Spring is a great time, not least because things large and small come back to life after excessive winter hibernation. It’s also a good time to take your camera out for a spin and come back with some colorful photos. Like this small decorative cabbage in our nearby park:
(click on the images to get a bigger version)
Since the scenery at large is still void of leaves and thus looks a bit raw, it’s also a good time to look small. Like this moss below – not very exciting when shot from so far away, now is it?
But if you take a closer look at the tiny little thing in the center of the above photo, you’ll find another, beautiful world.
Those little things grow up to be bigger things like the one below left. (Note my impeccable knowledge of the local flora; in all fairness, “the little thing” is probably not scientifically an entirely accurate name for it.. 
) Finally, I’m really looking forward to those other little things turning into big leaves (below right):
April 22nd, 2008 at 01:26
Cool photos! Love the moss photos. Moss is weird. It is less evolved than most plants; it doesn’t have roots or a vascular system. Also, the green fuzzy part of moss that we are used to seeing is the “gametophyte” – a phase of plant life that only has one set of chromosomes. In contrast, most other life forms (humans, flowering plants, etc) are carrying around two sets of chromosomes, one set from each parent. The tiny wispy wand things that are coming up on the left side of the photo are the sporophytes, which is another (shorter) phase of moss plant life. The sporophyte contains two sets of chromosomes, one from each parent, and it releases spores that will grow into the next generation of gametophytes. Summary of all that is here..
http://www2.auckland.ac.nz/info/schools/nzplants/moss_sporophyte.htm
(more than you ever wanted to know about moss?)
I’m trying to figure out what the bulbed purple thing is, growing on the right side of that photo. I think it might be a different type of moss or liverwort. It sure is fascinating looking!
April 22nd, 2008 at 10:26
Actually that’s quite interesting.
I had no idea I had captured parts with both one and two sets of chromosomes in one photo
April 22nd, 2008 at 11:40
I really love your photos !
You’ve got a talent for it, sure
April 26th, 2008 at 18:52
your photography skill is getting better and better