Day 93: The days or weeks after a windstorm are great times to go lichen hunting. That wasn't really on my mind when I set out for a walk on a nearby trail, but when I saw how much debris had come down out of the canopy, I said to myself, "Hmmm...I've found Kidneys on this trail before. I'd better keep my eyes open." As always I had the camera around my neck, but after I had taken a few pictures of nothing in particular, the battery indicator began flashing. To conserve what little charge was left, I decided to use it only if I found something of note. When I came across this lichen, I dismissed it as an atypical specimen of Hypogymnia imshaugii which I have found on the trail previously, and didn't bother to take a photo because it was so tangled. A quarter mile further on, I found H. imshaugii, and a niggling suspicion began fomenting in my brain. I could have circled back right then, but did not do so. Instead, I came home and uploaded the photos to the computer, and looking at H. imshaugii, realized that the earlier lichen had been H. duplicata instead. I replaced the battery in the camera with another which was nearly dead as well, and returned to the site, driven by the fact that Hypogymnia duplicata was a Life List lichen for me. This photo is now in the WTU image database, and I am a happy camper. Did I find Kidneys? You'll have to wait for my next post to find out.
No comments:
Post a Comment