A Day Dedicated to Lichens

Yesterday, while showing my guests some roadside wildflowers, some kids called our attention to lichens - and called them "moss." Since we were in the presence of some spectacular examples of colorful ones on tree bark, on rocks, and on fallen tree branches, I took one photo of some beauties on the bark of a black oak, then decided to come back today and dedicate a photo session to lichens in general. The plan is to photograph as many different types as I can find in the hour I can spare before work, then post some notes about lichens' role as soil makers, a simple scheme for learning the different types, and a little story about how lichen expert Beatrix Potter got dissuaded from a science career and earned fame writing fiction about rabbits.

It's now the next morning and I've posted 9 more images of lichens from a fencepost on Chandler Road to oaks and firs in and around Oakland Camp. Couldn't focus entirely onlichens as I came across beautiful patches of Pennyroyal and Leopard Lily. My day was also made more interesting by the appearance of a rattlesnake. Two young ladies at camp found one in the vicinity of their tent last night. They got it into a terrarium and I was recruited to let the camp kids line up and take turns visiting the snake and asking questions. We then let it go in the forest some distance from camp. The Beatrix Potter story will have to wait because I've got to get to work. You could Google her meanwhile.