tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3642807619836239233.post536707874790452271..comments2023-05-01T11:57:53.201-04:00Comments on Just Off the One-Lane Road: The Grass IS Growing Under Our FeetElorahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04579555623060708938noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3642807619836239233.post-31837203680910200682010-02-18T04:51:57.952-05:002010-02-18T04:51:57.952-05:00I think I might prefer the tedium of white to the ...I think I might prefer the tedium of white to the tedium of grey that is the British winter but anything that lasts without change would be tediuos. The anticipation of change and the pleasure in spotting the first small signs are big factors in the joy of living an outdoor life.Ruta Mhttp://www.notesfromnorthdevon.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3642807619836239233.post-53972396617463347502010-02-17T12:13:03.718-05:002010-02-17T12:13:03.718-05:00Ahh, the lovely lichens, one of my favorite niches...Ahh, the lovely lichens, one of my favorite niches in the natural world. Looking for wildflowers once with an old professor of botany, she informed me that some of the most miniscule forms around us were also the oldest in the forest. A rock lichen might be growing as slowly as 1mm/yr, taking over 200 years to become an inch across, watching massive trees rise and fall in its lifespan. Lichens are of course a partnership of a fungus that roots it and an algae that feeds the fungus. Perhaps the fungal action on the substrate also feeds the algae, but it mainly has its own photosynthesis going on using the fungal platform.<br /><br /> I love the wallpapering they create on tree trunks, especially the smooth barked characters like beech and gingko. The latter survive many tough urban conditions, but if there’s much air pollution, the lichens refuse to grow there, a dire meter on a city’s air quality. Keep cleaning us up, Elora thanks chrisAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com