Moving right along...

Mr. Pony is shedding! My little self propelled lawn mower got a good curry Saturday. In one hand I had the curry and in the other I had a shedding blade.

I hope the birds find his piles of hair. 

The weather for Sunday afternoon has promised us heavy rain and lots of it.

Up to 2 inches or more are expected.

I did get out in the morning to explore the valley and the creek for a little bit while Rich was busy watching a program.

The rain that was coming would keep me indoors for the rest of today and most of tomorrow.

I set my watch. I know how long it takes me to get to a few spots that I want to check out and get back home before he needs me for something.

I admit it. I'd rather wander with free will. But life doesn't always allow it.
Other chores around the house will wait for when the rain descends on us.

Mr. Chipmunk [Chippy] had a great time this morning checking out my daffodils. 

Isn't he cute? 

I washed and dried him and he came out looking just great. I'll add him to my collection of Stuffies. I do have my eye on the Prairie Dog I saw at one of the resale shops. He'd go great with my Chippie and Beaver!

I did some studies of lichen, mosses, and ducks Sunday morning.

I think it is Acarospora strigata lichen. I'd call it scaly white lichen on a log. I didn't find a common name for it, but still the macro shot is sort of abstract in a way.

My favorite green stuff found with mosses? Simply this: Snakeskin Liverwort.
I think that is a fun name for a Liverwort.

It has a Scientific name if you are interested. Conocephalum salebrosum.

Folklore says it is good for warding off evil spirits and brings good luck.

I just love the incredible texture it has on the small leaves.

I got to the creek and couldn't resist pulling these little ones out of my bag.

Go ahead and laugh. I'll never have my ducks in a row figuratively. But I can try.

I was careful and checked my time. I had some shots in mind and set them up quickly. I grabbed my stuff and dumped it in my backpack to head home.

Halfway home, I stopped by a little rock that had moss on it. The day was overcast which is like having the whole forest in a huge softbox.

I put my little 30mm macro lens on the camera and enjoyed a few minutes of 'close ups'.

One takes what conditions the weather gives you for photography. I like slightly overcast days much better than bright sunny ones [unless I am shooting Infrared, then bright sunny middays are perfect].

Now onto Monday's duties. We had an inch and 3/4 of rain last night. I expect my equine will be a bit muddy today.

I'm Liken Lichen...

My outings are few and far between at the moment. We are busy with scheduled visits from the Hospice folks, deliveries of medications, and crappy weather. [I'm still trying to figure out some sort of schedule]

I did get out for a bit with Charlie and we went hunting for some little things. I went to the creek to look for Lichen and mosses.

By the rock vents above this section of the creek, there were still icicles hanging from the rocks above Snakeskin Liverwort. That has to be the coolest of all names for a Liverwort.

Snakeskin Liverwort Lichen loves cool, damp, shady places. It loves growing by this rock vent of cold air. Even in the driest of summers, it is damp here.

I found an oak limb that had a colorful array of lichens on it.

I don't know all the names of the lichens on this limb, but I thought it made such a colorful patchwork of colors.

March is the perfect month to search for Lichen
if you are lucky, you can find one branch

with quite a variety on them.

Mosses on a log

Even with a record temperature of 79 F, we still had ice in the valley.  Charlie cooled his feet.

One of the drawbacks of a nice graveled driveway is...raking up the gravel to put it back on the driveway.

I take it a bit at a time especially since NOAA has given us a Winter Weather Advisory that could give us rain and then some snow or up to 8" of heavy wet snow. Trying to do it all at once is a miserable long job.

I could hire a yard sweeper to come out and do it, but that could cost the minimum of $200. Anyway, that was the rate last year when I considered it. With the economy looking a bit iffy, I'm not willing to spend the extra money just to make things easy right now. 

If we get significant snow again, we'll get another plow and more gravel will be piled in the yard so I will leave my piles for when the snows are all done.

While waiting and waiting hours for a delivery from FedEx, I decided to do some more creative photography. 

Other news updates---->

We have Robins, Redwing Blackbirds, and Blue birds in our yard! 

[This may be the first year that I haven't gone to KVR to look for water fowl and and other migrating birds. I may have to see if I can 'shoot' some nearer the house]

...and I am waiting for an opportunity to go look for the first Flower of Spring. The Skunk Cabbage.

