Wednesday, January 4, 2023

Explore Outdoors ~ Lichen Looking

 There is a large rock that sticks out of my yard. In the summer it’s an obstacle to mow around, a background for calendula flowers. In the winter, you can walk right by it – unless you happen to be looking at squirrel tracks. Which I was the other week. That’s when I noticed the lovely lichens, framed by snow and ice.
 

Lichens in these parts are adapted to survive the cold. Some go dormant when it’s cold and dry, others have antifreeze in their tissues.

This week, do some Winter Lichen Looking.

  • Where do you find your lichens growing? On tree trunks? On branches? On rocks?
  • What kind of lichens do you see? Are they leafy? Crusty? Branchy?
  • What colors are your lichens?
  • Are they loners, or do they share their space with other kinds of lichen?
  • Draw pictures of your lichens, or take photos, and share them with other lichen lookers.

 

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