A SKETCHBOOK ODYSSEY

We noticed on our last visit to the Cape that there seems to be much more lichen on the trees that we have noticed before. This is a piece of a branch found during my Spring yar clean-up yesterday. Lichens occur from sea level to high alpine elevations, in a very wide range of environmental conditions, and can grow on almost any surface. Lichens are abundant growing on bark, leaves, mosses, on other lichens, and hanging from branches “living on thin air”. It is estimated that 6% of Earth’s land surface is covered by lichen. Colonies of lichens may be spectacular in appearance, dominating much of the surface of the visual landscape in forests and natural places, such as the vertical “paint” covering the vast rock faces of Yosemite National Park. Pilot Falcon fountain pen with Noodler’s black ink and Holbein watercolors in a Stillman and Birn sketchbook.