Sunday

The early bird gets the sunrise as the days grow longer. The colors are so amazing in the sky as they change so quickly.

In truth, this past week has felt more like mid March or the beginning of April than the last week of February. A year ago we were recovering from a major ice/snowstorm. This year? It is warm and pleasant.
In the morning I need coveralls to do chores. By midday, I can work outside in a sweatshirt.

I started this job:

Believe me, it will be a long long job to do. But since I can't plant a garden yet, raking, picking up sticks and stones will be a good job for me. It is good mindless work that can be done while listening to the birds and the forest noises.

I took a couple of breaks to go out and search for color in the woods. It is hard this time of the year as everything seems to be dull and lifeless.
Except when you look for Lichen and mosses. Then things get colorful.

During our morning walk Charlie and I found snow and ice on the mosses!

...and by a little after lunch time....

The Lichen was quite beautiful. But one has to pick up sticks or crouch down on a look to find the colors.

On a stick:

Lichen and moss on a log. It was so colorful!

Late Sunday afternoon, I took time to just sit on the porch with Charlie and enjoy the warm sunshine.

Charlie enjoyed it immensely.

It seems as though the ducks are starting to try and behave themselves.

Hmmm. There is one in every crowd.

New Year's Eve?

 I'm not doing anything special. The year will change over with or without my participation. Last year I picked a word 'Explore' for the year. I did a pretty good job at that and am hoping to continue Exploring both the natural world around me and the Still Life world of Photography and Toys. 

Sometimes I'll combine both.

I have stuff on my 'to do' list. But I'm not making a solid commitment to the Stuff. 

I will commit to just one day at a time. 

And...wait for it!!!!

My son Eddie and his wife Megan brought Aurora Ivy into this world on Wednesday the 27th. I cannot wait to meet her! They said they will call her Rory. All is well with them and Rory and they are taking time to get to know each other right now. Soon enough they said they would come and visit us so we can meet her.

I think that is such a kind act since Rich can't travel.

I can't think of much that really.

I leave you with the last of December's colors that I found

And...
Charlie, Mr. Intense watching for squirrels, chipmunks, and hawks....

he also wishes a safe and quiet New Year's Eve.

The Brown season turns to....Lichen

The brown season is coming in strong. The last few cold nights of 24 degrees F have caused leaves to do sudden dumps.

The maple forest was incredible with spots of yellow where the maples dropped everything overnight. The oaks before the last cold days still had the brilliant red. I checked the leaves and the brilliant reds were Red Oaks. The dullish leaves were White Oaks.

Oaks in the distance before

two nights of 20 degree weather.

The green in the lower portion of the above photo is of those nasty Buckthorn Trees. They stay green well into late November.

A White Oak with a nekked Birch in front of it.

Yesterday in the late afternoon, I decided to take Charlie and just look for Lichen. Perhaps with a different subject to find, I'd feel better about the brown season.

What I did not know is that some Lichen actually prefer fall and winter. There is more moisture and it isn't as hot. Some Lichen go dormant in the cold weather. Either way, they are easier to find in the fall and spring without all of the other plants hiding them.

Lichen are super easy to find. This is a shot of a tree trunk on a trail and two different Lichens on the tree.

Some sort of Foliose Lichen with some 

sort of brown/blackish lichen or moss?

More Lichen.

I have no idea!
Found on a mossy rock.

Logs, logs...logs.
This seems to be a great place to find Lichen. See the arrow? That points to the place where I used my macro lens to shoot this lichen embedded in moss. 

I used a small pouch filled with soy husks as a tripod and set the camera to its very narrow 'focus' stack feature.

I'm not going to try and ID it, but just thought it was rather pretty and amazing that we can see something So Tiny!

Here it is in a larger photo. I just dig the colors.

It just looks like a crazy foreign world doesn't it?

I found some dried up orange fungi mixed in with some pretty greenish/bluish turquoise colored Lichen. The orange fungi is often called False Turkey Tail.

And I leave this blog with my favorite shot of a beautiful Yellow Lichen, which is rumored to be a Sunburst [common name] Lichen.

First my finger next to the multi colored Lichens...

Then The Happy Lichen.... isn't it cute? Look at the brilliant colors!

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Lichen