This and That: A Blog

 So, it's Presidents' Day.  When I was in elementary school we had days off for Washington's and Lincoln's birthdays, whether they fell on a Monday or not.  February 12 for Washington, and February 22 for Lincoln, although Washington was born February 11, 1731 under the old Julian calendar.  In 1752 Britain and the colonies switched to the Gregorian calendar and his birthday was "moved" to the 12th.  The Uniform Monday Holiday Act took effect in 1971, changing some, but not all, federal holidays to Mondays.  Lincoln's birthday was never a federal holiday, but was a state holiday in about a dozen states, including mine at the time, California.  It still is a state holiday in a few.  Some states treated it as a school holiday, but not an official state one.  Getting on to the garden, here is what was going on yesterday. Autumn crocus, not actually a crocus, grows its leaves in late winter/spring, they dry up completely before the blooms emerge ...

 Mickey and I took a walk to the park on Sunday morning.  I found it miserable, but he enjoyed it.  It was foggy and damp and cold, and without gloves my hands felt like they were freezing.  Of course, they weren't. I did find some mushrooms to photograph! These were big ones.  The back view shows one newly emerged from the soil.  Some had dew drops on their caps. Later in the day (still foggy and damp and cold) I spotted this one all alone in the path of the herb garden.  December always means the bird's nest fungus appear!  These are the Common bird's nest.  I found Fluted ones in the park in September.  Under dew on spider's webs. Pixie cup lichen are also called trumpet lichen.  Here they are growing with moss, possible forked moss.  More mosses.  These are Red Shank mosses growing on pumice.  This one growing in a rock crack might be cushion moss. Hope your week has been going well.  Can you believe next We...