Curiosity is a Wondrous Thing

I noticed some small, green, mossy-looking balls floating in the lake on my first paddle of the season, so brought them home to look at more closely. They looked pretty nondescript and I assumed they were either seeds that had dropped into the lake from an overhanging shrub, or might be algal balls.

I decided I would have to investigate further, so sliced through one of them to reveal this, which wasn't definitively helpful, but it seemed to support the idea of seeds or budding:

I decided to try Google Lens for some suggestions, and was first led to Marimo (spherical moss balls) which didn't seem right, so I delved further down the suggestions and was heartened to find a reference to a bladderwort, written in Czech, which I got Google to translate for me. The species they referenced doesn't occur here, but it was mentioned as being close to our Northern bladderwort, Utricularia intermedia, which also produces a neat little winter bud (turion). So, it was probably not a terrestrial seed after all, as I had first thought.

I left some intact balls floating in water whilst I was away recently, and when I returned a few days later, I was greeted with this fantastic sight: a new Northern bladderwort shoot erupting from the green ball, just as described in our Field guide "At the end of the growing season, plants sink to the sediments and decay. The winter buds over-winter intact. When the water warms in spring, winter buds inflate with air and float to the surface where new growth begins." Perfection!

How exciting! I'd not disputed what I'd read, but had never truly appreciated the process until now. There's something quite special about seeing it happen, as opposed to merely reading about it. Having experienced it makes this mechanism for regeneration of a new plant believable and memorable - I shan't forget it.

I am so very glad my curiosity got the better of me, and I didn't just dismiss the tiny green balls as algae or indeterminable seeds.

Strophe

I was curious when I heard the word 'strophe' used in a book I've been listening to recently (A Most Remarkable Creature by Jonathan Meiburg) as I'd never thought of it as a stand alone word before, only as a suffix, as in apostrophe and catastrophe.

I'd never considered the meaning of the word

on its own so I looked it up 

- the word strophe

 refers to

 a stanza

 or 'a turning',

 "a group of verses that form

 a distinct unit within a poem," (Britannica) or music.

And there is another word

 made up of -strophe,

 antistrophe,

 which is to turn back.

Back on the Water

Ooh, it was so much fun getting out in my kayak for the first time this year. This poor fella was slow enough to be netted and photographed - it's a musk turtle (Sternothaurus odoratus), also known as a stinkpot. He looked like an armored vehicle.

I was serenaded by spring peepers along the banks, and I also managed to spot my marsh marigolds returning very unobtrusively on the bank, despite having looked for them determinedly from shore, without success, just one day prior.

 

It was very windy and overcast, but with temps in the mid-seventies, it was bliss! Plus, there are no ticks on the water - big bonus.

Photo: D Schultz

So happy to be able to get back to my happy place!

Ghostly Leaves

Ghostly pale beeches,

Leaves like skeletal remains

Scritching in spring's gusts

Not too Tardy

On this special day, Earth day, it's important to consider ALL our living creatures, even those we cannot see. I'm talking about tardigrades, which are amazing microscopic creatures living in our soils, resilient enough to be able to survive radiation. They're micro-animals also known as water bears, though bears they are not. They're chubby little critters with telescoping legs that look as if they might have inspired sci-fi and fantasy monsters.

Popular Science Science Photo Library/Getty Images

This 0.02 inch creature (about the size of the period at the end of this sentence) lives in mosses, lichens, as well as soil and leaf litter as a nutrient recycler. They can suspend their metabolism, so are not affected by extremes. I've never seen one, but there can be "as many as 300,000 per square metre" in soil, or "over 2 million per square metre" on mossy substrates! Wikipedia

We have to stop destroying them willy-nilly with our thoughtless land use upheaval practices - their capabilities to handle extremes may help us save our planet one day. They are already helping us learn how to counter the effects of radiation treatments. Though they are practically indestructible, they have one weakness - hot water, which can kill them.

On this Earth Day, resolve to give nature and all living things more than a passing thought on a regular basis.

Strange Things Revealed

The solution to yesterday's puzzle pic: droplets of squeezed lime juice that have my kitchen light reflected in them. I have to say, they looked like beautiful pearls on the indents in my glass juicer, so I thought I had to capture them. It's no wonder it takes me so long to prepare meals!

Strange Things

What on earth could these strange objects be? This is a difficult one ...

Any suggestions?

Answer will be posted tomorrow ...

Compact Buds

Maple buds abound

Packed for future hereafters

Compactly bundled 

Scumble

I love learning new words, and scumble is a new one for me. I'm finding it hard to put into my own words, but I think the phrase "a scumble of storm clouds" makes most sense to me.

Scumbling is an art technique that can be used to highlight layering, achieved through applying paint thinly on top of the underlying layer so that the colors of the preceding layer can show through. Layers of clouds is a perfect example.

Merriam-Webster defines it thus:

transitive verb

1

a

: to make (something, such as color or a painting) less brilliant by covering with a thin coat of opaque or semiopaque color applied with a nearly dry brush

b

: to apply (a color) in this manner

2

: to soften the lines or colors of (a drawing) by rubbing lightly

I hope by including it here, I will remember it ... we shall see ...

