December 26th.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

December 27th. I parked along River Road near the Brownstone Bridge over the Air Line Trail. Walking up to the trail I spotted Downy Rattlesnake Plantain, the orchid Goodyera pubescens.

 

 

 

Lots of ice remaining in the rock cut just west of the access path.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Moss on a log, with the last of the ice receding. Sphagnum sp., I think.

 

One of the Parchment Polypores (Stereum sp.) I think.

 

The same or...?

 

And a third form. All nearby on the same downed branch.

 

Dense foliose Lichen on a downed branch.

 

Closer view.

 

Still closer.

 

Looking northeast from the Blackledge River bridge.

 

My destination was a spot I knew held various mosses and lichens. I was hoping there would still be ice around them... and there was! This is a favorite, Pink Earth Lichen (Dibaeis baeomyce).

 

Here and below, I've run various images through make your own digital kaleidoscope software.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reindeer "Moss" (Cladonia rangiferina), another lichen at the lower left. At the upper right, Crustose Rock Disk Lichens (Lecidella stigmatea) I think.

 

Both lichens were amid Haircap Moss (Polytrichum sp.).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A solitary little leaf of...?

 

As I headed back towards the entry path, I spotted three running White-tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus) running through an old field.

 

Subtle.

 

 

 

Felt very lucky to get these two point-n-shoot photos.

 

 

 

 

 

December 28th. Mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) in a patch of open water.

 

 

 

Mini iceberg.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

December 29th. I missed most of the pre-dawn color but still managed this bit.

 

December 31st. A male Hooded Merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus) on the marsh.

 

(Low light, ISO 1600; impossible to deal with all the digital noise in software.)

 

 

 

And he's off.