Lichens on rocks
At Palmetto State Park on January 29th I took pictures of colorful lichens on rocks.
And here’s a thought for today:
The sincerity of someone’s delusion doesn’t make it any less a delusion. — S.S.
© 2021 Steven Schwartzman
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Portraits of Wildflowers 
Looks like abstract art. Excellent photos.
rabirius
February 8, 2021 at 4:58 AM
Thanks. Abstraction’s a main part of my aesthetic.
Steve Schwartzman
February 8, 2021 at 6:22 AM
Beautiful! I love photographing those, have quite a collection.
Alessandra Chaves
February 8, 2021 at 6:53 AM
It’s easy to understand why you do. What nature photographer isn’t drawn to lichens?
Steve Schwartzman
February 8, 2021 at 7:10 AM
Your quote is appropriate for the profound levels of delusion in the USA.
MichaelStephenWills
February 8, 2021 at 7:10 AM
That’s what prompted my brain to come up with those words.
Steve Schwartzman
February 8, 2021 at 7:24 AM
Now for the hard part – how do you pronounce lichen?
Jason Frels
February 8, 2021 at 8:16 AM
Apparently some Britons pronounce the second syllable like chin, but over here the ch as a k is standard in lichen.
Steve Schwartzman
February 8, 2021 at 8:32 AM
Lye-kin, Li-kin, Lye-chin Li-chin. Off the cuff, I would probably pronounce it Lye-kin.
Jason Frels
February 8, 2021 at 9:04 AM
I’ve almost always heard it as pronounced by clicking the little speaker icon in this dictionary entry:
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lichen.
My guess is that pronunciations with the ch as in English chin arose when English speakers unfamiliar with the word lichen first saw it in writing and, not knowing its Greek origin, pronounced the ch the way it normally is in English. The original sound, represented by the Greek letter ꭓ, doesn’t exist in our language. English regularly spells it ch and pronounces it k, as in words of Greek origin like architect, psychology, chaos, cholera, and chasm (the last of which I recently heard someone on television mispronounce with an English-style ch).
Steve Schwartzman
February 8, 2021 at 9:34 AM
When it comes to spelling, English is basically a lawless language.
Jason Frels
February 8, 2021 at 9:41 AM
I’m glad I learned word spellings as a kid because as an adult it would be daunting.
Steve Schwartzman
February 8, 2021 at 12:22 PM
If not for spellcheck all over the place, my writing would be nearly incoherent.
Jason Frels
February 8, 2021 at 1:34 PM
For me, spellcheck is mainly useful in catching typos, as I’m not a great typist.
Steve Schwartzman
February 8, 2021 at 2:12 PM
This Brit says lye-ken 😁
Heyjude
February 8, 2021 at 12:21 PM
I’m likin’ what I’m hearing: in this case you and I are in accord across the great Atlantic divide.
Steve Schwartzman
February 8, 2021 at 12:24 PM
Not sure you saw this post, some years back:
https://traveltalk.me.uk/2015/05/13/beautiful-patches/
Heyjude
February 8, 2021 at 5:44 PM
Thanks for the retro link. Now I’m wondering why I wasn’t taught at least a little bit about lichens in school. It seems the fascinate many people.
Steve Schwartzman
February 8, 2021 at 6:18 PM
There is beauty in the most primitive life forms.
Peter Klopp
February 8, 2021 at 8:38 AM
Sometimes the forms of primitive things are prime.
Steve Schwartzman
February 8, 2021 at 8:41 AM
Lichen is a favorite find on my hikes and walks. You’ve captured some beautiful colors!
Littlesundog
February 8, 2021 at 9:08 AM
Thanks. I imagine you think at least partly of the fact that your deer eat lichens. I eat them up photographically.
Steve Schwartzman
February 8, 2021 at 9:12 AM
Wow, these are gorgeous!
Eliza Waters
February 8, 2021 at 7:33 PM
That’s how I felt, too.
Steve Schwartzman
February 8, 2021 at 8:03 PM
Those are beautiful, colorful lichens, Steve!
Lavinia Ross
February 8, 2021 at 10:00 PM
Even some of the rocks on their own were colorful.
Steve Schwartzman
February 9, 2021 at 3:28 AM
You confirmed what I suspected with your comment to Michael. Self-quoting’s allowed, when the insight’s a good one. As for the lichens, I’ve never seen such sunny ones. If yellow ones have been tucked in here and there, I’ve not noticed them: green, gray, orange, and black seem more common. I found some truly tiny ones, about the size of a pinhead, growing on the wood of a boat’s swim platform yesterday. Apparently they’ll set up shop anywhere.
shoreacres
February 10, 2021 at 7:10 AM
The psych wards are full of people who are sure aliens are controlling their brain or other equally far-fetched things. The problem is that plenty of people outside mental hospitals have delusions these days and they expect the rest of the world to treat them as reality and rearrange their lives accordingly. In addition, there are cynical people who know those delusions aren’t real yet still put them forth as reality and demand that everyone else treat them as if they were real. Didn’t someone make up a fable along those lines, something about an emperor and his clothing?
As for lichens, yes, they seem willing and able to form almost anywhere. I wonder what a microscope would reveal about the pinhead-sized ones you found.
Steve Schwartzman
February 10, 2021 at 7:22 AM
Amazingly, those tiny lichens refused to be plucked up. They’re hanging on tight. I think they might be akin to these. There are a lot of oaks in the landscape that are hosting similar lichens.
shoreacres
February 10, 2021 at 7:36 AM
The kind of lichen in your linked picture is pretty common in Austin, too. I did some quick searching for the strength of lichen attachment; I didn’t find anything about that but did come across this: “[lichens] can even live inside solid rock, growing between the grains.”
Steve Schwartzman
February 10, 2021 at 7:51 AM
As for the emperor: yes. I was tempted to provide an example of the delusions you mentioned, but I managed to restrain myself.
shoreacres
February 10, 2021 at 7:40 AM
“Portraits of Wildflowers” has always been about nature, and it still is mostly that. However, culture and politics have gotten so far out of whack in the past year that I’ve felt I had to start alluding to the dangers.
Steve Schwartzman
February 10, 2021 at 7:54 AM
A couple of wonderful crops, in both senses of the word. I find myself drawn to their variety and individuality–and their photogenic qualities–with each new encounter.
krikitarts
February 11, 2021 at 1:30 AM
I didn’t realize until a few years ago that both crops are actually the same word.
Steve Schwartzman
February 11, 2021 at 5:52 AM