In 2016 I’m doing a 365 Nature project. Each day of the year I will post something here about nature. It may be any format, a photo, video, audio, sketch or entry from my nature journal. It could be a written piece. Each day I will connect to nature in some way and share it here by the end of that day. You can keep up-to-date by subscribing to the RSS feed or be notified by email. See all the 365 Nature posts.
Of all the things I’ve spent time learning about in the world of natural history, one thing has eluded me. Moss. I certainly haven’t been ignoring it, I encourage it growing in my yard, I spent time studying Japanese Gardens and their moss and I frequently collect fallen bits to study. But I had not yet taken the time to learn more about it. I recently started a book titled Gathering Moss: A Natural and Cultural History of Mosses by Robin Wall Kimmerer. Today I’m just finishing the final chapter and it’s been quite an education. Kimmerer’s writing is full of vivid descriptions of place and she expertly weaves science with culture. I’ve learned a tremendous amount about mosses and enjoyed some wonderful stories in the process.
Today I examined some mosses on the arboretum’s trees right after a big rain storm. Some trees were full of dripping green mosses and as far as I could tell, there were many different species on a single branch. Learning more about something certainly changes the way I view it. Moss has such a complex and long life, it’ll be fun to keep a slightly more knowledgeable eye on it now.
