A Study in Moss and Lichen

Yesterday my family headed over to Cuyahoga Valley National Park. Although spring is in the air, on the Pine Lane trail we found a forest still bleak in winter colors, but interesting things all around, nonetheless.

Lots of lichen growing on decaying trees:


Hidey-holes in mossy tree trunks:

Woolly moss:

Which sometimes looked like a head of hair:

Or as if it was just resting for a moment on the rock before scurrying away:

A diverse neighborhood:

Fern eruptions:

We turned around here, not just because part of the trail had fallen into the creek below, but because two of our number had fallen in as well and were wet and cold (the male half, which were playing around on fallen trees and too close to treacherous, sandy banks):

A jumble of fallen debris:

Here is a trail marker, fallen in:

More moss:

A spot, slowly eating away the stone upon which it lives:

A mossy colony:

A bit of green peeking through the leaves:

And finally, a very interesting pine: