Monday, December 7, 2015

Willow Retrospective

Limestone "pavement" above Willow Canyon, with windblown snow.
It’s a cold windy December afternoon in the foothills of the Laramie Mountains—7200 feet elevation, heart of the North American continent, far from any ameliorating marine effects. But no matter. A party of intrepid tree-followers sets off, headed for a small limestone canyon where a willow grows.

We’re not alone. Around the globe, tree-followers are checking their trees. This phenomenon began several years ago, launched by a visionary from coastal Dorset (UK), and now kindly hosted by The Squirrel Basket in Wales. It’s a fascinating project; we always find something of interest. And on the seventh of the month, everyone gathers to report the latest news of our trees (the list of links will grow through the week).
Approaching the canyon mouth.
The pussy willow I'm following grows in the canyon bottom, in a nook in the limestone wall, shaded by junipers. There's no way to capture the whole tree in one photo.
It was a good year for the willow, just look at the young growth—long reddish twigs at the ends of branchlets (below). Lots of flower buds too, ready to open in February, just a few months away! The North American pussy willow is one of the earliest plants to bloom here, maybe even the first. It beats most plants by several months or more.
But the willow won’t leaf out until late April or early May. Meanwhile the neighbor trees—evergreen junipers and limber pines—can catch a little solar energy on warmer days.
It looks like a few of the lip ferns cliff brakes (Pellaea) are still green. But barely, and I think this is just remnant green pigment. [Thanks to Plant Postings for pointing out the error in common name!]
Sagebrush stays green all winter—gray-green actually. That's its summer color too.
Here's a view of the willow's canopy from the canyon rim (dog tail for scale).
The willow sticks up above the rim just right of the juniper at the left edge of the photo.

I highly recommend getting to know a tree—consider joining us next year!

Thanks again to Lucy and Pat.



12 comments:

  1. A worthy tree! Thanks for taking us along on your voyages to visit your tree. So much to see along the way, too. I was trying to figure out the genus/species of your Lip Fern, but I couldn't find it. Evergreen (and even partially green) plants amaze me with their hardiness.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, PP. Maybe you couldn't find the fern because I got the common name wrong! Pellaea is cliff brake. Now fixed in post. Lip fern (cheilanthes) also grows in that canyon.a

      Delete
  2. I begin to think I know every inch of your wonderful but harsh willow canyon!
    It seems so cold and dry to someone like me who lives in a mild, wet climate by the sea.
    Thank you for your (hopefully ongoing!) support for tree following, and for observing all the smaller plants on the rocks for us. I love those ferns.
    All the best :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Pat. I'm already thinking about trees for next year.

      Delete
  3. It started to look a bit like winter over there! - beautiful scenery!
    I couldn't keep my 'tree follow' but it is a great idea; I will keep reading here and there. Always something new.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks visiting, botanically inclined. Yes, winter is here finally--pretty late this year.

      Delete
  4. Thanks for sharing this tree over the past year. It's been great to learn about it and see the great scenery.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Tim--for visiting and for all your kind comments!

      Delete
  5. I particularly smiled at the dog tail for scale! But a lovely post all together, reminding us why we follow our trees and how much we can learn individually and together. I guess I may be not alone among my UK compatriots when I say that it is not quite so easy to write enthusiastically at present about our trees in these dark days, but all that will soon change after 21st!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I thought the dog tail for scale was genius too! It can be difficult to find changes in our chosen trees each month, especially in the dark of winter.. but that's where fire-side storytelling comes into it!

      Delete
    2. Thanks, Caroline. I too am looking forward to the longer days!

      Delete
    3. Thanks, leafencounter, I'll pass the compliment on to the dog ;-)

      Delete