Directions

 Where are we headed? So much uncertainty and upheaval in this world ...

Winter Rewinds Again

What a major contrast in 3 days!

From this gorgeously vibrant and colorful scene on April 9

to this monochromatic prettiness on April 12

It's almost unbelievable!

Stories as Webs

I loved these lines from Nnedi Okorafor's "Death of the Author" a book of metafiction that was very intriguing, despite sci-fi not being my thing:

"Author, art and audience all adore one another. They create a tissue, a web, a network. No death is required for this form of life.

Creation flows both ways."

Oooh, makes me think of "Entangled Life," about fungi and reciprocity, and connectedness and exchange ...

Okorafor also wrote, "Stories are what holds all things together. They make things matter, they make all things be, exist."

Icy Crust

For gosh sakes! On April 10 we developed an icy crust on some parts of our cove before the sun spread some warmth. While it made for some beautiful, patterns, it wasn't appropriate for this time of year, in my opinion!

It was pretty though ... it was a combination of feathery, crystalline, curved and wavy! Quite a sight!

A Bud

Woohoo, my first flower bud for 2025 ... a tiny bluet. At first I thought it might be an ice crystal

 since I could hear snow pellets (graupel) falling all around me

I went back later to get a better photo, and couldn't find the bud again! I've been combing my lawn for it for a few days since, with no luck.

Wacky Brain

I had to do a double take when I saw the URL on this sign - my brain interpreted it as boobstransit! What a funny thing the brain is ...

More Curlicues

This decorative curl, probably a vole pathway under the snow, looks a lot like a question mark.

This dry leaf coil happens to be 'upstaged' by the perfectly manufactured one in the background. 

Winter Firefly

We found this firefly whilst having our first campfire in early April. This unique 'lightning bug' does not have the ability to light up! It's known as the winter firefly and is active during the day.

Photo: D Schultz

Ellychnia corrusca is regarded as a pest in the maple syrup industry because it is their natural inclination to feed on maple sap, and when we tap it and collect it in buckets, it's easy fodder - can't say I blame them!

Aging Beautifully

 There IS beauty in drying out and getting old!

Sculpted Beauty

 

Squirrels have been sharpening their teeth on this bone we hung from a tree, leaving deep indents, angles and stripes to create a beautiful sculpture. It's been there for at least 5 years.

Brave New World

(Hat tip to Aldous Huxley for the title)

Brave little hatchlings,

Insects-to-be in new worlds

Treacherous, unknown.

Eerie Light

An eerie light settled in after a recent snowfall - there's a yellow-sepia tinge to everything that is quite compelling to indulge in.

Amidst it all is this beautiful snow covered tree stump mimicking a snowflake or star. 

But really, nature, I'm getting to the end of my rope with these games you play with my mind about spring coming ... please stop the teasing! Yes, this week's hall of thunder was impressive, but ENOUGH. I'm already thoroughly impressed, now can we move on?

Hands Off!

Shadows and Cracks

Look at how similar these crack patterns in the ice are to tree shadows

Dendritic patterns recur in nature at various scales and scenarios

Curlicues

 Snow curlicues - how elegant!

I'm amazed at how little connection is required to keep the droplets suspended as part of the structure.

Web Décor

I don't know whether to call this a window decoration or web décor, quite frankly. It's the remains of prey in a spiderweb that I can see through my window.

I think I saw it referred to as 'post mortem manipulation'

The Return of Monochromy

Just as I was gloating over a return to a varied color palette, I was greeted again by this vision. It was expected, so not too shocking, but dang, I want to see more green settle in.

We've had a crowd of wood ducks (or is it a lumberyard, Dale suggests) and ring-neck ducks enjoying the seclusion and habitat our cove and breakwater offers. 

This is so picturesque! 

Treasure Revealed

The close up pic from yesterday is a beautiful fringed rosette lichen (Physcia stellaris) - magnificent! The intricate beauty and varied surface is stunning.

It's a common species found in North America, usually on bark or rocks. Those dark discs are its fruiting bodies that produce spores. Now, even more amazing, is that this particular little piece of perfection that I found is less than an inch across. Here it is next to my thumbnail for reference: 

Lichens are composites of fungi and algae (or bacteria) - they combine their individual capabilities to function as one. The book Ways of Enlichenment invites us to view lichens in an open-minded way - as fungal greenhouses, algal farmsteads, ecosystems, organisms or as emergent property.

 I hope you are happy to have been enlichened.

Treasure

I found this treasure lying on our driveway, and I was enthralled:

Of course, I've shown a detailed close-up to throw you off the trail, but in my mind it still looks pretty obvious ... probably way too easy! Answer tomorrow ...

Dimples

I love the look of these dimples (or blotches) in the changing ice - it's the imperfections that make it interesting.

Some look crusty, like scabs

or scars

Picture Perfect

What a difference a day makes!

Color returned to our world after a day of monochromy. Quite a stunning transformation.