A Walk in the Rain

We finally got a winter storm. This brings our rain to about 10" when the average for this time of the rain year (July 1 to June 30) is about 11". Finch Creek is now flowing briskly from Anastasia Creek. If we get a couple more winter storms, we might even reach "average" rainfall!

    When it is wet, the branches that fall have lichen and moss that is a striking deep green and bright yellow or orange fungi open. Dr. Shirley Tucker at UCSB identifies these (thanks!) as perhaps a fungus in the group, Thelephoraceae; not well-known and hard to identify from a photo. I am pretty sure the lichen is Ramalina. Compare this photo to one taken of the same branch after drying 4 hours...(below). 

 

Here,  the rich greens have gone white and fungal bodies have rolled up tight. With several more wet-dry cycles, the fungal cups continued to open and close. I suspect they are not ephemeral, but may persist on the branch for years. There appears to be a lichen crust on the lower sides of the fungal cups. This might be cryptic coloration? 

   By the way- even with this rain, Jaime's pond has not filled entirely. About 1/4 covered. We may need to work on that next year.