How did we get to the January already?!?! I feel as though the days evaporated into the time-space continuum and here we are now on February 1st. Thank you to everyone who was able to make the time to offer us their pictures of moss and/or lichen!
I love Mary’s creativity in referring to this as a “Lichen Village”, it really inspires the imagination and remind us that all things are part of a community.
More from the Shrieking Lichen Pit By IDV Norfolk England UK Jan 2023 https://inexplicabledevice.blogspot.com/
lichen, any of about 15,000 species of plantlike organisms that consist of a symbiotic association of algae (usually green) or cyanobacteria and fungi (mostly ascomycetes and basidiomycetes). Lichens are found worldwide and occur in a variety of environmental conditions.
Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. “lichen”. Encyclopedia Britannica, 21 Dec. 2022, https://www.britannica.com/science/lichen. Accessed 1 February 2023.
Mostly Moss…
I’ve been to Japan many times but one of my favorite memories is when I was honored to stay at my friend Keiko’s house and her dad showed me his lovely tsubo-niwa (a small courtyard garden). When he showed me the tweezers he uses to pluck out rogue grass I had a funny thought; in Japan they favor the moss and not the grass and in the United States they favor the grass and not the moss. Personally, I’m with the Japanese on this. I prefer moss and clover over to big plots of lawn grass.
Here’s one of my favorite videos about the art of tsubo-niwa by NHK World Video:
Tsubo-niwa: Life Enhanced by Quintessential Spaces Language: English, Japanese, Chinese, Espanol Runtime: 28mins
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/ondemand/video/2029065/?
In closing, I’d like to thank Lisa Troute for providing us with this interesting article about moss itself.
The Many Meanings of Moss: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/nov/03/the-many-meanings-of-moss?cmpid=email-hist-inside-history-2022-0102-01022023&om_rid=58020d8ae1f1e8bc8e1d99bbd88cbfce9d1d1a142b3954bba64b94e6bf720408&~campaign=hist-inside-history-2022-0102
Thank you to everyone that participated in this month’s photo submission request! It’s not a competition, you all have my love and gratitude!
Next up:
Ferns and/or Unexpected Blooms
Due: February 28th
To be posted on: March 1st
The Fine Print: Photo Submissions Guidelines
Email to: natureledlife@gmail.com Subject line: Photo Submission for [month] (Multiple months of photos in one email is fine.) Image: Attached as a .JPEG or .PNG file preferred. Captions each picture: Subject in the photo (if known), State/Providence & Country, Date (optional). Your name as you want it to appear, Your blog link (if you have one.)
Feel free to add any interesting notes about a picture. I love interesting stories behind things! Let me know if it’s just for ‘my eyes only’ or if I can share any part of it with your photo. Pictures must be your own or you have permission from the Photographer to share it. All copyrights belong to their respective owners. This is a free, fun, community site about nature. Non-commercial and ad free.
The Nature-led Life 
Yes, I love mossy things, but right now there is very little here! I’ll dig out some old photos and see what else I might have. When my father let me borrow his camera (a 1920-something folding brownie!!) I went bananas on the moss that threatened a takeover of the back lawn and there might be some pictures…
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Awesome Dinah! If you find them please share! I never get tired of moss.
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What lovely submissions one and all…and the one that took my breath away was the A Glimpse of the Shrieking Pit! What a stunning fallen tree overtaken by moss. I so wanted to submit a picture, but for the life of me couldn’t find any in my archives of some moss pictures I’d taken. I have some beauties taken up in the mountains. I will see you for the next topic though!!!!
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I look forward to your photo submissions next time, Mistress Borghese! Leave it to a Brit to come up with a fun name like “the Shieking Pit” for a pond. Ha,ha,ha Me thinks our IDV is being Tolkienesque.
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Oh… I’m sure he is some sort of Woodlin fairy folk and part time warlock. As your aware, I may also have a slight crush of our Mr DeVice.
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Never gave much thought to moss, until now. Nice pics, Melanie! Also, having lived in AZ for nearly nine years now, I can honestly say that, at least here in the desert, grass is not only less attractive, it’s a downright sin because water is so precious around here. Thanks for sharing!
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Thanks Schingle! I learned that moss can grow in the desert even (although probably not in a lot of places) but it grows everywhere except Antartica.
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The Shrieking Pit–what a great name. I just noticed there’s moss on the sidewalk on my street–we’ve had non-stop rain for months. I too prefer moss and lichen to a well-manicured lawn. Even rampant weeds are better, actually…(K)
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Moss on the sidewalk, might not be the best place for it. I have some on my driveway edge and it gets slippery when it’s wet.
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When I went out yesterday, the super had cleaned it up. They do try i keep their building sidewalks clean.
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I was astounded by all the types of mosses in this post, and all the regions/countries that are responding to your blog! Here is a bit more about ball moss–not “ball of moss.” And alas, according to Wikipedia, not a true moss.
Tillandsia recurvata, commonly known as small ballmoss[3] or ball moss, is a flowering plant (not a true moss) in the family Bromeliaceae that grows upon larger host plants. It grows well in areas with low light, little airflow, and high humidity, which is commonly provided by southern shade trees, often the southern live oak (Quercus virginiana).[4] It is not a parasite like mistletoe, but an epiphyte like its relative Spanish moss.
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Thank you for the insight, Lisa! It’s interesting how the addition or exclusion of one small word like “of” can make such a difference in meaning. I always appreciate learning something new!
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Long live lichen!
Moss is mighty!
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They’ve both been around for a very long time! I’ll have to do some research and see if they’re as old as ferns (next months submission), which are among the oldest plants in the world, having been around since dinosaurs roamed the earth.
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Wonderful submissions for this month! Moss and lichen are definitely one of learning edges. There is so much out there that I still need to explore. Thanks for hosting these photo collections.
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My pleasure, Mark! I always learn something new and it’s fun to see how a post will come together.
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I love that top picture.
I’ve been seeing moss everywhere now – I wish I’d taken more pictures. I will keep a look out for the unexpected blooms, and I can certainly get you some ferns!
Sx
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I’m late to this, Melanie, but thank you for the awesome collection. I did keep my eyes peeled but didn’t find any subjects to photograph and submit. It’s been snow and mud here, nothing else. Nope. Nothing but snow and mud. HA
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You don’t want to play in the snow and make a snow flower? 😉 Ha,ha,ha. Maybe next month!
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