I sat with another tree. The lilac in my garden that I thought had been killed by last year's tree surgery. She has more stems now and they are robust. There are new growths coming through.
I had a hot water bottle on my lap and a load of scarves and hats as I sat there. Started off just focusing on the Merlin app. Well, tree, birds, same difference. It registered - and I saw or recognised the songs of: starling, robin, great tit, blue tit, black cap, crow, magpie, blackbird, goldfinch, wood pigeon, black headed gull. I saw a dunnock who did not speak and the app claimed there was a buzzard, a song thrush and a white wagtail.
White wagtail? There are pieds in the park and greys locally. I am very familiar with these two. BUT I have seen in my garden a grey coloured wagtail that does not look like a pied or a grey. When I checked out white wagtail, yup, that's what I could have sworn I saw. But these are passage migrants who are only here in roughly March to May and August to November. Still, black caps have changed their behaviour. Maybe these have too? I doubt it. Merlin and I no doubt mistook a pied for a white.
I also saw a gull with a big piece of food being chased by another gull.
Then I went for the meditation and what came to me was a sense of all the wonder that we do not see; the life that is hidden; the languages we don't know. There is as much that we cannot wonder at but would if we could as there is to wonder at! Maybe more! What I mean is that life is so rich and so varied that what we know of should bring us to our knees in gratitude and awe - and that's only a fraction of what there is.
Yes even what there is that is available to us, we often fail to notice or appreciate.
That made me think of all the different tiny things I am starting to see.
And all the things that are usually overlooked.
These are two different species. First, farinose cartilage and then hooded rosette. There is also common sunburst and speckled greenshield in those pictures.
One of my tree's neighbours looks to have died. He is sprouting new life.
I cannot seem to identify this one.
By the way, here's a GREAT slime mold video!
EXCELLENT slime mold video!! It's hard to believe how "different" a creature it/they is. Like a giant amoeba, he said. But then there are the spores - that stage. Must look at the video again. And thanks for the variety of lichen photos. They are so pretty seen against "their" bark.