Gathering moss

Growing on bare rock is a pretty impressive trick. Not many organisms can survive such a hostile environment. Moss does not have nutrient or water-absorbing roots, just tiny rootlets to physically anchor itself in place. The green leaves photosynthesise, but they also do the absorbtion of whatever nutrients the moss needs - nitrogen, phosphate, potassium and so on. Some of these may be present in rainwater when it is around, some may be released from the rock by acids that the moss exudes 

I read that, 450 million years ago, moss spreading across the land was enough to kickstart biological and geological processes that reduced the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and precipitated a series of ice ages. If only we could repeat history so easily

I've had the sort of day where not much seemed to be happening - futile journeys to take a friend to (and fetch from) a train that never came - meaning they missed a significant funeral. Too much time researching whether we should be (re-)fixing our energy tariff. (Conclusion: it doesn't matter much. Isn't privatisation wonderful). Buying necessities online - my one Black Friday deal has saved me £5. Fifteen minutes of late, dappled sunlight felt like a highlight and lured me into a post-storm amble around the garden (no damage I've noticed) 

The moss has quietly recolonised the section of wall that I rebuilt almost two years ago. It grows very slowly, of course, but one moment it wasn't there, and the next one it was. Small advances add up