it's lifeless skeleton. Disected into pieces,it will will provide a source of life-reviving heat to homes in the winter.

Our interference hasn't been able to stop this epidemic. So what will?

Only mother nature and father time will have the final say.