Thanks! I love Ponge.

“Long ago the advance guard of vegetation came to a halt on the rocks, which were dumbfounded. A thousand silken velvet rods sat down cross-legged.
From then on, ever since moss with its lance-bearers started twitching on bare rock, all nature has been caught in an inextricable predicament….”

That’s true. It’s not an uncommon lichen — and in fact is found in northern Europe as well.

BTM, lichens similar to your “rock tripe” are everywhere that I’ve been hiking in the Shenandoah area. It looks like the mountains have eczema. ;-) I’m pretty sure the rocks are providing them with not only a surface, but trace minerals as well.

It has been exhausting, more than I realized it would be. Jet lag is not so bad going out but returning over twelve zones after 15 days of going all day every day seems to be a bit too much, for me at least.

Yep, that’s what I’m thinking, too. Thanks for commenting.

soon will be tucked away in secret
You mean, as it vanishes into the archives? true. But I could tag it as a favorite post so it would show up in the “Best of Via Negativa” section of the sidebar from time to time.

Glad you’re back. I think a good vacation is exhausting in the way that a good massage can be exhausting, no?

I love moss gardens–love yours. Splendid gardenish post that soon will be tucked away in secret.

Am almost recovered from vacation (why should travels be so exhausting?) and shall be back…

Well, you’d be surprised. Unfortunately, Pennsylvania has a greater density of highways than almost any other state, and many of them cut through some pretty unique habitats — bogs, fens, barrens, you name it.

Thanks for stopping by.