After visiting our favorite old Washoe pine (see article, Visiting a Grand Old Washoe Pine, September 1, 2022), Marilyn and I thought it would be a good idea to check up on our favorite old ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa). The Parker2 Fire burned through this area in 2017 and came within a quarter mile of this old tree. Because it is not surrounded by other large trees, it has live limbs that reach all the way to the ground.
This great old ponderosa is located in Modoc National Forest about four miles north of Pepperdine Campground along the road called Warner Mountain Ridge-Line, at about the 6,800-foot elevation.
Another mile and a half farther north along the same road is one of our favorite spots to have lunch. This is in a mature white fir forest with many large old firs mixed with some aspen. We had seen evidence of Pileated Woodpeckers (Dryocopus pileatus) in this area back in July.
The Pileated Woodpecker activity on this white fir stump is beyond anything we had seen in July. There must have been lots of ants and larvae residing here.
This fir forest is very dense with very little growing in the litter under the trees, but there are some open areas where the sun reaches. The species featured in the following slide show are some that I photographed in those open spaces on July 4, 2022. Enjoy! ~Paul Davis
