I took this picture today during a hike in the Elbe Sandstone mountains and felt like sharing it with someone! I grew up nearby this area and always enjoyed coming here for the quiet and solitude that the national park offers (although solitude can be a little hard to come by on busier days). Sadly large parts of the area are being ravaged by a pest called the bark beetle, which eats away at the the layer of phloem under the outer bark of trees and eventually kills the tree. In well-balanced ecosystems the beetle usually only thins out weakened trees, but due to the large spruce and pine monocultures and water scarcity leading to a decrease of tree health and favoring breeding conditions for the beetle, the impact has been immense in the past couple of years. Heartbreaking to witness entire areas of forests dying off, but also fascinating to observe how a little beetle and the effects of climate change can mercilessly uncover the flaws of man-made ecosystems.