Angeles National Forest First Step Into Autumn

PHOTO REFLECTIONS

What a Difference a Few Hundred Feet Make.

By Reg Green

No one needs to be reminded this is a hot summer.

Iceberg roses (Photo – Reg Green)

Look at this opulence in a neighbor’s yard, enjoying life more than you and me. But only a mile away and a few hundred feet higher this is what I came across today in the Angeles National Forest: up here life has already taken the first step into autumn.

Angeles National Forest in the summer (Photo – Reg Green)

Perhaps the comparison isn’t strictly fair. The golden tree has to look after itself in a mercilessly competitive world. The iceberg roses, which are protected from pests, given healthy meals and go soundly to sleep when the sun goes down, are lovingly looked after by Lorraine Riewe, the florist for La Cañada’s Rose Parade float.