Gettin' Boxes Where the Birds Rule

[_grisha]

So this time, I was in Minnesota, and the box was hidden just off the north shore of Lake Superior. I quickly figured out the island it was on. When I took that photograph, I was staring longingly at that beach right in the middle, thinking about how easy it would have been to pull a kayak up onto it. But I also saw that there was a way to

Comments

[jerkfacemcgee]

That is an awesome story, box or no. At least you got a pic of the father goose.

Also, I will never think of "Mother Goose" nursery rhymes in the same way again...

[_grisha]

Dude, that was exactly what I was thinking.

"red" rock

[anonymous]

That is Orange Sunburst Lichen, in case you were wondering. One of my favorite lichens.

Re: "red" rock

[_grisha]

Very cool. I wonder why it was growing on the rocks closer to the island but not those closer to the mainland.

Re: "red" rock

[_grisha]

By the way, is that the same as xanthoria parietina? Because it certainly did not appear foliose to me.

Re: "red" rock

[anonymous]

It is formally known as Xanthoria elegans or Elegant Sunburst Lichen. The reason it grows on those rocks farther out, as you noticed there are lots of birds. Lots of bird crap= lots of nitrogen, therefore you get the lichens there. In my friends book Lichens of the North Woods, by Joe Walewski, he describes it as foliose to almost crustose.
http://www.amazon.com/Lichens-North-Woods-Naturalist/dp/0979200601