Horizon Ridge Feels like I'm standing in a timeless dream

Before long, the two were ready to proceed into the woods. Pied motioned for Kennedy to lead the way, then fell into step beside and slightly behind him. Randomly, she wondered how old he was. She guessed three or four, possibly five. She almost asked but then a faint but alluring scent distracted her, drawing her through the trees as if being reeled in on an invisible fishing line.

The fragrance led her to the southwestern side of the ridge, where she could see the sequoias and, beyond them, even Blacktail Deer Plateau off in the distance. It wasn't anything so remote that captured her attention here, however. Instead, it was the tree planted firmly on the edge of a bluff, leaning partially into the open air, some of its roots exposed. Its bare limbs forked into the wintry sky, bare except for little buds along nearly every branch. It was difficult to tell from down here—she paused just beneath it—but Pied thought they looked pink.

"Oh, wow," she said, inhaling the sweet scent of those tiny blossoms. She dropped her head and looked around to see if Kennedy had followed her here or if she'd lost him along the way. "I wonder what kind of tree this is. It smells heavenly. It'll make the whole ridge smell wonderful come springtime, I bet."