#296: 50 Shades of Green

At least 50; maybe more

I was wandering down the upper portion of La Luz last week when I ran into another hiker who said he was looking for the Bodhi tree.¹ We consulted our respective GPS apps, which showed it was a few switchbacks down the trail. I wondered why I’d never noticed, or even heard of it, before.

So-called Bodhi Tree on La Luz trail, Sandia mountains

When I arrived at the point our maps had shown, I realized it was what I’ve always thought of as The Tree. It’s not a Bodhi tree but it is very special in the way it spreads its green canopy over such a large area, especially at such a high elevation.²

Gray hairstreak on Arizona valerian flowers, La Luz, Sandias

A week or two previously, La Luz had been covered with clusters of tiny white valerian flowers. I was thrilled when a gray hairstreak stopped by to nectar on some of them.

Thimbleberry and strawberry leaves along the East Fork of the Jemez

I was ambling along the East Fork a few weeks back when I noticed a lush combination of thimbleberry and strawberry leaves snuggled up against a lichen-covered rock.

Yellow ladyslippers, Pecos wilderness

A friend and I found dozens of wild yellow orchids along a stream in the Pecos last week. Turns out they’re called ladyslippers; it was the first time I’d ever encountered them. It wasn’t until after I’d taken the photo above that their name started to make sense.

Tall grass on the banks of the East Fork

It’s been exceptionally green in New Mexico lately, which is a bit surprising since it was a fairly dry winter.

Many shades of green along the East Fork

Even the high Sandias are quite lush right now. Here’s hoping that trend continues throughout the state for the rest of the summer.

Canadian violets, Sandia mountains

1. He told me there were only a few Bodhi trees outside Asia and one was on La Luz.

2. I believe it’s an aspen but have always been a bit confused since its trunk and limbs look more like those of a cottonwood. It lives at about 10,000 feet.

The experience was a fine reminder not to reflexively believe everything I see, hear, and/or read without further investigation — even when it comes from something as authoritative as a GPS app.