Entries tagged "moss"
2012-12-03
It is that time of year when nature likes to get out her frost compasses for us to admire.
I took this photo last Friday in the middle of the day.
We are looking due west.
The southern sun has thawed the areas it can get to, but unlike other suns, it cannot refresh the parts it cannot reach. (My apologies, I think a retro marketing slogan tried to creep in there.)
The frost shadow on the sand itself is quite straightforward, but the shadows and frost on the logs are more interesting, particularly when…
2011-02-28
I thought you might enjoy this picture I took a week ago of lichen and moss growing on a disused fountain in a garden in the south of France. Nature doesn't make compasses much easier to read, but just in case you're experiencing a moment of doubt: the photo is taken looking from the south side of the fountain looking towards the north.
2011-01-02
Happy New Year!At times like this, I sometimes wonder what the Earth and Sun would say to each other if they could talk. They would watch us celebrating this annual moment at such an arbitrary time...Sun: I could understand a party at either solstice...Earth: Yes, or one at either equinox. Would make good sense...Sun. Quite. But to pick a day about a week after one solstice...Earth: Very strange.Sun. Yes. They are a very strange lot.In this picture of a beech tree in Wiltshire, we can see both moss and lichens thriving in the moist air close to the ground. Water…
2010-07-06
Churches are well worth a minute of navigational inquiry. The church itself is likely to show a preference for an east-west alignment, with the altar at the eastern end. But the fact that they are often old buildings that have been left exposed to the elements for long periods, without incessant redecorating or even cleaning, yields other interesting clues in the form of lichens, algae and mosses.Gravestones tend also to be aligned east-west also, so that the dead are ready when 'the trumpet shall sound and the dead shall be raised'. Any exposed stone that faces east or west will…
2010-03-22
There is a really good attempt to give a flavour of the whole subject of natural navigation in an article in the Independent today by Tim Walker. Tim came for a walk in London to sample natural navigation urban-style.Anyway, flower pot time. Take a look at this photo that I took yesterday just before lunch. Note the wet ground in the shade and how the shadow of the pot has moved 'up' leaving a wet area in its wake. The shadow is moving west to east, away from the camera. As it is close to the middle of the…
2009-12-07
Taking a short break from final edits and unsubtle plugs for my book... I ventured into the garden. Something moved where there should have been no movement. My eyes focused through a wire fence to our algae and moss peppered greenhouse. The chickens were up to something. They had somehow (they have clipped wings, a mystery) got up onto the shelf where I was in the final stages of drying this season's chilli crop on the vine and, well, gone mental. Clearly enraged that they were not able to eat the chillis themselves, they had ransacked the place, overturned…
2009-05-31
As we approach the summer solstice the sun has so much north in it that no side of buildings, trees or other exposed areas will stay in the shade all day.This is a northern roof getting a good late afternoon roasting. The moss, which in mid-winter is a plump dark green is in full retreat at this time of year. It is well-established and will survive until the sun starts moving south again in three weeks.
2009-04-21
This isn't about the Force, although I did read recently that a lot of Scottish policemen have put 'Jedi' down as their religion on their work forms.More days than not I spot an example of the sun influencing nature in a way that is new to me in some way. In general terms it is fairly old news that a place that receives no direct sunlight will appear different in some way. It is in the detail that the novelty is to be found. The more obvious signs might be that it has different plants growing and an abundance of…
2009-04-09
A walk in the woods yesterday revealed some natural and unnatural clues.This primrose, the only one in the area, was unsurprisingly in a south-facing spot. The thick bed of south-facing moss that surrounds it on the beech roots should not surprise us. Moss grows in abundance close to the ground where moisture levels remain generally high, even in south-facing places. The technique of trail blazing, marking trees to show others the way is ancient, but the chalk markings on this beech tree were a little disconcerting. Apologies, the picture is out…
2008-08-07
Having spent the morning organising images for upcoming courses, I was reminded of a regular problem with learning anything practical from nature. There is a real tendency to bias. By which I mean when we are learning something new there is a great temptation to either make our observations fit our predictions, or to overlook things until we find something that looks the way we want it to.
Moss on trees and buildings is a great example of this. The popular notion is that moss will grow on the north side. This is sometimes true, but often not…
