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| WISCONSIN SPREADING JUNIPER... |
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| ...TIPS OF BRANCHES TURN UPWARD |
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| MT. ASHWABAY IS OPEN |
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| TREES PAY THE REAL ESTATE TAXES |
Sunday, New Year’s Day, 2012. 31 degrees, wind WNW, strong at times. We got about 3” of fine, wet snow last night and will probably be getting more, as the sky is filled with dark snow clouds. The roads are quite slippery, and one of the neighbors missed the corner on 9th St. and went into the ditch. After several attempts at pulling her out with a pickup truck, a city dump truck loaded with sand attached a line and that did the trick. Never would have happened in a big city.
Running Buddy on the beach late yesterday afternoon I came across this colony of the native spreading Wisconsin Juniper, Juniperus communis var. depressa. I wouldn’t say it is rare by any means, but it is not seen that often because it occupies very specific habitats, such as beach dunes and other sandy, droughty locations. It and its cultivars and some similar species of Juniper, mainly J. horizontalis are much used in landscaping because of their low, creeping habit that makes then useful as ground covers. The primary difference between J. communis var. depressa and J. horizontalis is that in the former the prostrate, running branches turn upwards at the distal ends, and in the latter the branch tips remain prostrate. In Wisconsin, J. horizonalis is found mainly in Door County along Lake Michigan beaches.
The Mount Ashwabay ski hill is open and drawing good crowds.
There is lots of logging going on everywhere, as real estate taxes have to be paid by the end of January. Private land has to support itself; by farming, logging, or the use of whatever economic resources it offers.
Happy New Year, and let’s hope it is a better one in all respects than the old.
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