Bonfire moss

I spent all of five minutes photographing this bonfire moss late this afternoon. This species is often used to illustrate the life cycle of mosses, and is one of the easiest to identify when in fruit, having masses of sporophytes on long swan-necked setae which appear wayward and elegant at the same time. It prefers to grow on nitrogen-rich disturbed ground and often colonises old bonfire sites, hence the name. However, this one has colonised a plant pot on the patio, and seems to be thriving on the peat-free compost.

This was my only time with the camera in a day of intensive writing, punctuated with a whole set of minor tasks, including taking Daisy back to the vet to get her blood pressure checked. The good news is that it has come down. The bad news is that it hasn't dropped enough for her to have her operation, so she's now got another ten days on a higher dose of medication to see if that will fix it. Apparently she was a s good as gold today!