The Pier is Growing Hair!

  Several years ago, I found what I thought was a big tuft of black hair tucked way up under an azalea bush.  My heart sank as it was exactly the same color and texture of that of our sweet cat, Ms. Nycto.  I fretted that my poor baby had met her demise by some evil doer.  You will never know the relief I felt when Son investigated and assured me that it was not Ms. Nycto at all but rather a type of fungus.  It seems that Phycomyces Nitens grows on animal feces and does indeed look like fur.  It is easy to confuse the two when in the dark undergrowth of an azalea bush.

  Now I find there is another fungus, Phycomyces Blakesleeanus, that loves to grow on poop.  In fact, there are a whole bunch of poop-loving fungi out there!  Son, always on the lookout for interesting photography subjects for me, recently called me to the pier.  "There is a fluffy down here."  I was not sure what a fluffy was so I grabbed the camera and headed that way.  Sure enough, there was a fluffy.  In fact, there were several fluffies.  I knew that the otters have been leaving "evidence" on our pier but had not idea that it would sprout a full toupee!  This fuzz was not black like the previous stuff we had found but was rather a glistening white.  Each strand was topped with a small spore sac just waiting to pop open and reproduce!  

  I have to admit that I spent far too much time photographing otter scat with and without its hairy toupee.  Son and I had quite the conversation about the stuff which proved that mother/son bonding time can be important and that sons never really outgrow such things as talking about poop.  With the previous finding of black fuzz, he and I pondered over this "cure" for baldness...that topic came up again...of course.

Tiny, Enchanted Garden

  It is a well known fact with my family that I am fascinated by mosses, ferns, lichens and the such.  Darling Daughter is much the same.  Elizabeth and I will tromp the swamps and marshes in search of anything interesting.  In fact, the fondness has grown so much that it is a great desire to have moss gardens in place of lawn.  Grass is boring.  Mosses are not.  They are magical!

  This morning while out walking the old dog, the ground shimmered with a gilding like none other. Normally this area is a deep, velvety green but, in the early spring, the carpet moss is almost gold.  This is because the moss had shot up its sporophytes!  These are tiny growths on the female moss that are actually "baby" mosses waiting to happen.  They appear to be tiny stalks with a capsule at the top.  Since they cannot support themselves at this point they literally "feed" off "Dear Old Mom".  The female moss (yes, these mosses reproduce sexually and asexually) supports the sporophytes until they are mature and the weather is perfect.  Then, the capsules will burst open and spores will scatter about the place with the aid of the wind.  The spores will fall to the ground and become either male or female mosses.  When reproducing asexually, a small portion of moss may be separated from the clump.  This piece can grow into a new moss.  

  The carpet moss is aptly named as it does indeed "carpet" the ground and appear to be a nice, soft rug.  If conditions are right, the carpet moss can reproduce and spread rather rapidly.   Mosses do require a good bit of water to flourish which is why they are readily found on creek banks, in swamps and, in my case, on a bayou.   However, since they draw most of their water from the air, the ground does not necessarily have to be soggy.  The weather this past year has been perfect for moss-growing.  The often rains and heavy fogs have kept it wet enough to support the growth and reproduction.  

  Personally, I think if the entire place was covered by mosses, it would be ideal.  After cutting grass for the past two days, it would be nice to have the ever neat and trim mosses covering the yard.  No more mowing!  Hmmm...that might be some of the allure but, overall, I think it would just be enchanting!

Nature's Compass Is Broken!

  There is an Old Wive's Tale that says if you are lost in the woods and need a quick compass, check for moss on a tree. According to this snippet of wisdom, moss will always be found growing on the north side of a tree.  Hence, if you find moss and the direction north, it is an easy task to find all other directions.  Face north, right hand will be east, left will be west and your back will be south.  You will still be lost but you will know your directions even though you will look rather peculiar! Yep... this is easy.  Except here on the Bayou.  Here, moss grows anywhere it pleases.  North, south, east, west, somewhere in between, on top, beneath...anywhere is fair game.  So, that said, don't trust Bayou moss to get you out of the woods.  It ain't happening!  Yep, it would just be a wise move to pick up a compass if you are prone to lose your way when wandering about in the woods.  They are cheap and relatively reliable....unlike moss.

  I was out back cutting grass when I spied and old stump covered with the loveliest green moss.  The stump was indeed covered.  All sides...not just the north.  It was a good thing that I was not lost!  But, being one easily amused, I dropped to my knees to investigate the fuzzy stuff.  Ever since I was a youngster, mosses fascinate me.  There is just something magical about the way the stuff grows.  A lot of that idea was instilled in me by my Aunt Helen.  She always had a knack of seeing things a bit differently from the rest of the world.  A lot of folks, nowadays, would probably criticize her and say she wore "rose colored glasses".  Me?  I adored the lady and, to this day, I am glad she taught me how to find the beauty in even the most mundane things...like mosses.

  Not many folks ever get "up close and personal" with mosses, algae and lichens.  These things are all lumped together by most folks and are totally overlooked as things of beauty.  In my eyes, they are all perfectly magnificent! 

  While on my knees photographing the moss, I was able to actually see what others miss.  This clump of moss had its spore capsules ready to burst open and spread its mossy self around the stump.  Mosses do not bloom like plants but reproduce by making spores.  In the picture, the little stalked things that resemble some weird flowers are actually the spore capsules.  They shoot the tiny spores out into the air and life begins anew.  It was a rather interesting find.  

  If I could give one bit of advice to anyone interested, it would be to "get out there and look at the world around you."  When you start to really look for things, you will actually "see" what you have been missing. There are so many things that just get overlooked during our hectic days....interesting things....magical things.  Things that Aunt Helen would have found beautiful...just like I do.