Moss and other small things

[halojedha]

I have a new hyperfixation: moss. I'm listening to Gathering Moss by Robin Wall Kimmerer, which I learned about on her Bryology episode on Ologies with Alie Ward. I heard that episode over a month ago, because it was during that intense fog in late November before the cold snap. I've been thinking about moss and mushrooms and other small things that live in the ground a lot ever since.

I'm now enjoying this cascade of interest which is building on existing curiosities and expanding in multiple directions simultaneously. I keep going back to Ologies (episodes taken in thus far: mushrooms, rocks, tortoises, sea turtles, soil science, otters (omg, otters are dicks), squid, millipedes) and it's really nice to be pursuing curiosity about science in a playful and low-pressure way, after feeling like (or maybe being subtly told) that it Wasn't My Thing as a teenager. I've bought myself books on mushroom recognition, foraging, herbalism and indigenous ecology. I found this article on the centuries-old secrets of gender-affirming herbalism super inspiring. I had the idea of getting E a microscope for Christmas, and Leo got excited and got me three new optical devices: a 10x loupe, a 30x hand lens and a 60-120x pocket microscope, plus a bunch of pre-prepared slides. I've taken the loupe and the hand lens out to the garden and the museum, and I've been doing art based on the slides with my other presents from Leo, a watercolour pad and a set of watercolour pencils.



Most of this isn't exactly new. I've been into the natural world and doing art based on animals and plants for a long time. I've been a witch since I was 16 and have a long interest in herbs and natural remedies. I've been doing forest walks, foraging and mushroom hunting with E since we moved out of the city two and a half years ago. But it's recently coalesced into this passion for everything connected by earth science, ecology, botany and biology which is just incredibly absorbing and fun.

Comments

[doseybat]

So cool! Especially the mosses, I could never understand why people overlook the beautiful tiny things.

[halojedha]

I am so excited to get more familiar with the mosses. Also would love to prepare slides and spot a tardigrade at some point, but I think I might need a bigger microscope for that...

[doseybat]

Must admit that for me the quality of the microscope and the amount of associated faff makes all the difference. Have you seen USB microscopes that are quite fashionable at the moment? Also are you on inaturalist?

[skygiants]

This art is gorgeous!

[halojedha]

Thank you! It was really fun :) I'm working on a mushroom cross-section next: so many swoopy lines...

[hairyears]

Hint: get a clip-on macro lens for your phone.

If you're interested in photographing small things, having a macro lens on the camera you always carry makes a huge difference.

It's about forty quid for a good one, and it made a huge difference to my small things hobby of photographing wild bees.

[halojedha]

I think I actually have one in a drawer somewhere, although I don't think it's a good one. I should get round to clipping it on and seeing if I actually use it.

[hairyears]

If it isn't any good - and many aren't - I'll dig out the type and a purchasing link for the one that I used in 2021's bee photography with my phone.

Someone else has got it now, using her phone for nematode fieldwork somewhere around Brighton: I gave it away to a good home (Robin, and I think you know her) last year, to force myself to start using the tricky manual-focus 'super macro' lens I bought for my proper camera.

And Sod's Law wins no matter what, the very best photograph I took in 2022 was on my phone - without that clip-on lens - a 'whip-it-out-and-snap-it' shot of an Ashy Mining Bee foraging in Wanstead.

[sfred]

Pretty!

I'm glad you're having fun.

[halojedha]

Thank you, and happy new year!

[sfred]

And to you!