We planted a Norway Spruce "Gold Drift" last spring. It seemed to be doing very well but amidst spring clean up I noticed that though there are still plenty of green, healthy looking branches, many of its branches are lightly yellowed or bleached looking and have developed browned needles. This is not isolated, say, to the bottom of the tree but appears throughout. The attached photo is a close up of branches near the top of the tree.

The needles are not falling off -- at least not yet -- but I am concerned that this may be a matter of time. Is this normal first-winter stress or might something else be going on here? The tree is planted on the southwest side of our house, so gets lots of sun and heat in full summer but our spring has been (mostly) mild. I would be surprised if it were environmental factors, but I can't rule it out.

Thanks in advance for the help.