Low clouds and light to moderate winds. Light rain during the morning hours, temperatures in the upper 50s.
I worked on a couple of Harbor Mountain collections this afternoon. One was a Gymnomitrion that I think might be G. concinntaum. I had called some prior collections this, but I think I may have been overly hasty. It may be the right call, but I probably need to do microscopy to confirm (at least at this stage of my familiarity).
I did photograph a strand of another liverwort that I found with the Gymnomitrion, and then photographed two additional collections. I think all three may be the same liverwort. I came up with Lophozia sudetica, but I’ve landed there before and found out I was incorrect.
Later in the afternoon I went up to the first viewpoint on Verstovia while talking with my parents while they were driving to the farm. I wasn’t really wanting to go up the hill, but that’s part of the power of setting up a pattern like this.
I didn’t bother with binoculars or my big camera, and made it up in just over 21 minutes. It was very similar to the last time I went up in early June (also without camera or binoculars). That was long enough ago, I can’t really remember enough to compare how I felt then versus today. Today I did breathe hard, but not so much that I couldn’t talk when it was my turn. It didn’t feel like a strain. Although I haven’t done this particular uphill, I have managed to average about one uphill effort per week. Some pretty big (Starrigavan Ridge and Bear Mountain), others less so (Harbor Mountain Peaks, and Gavan Hill ibuttons), but it’s apparently been enough for me to maintain conditioning, even if I’ve not improved too much.
I collected some liverworts while I was there. I am hoping I got some of what was identified on iNaturalist as Marsupella funckii so I can get better photos and a collection. While picking that up, I also grabbed three others that caught my attention. I think one is a Gymnomitrion, another probably Cephaloziella, and I’m not sure about the third.
My iNaturalist Observations for Today
