Autumn Aspen show may fizzle out this year

Drought and disease may make Colorado's annual golden autumn leaf season more brown than usual.
According to a story in the Pueblo Chieftain "the unusual combination of insect damage, age and overgrowth of other trees is contributing to the increased number of dying aspen trees in forests throughout Colorado, including the Pike and San Isabel National forests."

Already this year, Smith said about 10,000 scattered acres of aspen trees have been affected by the caterpillars in the Cuchara area alone.

But what about the area around Pikes Peak. It was definitely dry through June. Since then we've had some nice rainy spells. On a walk in the woods of the Rampart Range a few days ago, the aspen looked healthy and bright.
We'll see how they look come September.