Beltane and the Bar Mitzvah Moon
The leaning Lodgepole is in my back. It’s not in any danger of falling, but it definitely has an angle other than 90 degrees with the soil. Makes it distinctive within its small cluster. All these Trees benefited from the thinning I did in 2015 for fire mitigation. They’ve grown bigger and stronger. I’m tempted to say leaner, too. But that would be a groaner, right?
Unlike my Lodgepole Companion and the Tall Tree in Elk Meadow Park, today’s Tree has branches all around its trunk, taking advantage of a 360 degree opportunity for solar capture. It’s also thicker at the base than those two, an altogether bigger tree in terms of volume. Not sure about height. Tough to compare yesterday’s Tree since it’s not nearby.
Unlike Companion it has plants around its base, in this shot Bearberry. A hardy Evergreen ground cover that produces red berries in the fall. Leaner has other plants, too. One proving a bit of woodlore.
This Tree joins its many similar neighbors to create a Lodgepole Grove around my drainage field.
