RMNP: May 2013, Part II

Click here for Part I.
I hadn't been to Moraine Park since last year's Fern Lake Fire.  The farther west I went the more burnt areas I encountered.

The heavy April snows had also left many puddles and pools that aren't normally there.  And where you have still water, you have opportunities for reflections.

Between the fire and the water this area should just explode with fresh growth once we get some consistently warm, sunny weather.  Some of it was already under way.

Not sure if these aspens are going to pull through.  But their root system undoubtedly survived intact.  Should be interesting to see how much of a transformation the area undergoes in just a couple of months.

The Mallards here are much less skittish than the ones we have down at Chatfield State Park and South Platte Park.  Which is good, because I like taking pictures of them.

I don't care how common they are.  Their mix of colors is just striking -- orange feet, yellow bill, green heads, brown chests and white collars.  God used quite a few of his crayons when he did his first drawings of these guys.

My, what a long neck you have!

A dead branch in Upper Beaver Meadows provided a lovely frame for Longs Peak in the distance.  This year I'll finally summit that stupid mountain.  Honest.

The willows at Beaver Ponds along Trail Ridge Road were full of buds.  Spring may have been delayed, but it won't be denied!