Teddy Bear Brights Afghan

Day 131: I am not enjoying being penned in the house by weather, but at least I'm getting projects done. It's wet-chilly, the kind of clammy cold which I am convinced is under proprietary license to western Washington; a cold which goes through all your layers, Goretex, microfiber fleece, wool, polypro, epidermis, dermis, bones. It is not a cold which invites you to hike. A warming pace generates perspiration which in turn chills down without evaporating, demanding that you hike faster and therefore perspire more heavily, and consequently chill down more quickly as your clothing becomes soaked with sweat. It is a no-win cold, an unrelenting, oppressing, weighty cold, a burden not even coffee and chicken soup can lighten. The thermometer (a brazen liar!) reports 40 degrees. It feels like 20, a wet, soggy, sodden, soaking, pervasive 20, but it doesn't freeze. Freezing would be a kindness it would never willingly convey. I don't like stepping out in it even just to fill the bird feeders, so I stay indoors and keep my hands busy with yarn while my thoughts search out lichens in dimly-recalled warmth.

Thelotrema Lepadinum, Bark Barnacles

Day 137: Day before yesterday, my good friend Jean (former campground host in the Park) came up to visit and to take her first walk on Eatonville's Bud Blancher Trail. She also got a predictable introduction to what it means to go lichenizing with me, and served extra duty as penny-holder when I discovered Bark Barnacles on an alder alongside the Little Mashel.

Thelotrema lepadinum is not an uncommon species by any means, but you need a sharp eye to see that those tiny black spots are actually craters at the summits of lichenous mini-volcanoes. They do indeed resemble barnacles on close examination, but be advised that a "big" specimen will be no more than 1 mm. across. A penny-sized section of alder bark may present as much terrain as the face of the moon viewed through a 6-inch telescope!

High Visibility Team

Day 270: A highly visible team of Mount Rainier Volunteers patrolled a two-mile section of Hwy 706 for litter today, sporting brand-new ANSI-approved vests from the state Department of Transportation. The crew participates in a partnership with WADoT's "Adopt-a-Highway" program. Several members were returnees on their second or third work party with the group.

Prior to every patrol, group members receive a brief orientation to advise them on the proper handling of certain dangerous items they may find along the roadside. While on their beat today, the workers encountered a suspicious container which they believed might have been a "one-pot cooker" used in producing methamphetamine. The location was reported and the object was investigated by a deputy who determined that it was not a meth lab.

Tents Up!

Day 249: A hard-working batch of geocachers and Mount Rainier Volunteers gathered together today in the Longmire Campground for the annual spring cleanup and installation of five platform tents which serve as temporary housing for volunteers throughout the summer months. The event was officially billed at Geocaching.com as a "CITO" (Cache In, Trash Out) and was the seventh annual gathering of this type at this location. The work went smoothly. Participants ranged in age from pre-school kids to senior citizens, each contributing their best efforts to the project. Go, Volunteers!