Foliage Fantasy

Day 208: The forest floor (not necessarily flat or horizonally aligned) is a vast canvas of textures. At a single glance, the eye takes in a wealth of features, so many that our minds resist classifying them individually. But closer investigation reveals fascinating microtopographies and ecologies: mats of moss harbouring moisture for the roots of vascular plants which in turn provide the shade and protection the moss requires, tiny open spaces inviting seeds to fall to hidden soil, niches in which insects may hide or, relatively speaking, go on great adventures, travelling for dozens of bug-miles on a single plant. How vast is the universe when you are a beetle the size of a pencil-point? What do insects feel beneath their toes as they explore the minute scales which form every fractal iteration of a step-moss frond? What differences do they detect when patrolling a leathery leaf as opposed to one covered in fine hairs invisible to the naked human eye? How tired is a snail after it has climbed an 18" log, plagued by anxiety (or not) for what may lie at the summit? Do these tiny beings of the forest know that they are part of the much larger landscape of world, planet and galaxy? Of course not. And neither, my friends, can we know our place in the universe with any greater certainty than does the beetle or the snail.

Cladonias All The Way Down

Day 22: The signature phrase, "It's turtles all the way down" has been attributed to a number of different sources (Bertrand Russell or William James among others) and was popularized by none other than Stephen Hawking in more recent times. It refers to a bit of mythology (again ascribed to various cultures) in which the Earth is described as resting on the back of a huge turtle. The expression results from a confrontation between a cosmologist following his explanation of the nature of the Universe and a member of the audience who puts forth the legend as an alternate theory. When asked what supports the first turtle, the challenger asserts, "Another turtle." The cosmologist then responds, "But what does that turtle stand on?" The reply follows the legend exactly, "Another turtle, of course. It's turtles all the way down."

In the fascinating world of lichens, nothing proves the myth more visibly than the Cladonias. On close examination, it's not hard to find proof that it's Cladonias all the way down. (Cladonia grayi)