Evergreen Tree looks like "driftwood" after many many years.

[CCCChickenman]

Hey Guys & Gals,
We live in rural Southern Colorado, and everybody in town has collected what "looks" like driftwood to add to their landscaping.
We were up in the mountains this weekend, and saw this "Driftwood" still attached to the ground.
It had a beautiful bent, twisted, deformed shape with just a few sprigs of what looks like evergreen still green on the branch tip. The rest of the tree looks dead .... "But" has taken on a look of its own.Very unusual ..Not sure if people buy the deformed pieces of art, or borrow them from nature? Anyone give me a heads-up on what this tree is??

 

[beefy]

sounds like a Weatherbeaten Conifer.

 

[HiDelight]

I would love to see a picture

 

[rockytopsis]

Yep, take a camera next time. Please

 

[chills]

OOO sounds neat, i want to see too ..

 

[CCCChickenman]

Hey Guys,
I did some research about conifers today.
Found out from one of my friends ,who was born here in Canon City, that the trees are "Junipers"
and have lovely" Juniper Berries"
When the tree dies, nature twists, and curls, and reshapes the tree trunks, and branches.
The gnarley looking trees are prized around here as lawn/landscape decorations..If you're lucky enough to get a branch that twisted much less the actual tree trunk w/branches.

 

[Greensage45]

Well,

I sure hope this tree you found will live on for many more years to come. These gnarled and twisted junipers can sometimes take 100's of years to form.

Such a lovely thing, I can respect the use of the completely dead wood that is left; but I am the kind that believes even the smallest part of evergreen showing is Nature creating Masterpieces, similar to how the Bonsai Masters create their masterpieces.

It is fascinating how the smallest, thin layer under the bark carries the sap and nutrients along all that dead inner wood that was developed years and years ago, ring after ring, twisting in the winds, the heat, the snow, and the ice. Just enough sap under the bark to carry life all the way up to its green new growth.

This reminds me of Methuselah Tree, reported to be the oldest tree in history. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/methuselah/

Thank you for sharing, maybe if you have a digital camera you might take some pictures of folks' branch decorations. I would love to see some. Here in southern NM we see more boulders and stone anchoring the landscaping.

Ron

 

[sparkles2307]

Its junipers. They look like this:

The wind and harsh elements in the Rocky Mtns do this to the trees, but they are still alive. I always loved the junipers when we lived in Wyoming.

 

[chills]

wow .. i love the photo, that really is something i would find on the beach, but i didnt see a beach in your photo .........
i guess i never knew you could get driftwood with out the drift ...
love it!

 

[sparkles2307]

wow .. i love the photo, that really is something i would find on the beach, but i didnt see a beach in your photo .........
i guess i never knew you could get driftwood with out the drift ...
love it!

Nope that would be on a butte right behind my old house in Rock Springs, WY. There are many more beautiful than that one but the kids liked the climbing on that particular one best.