Lichen

Don't look for a face or other recognizable subject today! What a relief! All we have here is a log with lichen. Or an abstract composition.

 

However, and while we're on the subject, lichens are fascinating organisms. They are thought to be among the oldest living things on earth. There are about 25,000 species. A lichen is a symbiosis. That means that it is two or more organisms living together such that both are more successful within the partnership than they would have been if they were living on their own. They require no food source other than light, air and minerals, and can withstand great extremes of temperature. Lichens appear in many different forms. One extreme is Old-man's beard, which resembles our Spanish moss at Point Reyes. Before the discovery of aniline dyes, lichens were much used for silk and wool dyes. Some people think that the manna of the Bible was lichen.

 

And now you know at least as much as I do!