The Natural Navigator» algae http://www.naturalnavigator.com Natural navigation, finding our way using nature. Tue, 07 Feb 2012 12:35:19 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 Ground Moisture http://www.naturalnavigator.com/ground-moisture/ http://www.naturalnavigator.com/ground-moisture/#comments Sun, 02 Jan 2011 07:36:48 +0000 admin http://www.naturalnavigator.com/?p=2428

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…

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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 evaporates constantly from the ground and moisture-loving organisms, including mosses, lichens and algae, will be found close to the ground regardless of aspect.

Direction can be found by looking for clues above this area or sometimes by getting to know the lichens in this low band itself. It is much more complex, and fun, detective work than simply thinking ‘green is north’.

On a different note, my book has just come out in the US!

]]> http://www.naturalnavigator.com/ground-moisture/feed/ 0 Grave Lichens http://www.naturalnavigator.com/using-lichens-and-mosses-to-find-direction/ http://www.naturalnavigator.com/using-lichens-and-mosses-to-find-direction/#comments Tue, 06 Jul 2010 05:06:28 +0000 admin http://www.naturalnavigator.com/?p=1840 churchyard lichens gravestonesChurches 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…

]]> churchyard lichens gravestonesChurches 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 receive a mixture of sunlight and shade. Consequently they typically display a mixture of lichen types, as in the gravestone in this photo, in the graveyard of St Giles church in the quiet West Sussex village of Graffham.

On this gravestone there are a preponderance of gold and also grey lichens, with a smattering of darker lichens too. There was a very similar pattern on the other, western side, which came into the sunlight in the afternoon. The golden lichens are happy on stone that dries and are a reliable indicator that a face is receiving at least some sunlight. In other words you can find them on the south, east and west sides of masonry, but they are very rare on the northern side. In the unlikely event that this grave was aligned north-south then the southern side would be dominated by the golden lichens and the northern side would have a few grey and dark lichens and the telltale greens of mosses and algae.

The green wall in the photo below is a classic north-facing wall in the same churchyard, with no signs of gold, only a thin carpet of green moss. st giles church graffham west sussex

north facing wall mosses

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