Living and Dead

From our walk today there was both living and dead.

An aspen tree  shimmering in the breeze as it begins to assume its golden autumn foliage.

And a stately snag of an old dead elm.

Woodpeckers holes everywhere!

Standing dead trees, snags, are crucial to wildlife because they provide essential habitat for a wide variety of animals providing nesting sites, shelter and food sources.  Particularly, for cavity-nesting birds, mammals and insects.  Snags are a vital component of a healthy ecosystem.