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Wednesday, January 26, 2022
Visiting Henry Hagg Lake; in the foothills of the Oregon Coast Range
Weekend before last Andrew and I headed west for an outdoor adventure. He had fishing in mind, I just wanted to get out and stretch my legs and my eyes. Of course in January, in Oregon, that means I'm probably looking at moss, lichen and such...
There were brief pockets of sunshine as we drove the 40-ish miles to Henry Hagg Lake and the surrounding park, but the entire region was also under an air stagnation advisory. Whenever we were high enough to see sun you could also see thick layers of dark air in places with lighter air below and nothing moving, so I didn't hold out much hope the skies would clear.
So instead of wishing for blue sky and sunshine, I kept my head down and explored the various shades of green.
I posted this one on my Instagram account and learned it's a hypogymnia, perhaps Hypogymnia inactiva.
The above photos were all from our first stop, now we've moved on to another part of the park.
I love this type of moss so very much. It's just incredible.
I kept looking for some sort of shelf fungus on every single tree I passed. This group was all I saw that day.
Oak gall's are strangely beautiful.
I wonder what this was all about?
A shot of the lake before we got in the car and headed home...
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Beautiful photos! The overcast sky actually made this kind of photography much easier.
ReplyDeleteI suppose, but I am always wishing for sunshine...
DeleteThe lichens and moss are beautiful, and exotic to my eyes. I would have assumed the one moss was a fern if you hadn't identified it. I'd never heard the term "air stagnation advisory" before but it it seems much like the persistent brown blanket of smog I see more often than not as I look eastward toward the San Gabriel Mountains.
ReplyDeleteAir Stagnation Advisories are part of living in a valley, I grew up with the same advisories in Spokane.
DeleteGreat post -- such an interesting variety of lichens and moss, in such an array of greens.
ReplyDeleteKind of like the bits of life you find on a ocean beach I can wander and snap photos for days, glad you enjoyed them.
DeleteWow, great finds, Loree. They are exquisite!
ReplyDeleteThanks Eliza!
DeleteMosses, lichens, and such are so fascinating. I love this post! I will go back and study each example in your post. Mine are covered by snow, but they are the highlight of the winter garden. :)
ReplyDeleteI know once the snow melts our moss seems even more green, almost electric. I hope the same for you.
DeleteLucky for us, you weren't distracted by blue sky. I'm glad you devoted all your attention to the fascinating oddness and beauty of moss and fungi. Did you collect anything for your next mantel show?
ReplyDeleteSuch interesting, and to a SoCal gardener, exotic (moisture loving!) plants. Wonderful textures and shades of green.
ReplyDeleteMy baby oak has a few galls--there's a gall wasp for every oak. The galls are fun, nature's ping-pong balls.
Beautiful blog
ReplyDelete