Gathering Moss

Gathering Moss is the name of Robin Wall Kimmerer’s  book that I have just purchased and brought up here.   Saw it on blip  (Kendall)  and thought it was a new book by the author of Braiding Sweetgrass which got me thru the pandemic with its calm logic and lovely writing.  But I see the moss book is 10 years earlier.     So far I’m delighted!  and much more knowledgeable than I was last week.    This is definitely the place for moss…it covers the ground, the rocks, the trees, parts of buildings, or garden art sculptures.  Moss needs water as they have no roots and no internal system to deliver water…it’s all dew or rain that gets absorbed in their leaves.  They dry out totally without but can be brought back quickly with a sprinkle of water.    I have tried to identify them in my local plant book…. there are 32 pages, 2 to a page…and very dull confusing  reading.   For the earth’s most primitive tiny plant, there are over 600 varieties…the Diversity Galiano website lists 146 right here.    I think I’ll just enjoy looking closely at the various forms.    Robin suggests carrying around a magnifier…so I gathered what I have: the lupe, for photos/negatives, the brown case was my Dad’s, and the black is an old  Bausch and Lomb, I have no idea where that came from.     They are the same magnification…less than the 8x of the lupe.  But they will do nicely and I will do my best to tackle some macro images of this amazing plant.    The extra is taken 3 steps out my back door…that glacial erratic / big rock is what I blipped…I think you might even appreciate from here there are at least 3 varieties on this rock.     More about moss later!!

A walk, 2 zooms today and I got my studio table cleaned off with new plastic cover and ready for new projects!   Not bad.......