Wednesday, April 29, 2009

More Star Island Eye-Candy

I'm writing this post on the weekend and hoping I've set it so it will automatically post in the middle of the week. Just thought I'd share some more images from my first week on Star Island. As I mentioned before, I've become interested in lichens and moss, and exploring the smaller plant communities on the island (though I'm not sure lichens qualify as plants. Do mosses?). I'm reading a book called The Granite Landscape by Tom Wessels, which had a chapter on mosses and lichens and spotlights various areas of the Northeast with granite features. It's really fascinating for some reason I can't explain - learning the geology of granite and glaciers and the juxtaposition of tiny organisms thriving in such huge, barren places. My interest is always pulled in so many directions, I haven't been able to find a way to combine or tie everything together - I also really enjoyed shooting some candid portraits of people on the island last week, and I love fiber arts, felting, and sewing, and feel the need to create tangible objects. How do I get this to all work together? Or find enough time to pursue everything?

That's a big conversation, and obviously a tangent, so for now, here are more pictures.

From Star Island 2009


From Star Island 2009


From Star Island 2009


From Star Island 2009


From Star Island 2009

I believe the white lichen here is reindeer lichen, which is a fruiticose lichen. Fruiticose lichens are the most plant-like in form, and are the most advanced form of lichen. In order for this reindeer lichen to exist, three other types of lichen had to come and go. I'm sure most of you know lichens take a very long time to grow, since they are most common in barren, extreme environments. It's amazing to think that this tiny organism has probably taken centuries to come into existence, and that could so easily be destroyed by a careless step. (By the way, it's called reindeer lichen because it is a food source for reindeer in the Arctic).

From Star Island 2009


From Star Island 2009


From Star Island 2009


From Star Island 2009

First rainbow of the season!

From Star Island 2009

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