Decorative Lichens

Growing on a sandstone wall above Todmorden where the builder has cut nearly every stone using a portable stone saw - an unusual  technique.

So it's quite a young community of lichens . . .

They looked like the work of an inspired textile designer . . .

Click on the picture to enlarge.

Appreciating natural things for me starts with simple enjoyment. It's not necessary to know the names of the species straight away. 

Lichens, especially the foliose (leafy) types can be extra plump and bright in the wet of winter, and are worth stopping to look at when there are fewer birds, insects, fungi and flowers distract.

The ones above are growing out in the open in full sun and the wind. Foliose types tend to grow on wall-tops under trees; sometimes on the twigs themselves