Sunday, July 20, 2008

Made in the Shade

It's been raining here the past couple of days. Mr. Froggy Rain Gauge says we've gotten over two inches. The rain has brought blessedly cooler temperatures, and the beautiful bloom of moss on the maples.
Have you ever looked at it up close?
Isn't it beautiful! Click on the picture to enlarge. The colors and textures amaze me.

10 comments:

  1. Anonymous10:19 AM

    Wow! I love the variety of colors and texture of that moss on your tree. How pretty is that, better than a bloom! Mr Froggy is cute too! :)

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  2. Anonymous10:53 AM

    Yes I do notice texture in the garden and try to put it in every way I can. Thanks for sharing and I love the color too. That blue/green is so pretty.

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  3. Beautiful bark & moss/lichen. I've just noticed this year that my Magnolia is developing some nice lichen. Moss is my friend. I've had to make friends with it in the shade garden, but now I like to see it growing on the logs & the tree trunks.

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  4. Perennial Gardener, I've always liked it, but never looked closely at it until I zoomed in for a close shot with the camera. I was amazed.

    Anna, I'm with you on texture. I look for it in interiors and also in clothing.

    MMD, after reading your comment I googled moss and lichen, and it seems it's actually lichen on the maples. Thanks for sparking my curiosity! I'm often impressed with your knowledge. I've learned a lot from you!

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  5. It's lovely Linda, and don't you love the way everything looks after rain or a cloudy day. It must be like that in Ireland and England! It's much appreciated here when we come upon it in a shady part of the garden...a reminder that rain will return.

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  6. I thought I was the only one who liked moss on the trees! It reminds me of a walk in the woods. It's raining here this morning as well--no need to get out the hose this week!

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  7. Anonymous9:11 AM

    Some years, moss & lichen are the healthiest things around here. Great photos of something I love very much.~~Dee

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  8. Lichen adorns tons of the trees in our woods. I use to craft with natural materials so when I find a beautiful stick on the ground covered with lichen, it is difficult for me to pass it up! When I crafted with pine cones, moss, lichen, twigs, sweet gum pods, etc, my profits were high as I did not have to pay for the materials. Nature provided them to me for free! People in the craft shop loved nature items.

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  9. Anonymous2:21 PM

    Oh, you're right! I did enlarge it! The texture is fantastic. Don't you just love texture? I prefer texture in leaves over flowers!
    Brenda

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  10. Nancy, I think the stuff is just fascinating. After seeing what it looked like and reading MMD's comment, I spent a long time reading about it. I never knew much about lichen before, didn't even know that's what it was. It's so much more interesting to me now.

    Gail, we've had several days in a row of rainy weather, and I've been watching the lichen expand and contract with the cycles of rain and drying out. Fascinating stuff! And everything else out there, from garden to lawn to trees and shrubs looks much happier after all the rain. Today it's cooler and drier, with temps only expected in the mid-70's! Yippee!

    Dee, LOL, I'm guessing that must be years when there's lots of rain? It's amazing how the stuff just seems to 'bloom' with the rain. During dry spells we hardly notice it's there.

    Skeeter, that sounds very intriguing. I'd love to have seen the things you made. I'm often amazed when I see the ways people get creative with natural materials.

    Brenda, I'm truly amazed by what I saw by getting up close. I had no idea it looked like that. I'm glad I snapped those pictures. At the moment I'm quite enamored with, curious about, and fascinated by lichen.

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