Still too wet to go #mtb so instead I did one of my favorite things: hike into the trails and then head in random directions through the woods as the mood struck.
First off: vernal pools everywhere! Also, Red Efts. Still a little too cool for mushrooms, maybe in a week or two?
Lots of photos, so this will be a thread of some favs: vernal pools, Efts, and so much moss.
Jack Pine cones, with different lichens.
Usually the cones remain closed and persistent on the tree for 10–20 years, during this long time even such lichens can grow on them.
This flowering cherry was planted in 1974, so it's 50+ years old this Spring.
There's quite a collection of colorful lichen and/or fungus on this tree - please forgive the blurry red one! The yellow one failed to pass editorial muster altogether, alas. (will try again on another day)
A fine 'playing card' stone for today's #StandingStoneSunday (Aubrey Burl's term for a standing stone which is a thin, flat slab): Waun Leuci, partway up the side of hill in Y Mynydd Du, an area rich with prehistoric archaeology.
Nearby is the wonderful Cerrig Duon stone circle with the Maen Mawr outlier and stone rows, round barrows and an enigmatic stone setting. It stands above the nascent Afon Tawe.
I only wanted to photograph a small landscape of lichens and mosses...
The extra I got was a lot of unexpected dark-blue springtails in this landscape.
You may zoom in to see them better!
Different species of Powderhorn lichens growing among mosses and liverworts.
In the center of the image the Lipstick Powderhorn (Cladonia macilenta) with its red fruiting bodies (apothecia). 💄 👄
We got the #lichen home and I misted it with water. We watched it hydrate, swelling up to three times the size in a matter of moments, becoming pale and glossy. Best present ever
A nice demonstration of how #geology underlies #ecology - different #lichen communities growing on Lewisian gneiss and a basalt dyke within it. #Raasay, #Scotland.
Found this apparently completely dried piece of lichen on a rock, scattered by black bears when foraging.
I took it home, watered it all over, and put it in a small cup.
The second photo, taken 24 hours after watering, shows how quickly lichens and mosses recover after a rain.