Tree-following: Junipers in July

My field assistant stayed home (too warm). But I managed to find both my trees and the shutter release button, thereby verifying my visit.

Several months had passed since I last visited the Rocky Mountain Junipers I'm following this year. What a changed landscape! We had a cool wet spring, and a cool wet summer so far. Many are wondering—have we've ever seen the Laramie Basin so green so late?

I suppose it still looks arid to those elsewhere. But for us, this is LUSH!

Needle-and-Thread, Hesperostipa (Stipa) comata.

It was impossible to capture the grass diversity in a photo. For example there are least four species in the one below: Needle-and-Thread, Indian Ricegrass, Blue Grama, and Western Wheatgrass.

Grass enthusiasts can click to enlarge the image and search for species.

I soon left the trail to cross slabby limestone to the junipers I'm following.

Hello little Limber Pine. I'm back.

There was a light breeze at most so for the first time I was able to photograph the foliage and "berries" (technically fleshy cones). Only the darker tree (above) has berries. They are yellow brown, perhaps immature. It is said that they take two years to mature and turn a glaucous blue.

Berries can barely be spotted in the foliage.

But I wonder—will these berries mature? They look a bit sickly to me, maybe from our multi-year drought. We shall see.

This is my contribution to the July gathering of Tree Followers, kindly hosted by The Squirrelbasket. More news here.