Johnnie and I moved away to an ancient forest in Southern Colorado. We live in the Pinon/Juniper woodlands of Southeast Colorado in a house on a hill overlooking the Spanish peaks. At 7000 feet in elevation, we receive 10-15 inches of moisture a year and tree species are drought and cold resistant as are the plants and animals. Tree densities have increased, and junipers and pinon pines have expanded upslope into the ponderosa pine, spruce, and fir forests of the Sangre de Christo mountains and downslope into grass and shrub communities of the eastern plains of Colorado.
Our county is 1,000,000+ acres where 6500 people live. ( Rhode Island is 750,000 acres for reference) We live 14 miles from town on 5 acres in the country on winding county roads that rise up to the awesome majesty of the Rocky Mountains. Sometimes I stop on the road and marvel at the arroyos and sweeping scenic wonder in quiet solitude from the truck. Home. How it thrills me. Quiet and peaceful, it's everything I've dreamed of.
However we do have lot's of noisy neighbors.
The Pinon Jay is a regular visitor to our birdfeeder in the winter. Years of drought has yielded a poor pinon nut crop. They are a bit larger than the Western Scrub Jay and the Stellar Jay. A true and rare beauty.
Pinon Pines and Junipers grow very slowly. Pinus edulis is a short and scrubby tree that rarely reaches heights taller than 35 feet. Growth is very slow and trees with diameters of 4 to 6 inches can be several hundred years old. It typically grows either in pure stands or with juniper. The chunky little cones produce a well-known and tasty nut that is well sought after. Oftentimes, I see local hispanic families with blankets and sheets spread under the trees shaking the trunk to dislodge the thousands of nuts and cones on a tree by the roadside. The wood is very fragrant when burned and I like to mix it with the hard wood of scrub oak that proliferates in the area for a longer burn. Eighteen inch (18") diameter trees are estimated to be 500 years old reaching about 30 to 35 foot in height. Some Pinons can live to 800 to 1000 years old. As you can see this tree by the driveway is 19 inches in diameter. I estimate the tree to be 600-800 years old.
I love to walk in the forest with Johnnie. We stop and examine the animal tracks and cacti along the way looking. The coyotes and deer occasionally move out of the way as we approach. Our property backs up to open space that backs up to a large ranch that backs up to the National forest. At night there are no lights or light pollution and when I step out on the back porch I can see the billions of stars intersected by the wondrous Milky Way. The natural rhythm and beauty of the cosmos is my back yard for a short while.
And the night is black. So are the bears
The Juniper trees are even older. Some have been dated to 3000 years old. This Juniperus scopulorum is 31 inches in diameter. I estimate it to be 600 to 800 years old. it's in my back yard and I look at it out the window every day.
Here's a picture of a Juniper.
This tree is nearby and has a diameter of 35" It could be 900 to 1000 years old!
I often wonder how incredibly wonderful these trees are to have lived 500 to 1000 years old. The Native Americans used the berries of the Juniper as a remedy for colds. The Junipers and Pinons are a constant food source for the many birds and mammals that inhabit these expansive forests.
Even Vito enjoys the forest when he comes to visit
We try to live lightly on the land realizing that we are merely passing visitors and stewards of an Ancient pygmy forest.