Making lemonade out of lemons

   This morning I had nearly two inches of new snow--and it was 19 degrees.  So, what was I going to do outside in such weather?  Easy, take some photos of my mosses in the snow.  As it was sunny, by late morning much of snow melted, making for some nice shots.
   Mosses will start to photosynthesize as soon as the temperature is above freezing and there is sufficient light, so when it got to the mid-30s today, the mosses were putting on new growth, as they were fully hydrated with the melting snow.
   In the third photo, the mesh is used to keep birds and critters from destroying one of my favorite moss patches.  They are so inconsiderate, thinking only of themselves!  Poor parenting, no doubt.
   In the fourth photo, my favorite moss, Anomodon rostratus, which often grows on limestone rocks, new growth of last season appears at the lower part of the moss patch.
   In the last three photos, the setae (seta, singular) or upright stalks that hold the spore-holding capsules are visible.  In a few months, these capsules will dry out and eventually release many millions of spores, each spore hoping to find a good place to begin its new life.  Very few do.