The Joys Of Rediscovery

Day 92: After several days of suffering with the flu, this morning I felt sufficiently recovered to take a very short walk out into the yard to hunt for a "blog shot," i.e., my photo for today's post. I made a circuit around the house and had gotten as far as Big Doug's nearest root when something caught my eye. "Oooooh," I said. "What's this?" It was certainly nothing I'd seen in the yard before, so I took photos where it lay and then moved the specimen to better light for the image shown above. In sunlight, I could see that it was yellowish-green, not light grey-green as it had appeared in the shade. Knowing that I'd have to inspect it more closely to make an ID, I brought it in the house and set it down beside me while I referred to Brodo. The magnifier revealed some telltale structures along the lobe margins while other minor details narrowed it down to three species. I ruled out two, settling on Platismatia tuckermanii...waitaminit...Platismatia tuckermanii? Isn't that the lichen Patty sent me from Maine? Ah, the joys of rediscovery! Yes, referring to my pictures from last fall, it was the identical specimen. Boy, did I feel silly! What can I say? I've been sick. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it.