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I’ve come to realize that not only am I walking through a series of perfect rock  gardens, but that very often a rock will have its own garden.

In the lower areas, a rock will support a mixed colony of flowers on it and around it.

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Higher up, a rock might be embraced by a juniper or enveloped by an azalea..

Tiny plants squeeze into crevices..

Above the tree line and in the scree where the snow has only just melted, the tiny shrubs are just coming into bud, sheltered by the rocks they are crouching under.

I found myself almost at a standstill looking at these tiny ecosystems, each existing by itself and also as part of the whole ecosystem of the mountain..

And as for the rock and its tree!