NAURE WEARS A SMILE, DESPITE THE WEATHER

A GARDEN IN THE RAIN

LICHEN ENCRUSTED RED OAK

Saturday, 9:00 AM.  41 degrees F at the ferry dock, 40 on the back porch.  Wind NE, calm with light gusts.  The sky is overcast and cloudy, the humidity down to 73%.  The barometer is plummeting from its  recent high of 30.29",  and rain is predicted for later today and thunderstorms for tomorrow.
   We have gotten over six inches of rain this past week, and it has left its damp fingerprints on the landscape, from rushing ditches and flood-stage streams, to freshened spring gardens and lichen covered oaks that look as though they have been painted to match the weather.
   No matter how sullen the weather, nature wears a smile, if we but look for it.

Lichen

Parasite lichen
Lies grey on the years;
Lily buries herself
When winter appears.

Bright rose burns away,
Leaving lichen alone—
Fellow of frost,
Suckling of stone.

I am for lily,
I am for rose—
Delicate beauty
Trembles and goes.

Mary Eliza Fullerton

Nota Bene: Lichens are not parasites but saprophites, merely growing on  the surface of things and normally causing little harm.