I’ve lived in Colorado’s majestic nature since 1976. Aspen trees are a part of my everyday walks, hikes and outdoor experiences. My eyes always focus on their tall slender and stoic tree-trunks that seem to tell a story, with not only their markings, but within their family of underground root connections. As I paint their ‘reach for the sky’ tree trunks, I think of how the ‘eyes’ on their trunks got there, the changing color of their leaves in spring, summer and autumn, and their nakedness in winter …that holds beauty in itself.