In a field of granite rising over a deep indigo lake, we met a panoply of old trees.
Their bright fur reminded Barry of redwoods; their ancient wild shapes reminded me of bristlecones. He started calling them “The Bristlehearts,” and even now we know their official taxonomy,* this nickname sticks for us. They are full of bristle, and full of heart. They seem to carry the stories – all the stories – of existence in their bodies, these ancient beings who draw power up from stone and dance into vast, open skies. Barry visited them again and again in different light, sitting in their presence. I traced contour after texture with marveling fingertips, gazed into their crevasses with all my senses, and marveled to look down and see my own feet.
*The Sierra juniper, or Juniperus grandis, with the recently-differentiated Juniperus occidentalis, is a hearty and characterful tree found in shallow soils and high altitudes. Some have been crossdated at over 2,000 years old.
![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_474,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F55944e76-f87f-471e-ad03-e78088bffb47_3024x4032.jpeg)
![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_474,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F4c22a886-84b9-4f1c-8326-c1f30381389a_3024x2469.jpeg)
![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_474,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F0e0b1ac1-9198-4c37-8700-9720585315ab_3024x4032.jpeg)
![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_720,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F57e95941-22ba-4b11-a731-501fe6079e4b_2726x4032.jpeg)
![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_720,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F8aa5484e-526c-45f3-8387-da0f4b7519bb_4032x3024.jpeg)
The Gymnosperm Database “Juniperus grandis” Adams 2006 conifers.org/cu/Juniperus_grandis.php
Rocky Mountain Tree-Ring Research, “Oldlist” Dr. Peter M. Brown rmtrr.org/oldlist.htm
How can they even be real?? What magical beings.