Back Again

Once again I stopped at Hell's Half Acre on my way back from IF. A bit colder this time, and a mite more snow, but for once Pocatello seems to have gotten more than parts further north. A few more pictures to share. First one is a nice scenery shot.



This is a closeup of some new life coming up. Couldn't tell you what kind yet, but for a scale reference, the top little leaf rosette is about the size of the end of my index finger.


And here's a closeup of some lichen, putting up some, uh, not sure what you call them on lichen. Shoots? Stems?


ADDENDUM: Found some info on lichens, first at Wikipedia. Apparently they're a composite organism, with a fungus and an algae working together. There's some debate as to whether this is mutually beneficial, or whether the fungus is taking advantage of the algae, since the fungus seems to get more out of the deal. *shrugs* Not sure what the green things are (and maybe they're a primitive plant and not lichen at all)[I think I was right the first time; they're some sort of moss], but I think I found the white ones on the forest service's guide to lichens. Right color, shape, growth pattern and substrate, at least.