We have not had significant rain since September 2012 so it was really nice to get the .3 inches of rain for the new year! This moisture made the morning walk gathering lichen much easier as the lichen has rehydrated and has a greenish gray glow against the winter grasses and the wet weather creek bed. We haven’t had enough rain for the creek to run but I can assure you that the lichens are happy.
Over the past dry months we’ve had 3 significant wind events so I’ve gathered the branches against the tree trunks waiting for moisture to make it easier to separate the windfall lichen from the tree branches. I think this will be a good lichen harvest week, until the sun sneaks back out and dries everything out again.
Happy New Year to all!
debmcclintock 