Fruticose Lichens

 Almost 20 inches of snow kept this person home, doing a nature hike through her picture files. I definitely have no shortage of files.

Mosses and lichens grow high on the rocky hills on Shawnee National Forest land south of my rural property. That’s where these pictures came from.

The following lichens are in a group called fruticose lichens. They are distinguished by miniature branched stalks or by being somewhat bushy.

Meet British Soldiers lichen,

also called red cap.

They also go by the name scientific name Cladonia cristatella. The red cap is the fruiting body of the lichen.

Brown cap ( Cladonia capitata) resembles the red cap. They’re much less common here. Their stalks were less than 1/2 inch tall.

These pixie cups are so cute.  I don’t know enough about them to determine which species of Cladonia they are.

This last fruticose lichen is called reindeer moss. Obviously, we don’t have reindeer in southern Illinois to eat it. I’m unable to find it’s scientific name.

Reindeer moss can grow into large clumps and be quite common. They’re brittle when dry, and soft and cushy when damp.

Lichens are actually two plants — a fungus and algae — growing together in a symbiotic relationship. The fungus provides the algae a place to live, and the algae provides food for the lichen.

Guest Finds “Clouds” while Questing for Orbs

A new friend of mine posted these pictures of mine on her blog site.

Eye of the Camera

Kathy Phelps has been a guest orb photographer on Orbs Delight a few times. You may remember her photos of “clouds” that appeared on her view screen after taking a photograph while questing for orbs.  Well, she had another remarkable night. The following photos have been arranged chronologically based on the camera file numbers.

Maybe “remarkable” is too vague a word. How about “astounding!”  You can see in the photo above that orbs did make an appearance.

Easy to imagine a spirit running out of camera’s view on the right, scarf flying in the wind.

Perhaps a parade of spirits sailing over the clothesline in Kathy’s yard, waving a greeting.

Kathy is a lightworker. To help explain what that might mean, she quotes Doreen Virtue: “Lightworkers are those that volunteered, before birth, to help the planet and its population heal from the effects of fear. Each lightworker is here for a sacred…

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Billbergia

After over a week of being snowed in, I thought it was time for a spark of color.

Obviously, all the colors of these Billbergia flowers stood out in the morning sunlight and brightened my day.

Hope they brighten yours too.

Stone Masonry part 3

This is the last of three blogs about a short bluff on Eagle Mountain where Buffy and I often hike. Iron in the rock resulted in these dramatic designs, and the designs are called liesegang banding.

What an imagination Nature had when it came to this short bluff, and then having the assistance and willingness from the elements who completed these projects.

All the pictures from these 3 blogs (except landscape ones)  came from this bluff.

I didn’t notice the profile face until just now when placing the picture in the blog. It definitely has an alien look about it.

The talent involved in the “carving” of this bluff …

the variety,

and even a modified heart shape.

Anyone home?

The hike along this bluff was most of the dramatic hikes I’ve had in I don’t know how long. It was rugged. It was exciting. It was breathtaking, and it was strenuous.

Next time I plan to hike here, I’ll be sure to have Wheaties for breakfast!

Stone Masonary part 2

This is the second of three blogs on this hike.

Nature’s elements sure had a vivid imagination when it came to the designs in the rocks of a short bluff on Eagle Mountain.

The hike up the steep hill to this short bluff was more than strenuous.

This picture shows steepest part of the slope.

The yellowish sandstone above lacks the iron of the patterned sandstone below.

There were so many combinations in the lines,

  bending and folding,

  repetitions in the layering,

and a diversity in cavity shapes.

Why was there so much more layering, instead of solid shapes?

This one was sure a curiosity.

I just don’t understand what could cause such a diversity of designs. It was faster erosion of the regular sandstone and the slower erosion of the sandstone with the iron. Still there had to be a force that created the original layering before the start of the erosion.

Stone Masonry

… crafted by the elements of nature.

I was way more than impressed (and highly excited). Impressed enough that it will take 3 blogs to show off all their intricate work.

As my followers know, Buffy and I often hike up a creek on Eagle Mountain.

The creek narrowed the higher we went. At one point it made a sharp bend, and was much narrower up from there on up. The rocky slope on the right side rose dramatically, which is one reason I’d never hiked up to this short narrow bluff. If you look on the left side of the picture, you can get an indication of the slope.

It was worth the climb! Iron in the sandstone created the patterns. These are called liesegang bands.

A lot of creativity when into these.

Each unique,

intricate,

  innovative,

and inspiring.The word awe came to mind.

I will post more pictures of these banded rocks in the second blog on Saturday and the third Sunday.

Trees Filled With Stars

Years and years ago I read  writing by either Edwin Way Teale or Hal Borland (think Teale). He and his wife went for a winter night hike to see the trees filled with stars. Naturally, I had to check the woods in the ravine at my rural property. Davis (my youngest son) and I dressed warmly, got our flashlights and headed down.

It has to be a moonless sky and no clouds.

We first entered the woods and sat on “my rock” at the top of a small bluff. Stars FILLED the trees. We sat there. Geese flew over, honking. Our next stop was a downed tree near the dry creek. Davis had a small flashlight and sat investigating the bark on a small tree. He found a tiny hole with lichens around it and a teeny mushroom in it.

After going back across the creek, we laid under a tree I called the Grandmother Tree with our heads near the trunk. The limbs made it look like a giant spider standing over us.

We walked out of the woods. I wondered if stars filled the little bluestem grass too. The tall grass stalks made the barrens look like a prairie. We laid in the grass, his head on my shoulder and mine on his. Stars filled the grass too. An owl hooted. Another answered.

That was 23 years ago when Davis was 9. The hike is still a vivid memory for both of us.

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I took this picture on a cloudy day and then darkened it considerably in Photoshop and added the stars.