Moss and other small things

2023-01-03T21:17:07Z

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.

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Moss and other small things