Brad Von Blon

Microscope photo of Fuscocephaloziopsis, a very small liverwort with its buddy Blepharostoma, an even smaller liverwort, next to it.

Microscope photo of the leaves of Fuscocephaloziopsis. They have “two acute to acuminate lobes separated by a rounded apical notch” which makes em look like a wonky pac-man or a funky claw or maybe even a weird dinosaur

Perianth and stem of Fuscocephaloziopsis

Fuscocephaloziopsis that I found after dropping my phone in the bog. Phones seem to really like finding wet hollows on the bog mat, mine is a magnet for Odontoschisma fluitans, Blepharostoma trichophyllum, and Fuscocephaloziopsis.

Sphagnum divinum (or S. magellanicum complex if you prefer)

Sphagnum divinum mixed with S. fallax

Sphagnum papillosum

Probably Sphagnum russowii?

A few of the prettier photos I took during the trip

A group of 18 people in a wetland passing around Sphagnum moss specimens to inspect and compare

A circle of attendees write notes and look for various species of Sphagnum with Dr. Shaw in the middle

A group of seven people standing on a floating bog mat composed of Sphagnum

A classroom table with various specimens from our field trips arranged with labels identifying each species. A whole slew of microscopes are on the table as well.

I took a trip last week to attend a Sphagnum workshop hosted by the Botanical Club of Wisconsin. It was fantastic to learn from Dr. Jon Shaw and we had tons of fun! Our group saw 16 of the 27 species known to occur in the state, not too shabby!

Malaxis unifolia from a great big gigantic conifer swamp that I seem to get lost in every time

I made a hen Spruce Grouse very upset today and she tried to fight me, I got away with my life but not my dignity

A quiet, serene video of a raccoon drinking from a local lake and nothing wild happens

A tweet that says “Not to brag but I have two ex-girlfriends who don’t keep in contact with me BUT still follow me on iNaturalist. Like ‘I don’t want this man in my life but I’ll be damned… he finds some really cool stuff’”

Someone in public recognized me today from my iNat profile and it reminded me of an old tweet of mine. I never realized that posting plant pictures could gain someone a bit of local notoriety?

A very small, olive green/brown lichen with burgundy red apothecia which are <2mm in diameter growing on soil/biocrust. A penny behind it for scale.

A very small, olive green lichen with burgundy red apothecia which are <2mm in diameter growing on soil/biocrust.

A very small, olive green lichen with burgundy red apothecia which are <2mm in diameter growing on soil/biocrust.

A zoomed-out view of the lichen with my finger pointing to it for scale. It’s tiny! Teensy, even!

Soil Ruby Lichen (Heppia adglutinata), new to Michigan! Some folks I know have found it in Ontario, CA and some nearby Midwest states but somehow I couldn’t find any documentation of it in the Mitten. Figured I may as well look on the high quality alvars of Drummond Island and there it was! Welcome!

It’ been documented in the northern tip of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula near where I live, but no records since 1980. I’ve spent tons of time in all the old sites and come up with nothing. My recent sighting is from the Upper Peninsula, I’m starting to think it’s extirpated from the lower.

After 3 years of searching on and off for Menegazzia terebrata in Michigan, I finally found some!! Well worth the wait and the 8 mile trek through one of the thicker conifer swamps I’ve ever been in!

Flower of Calypso bulbosa. The photo is good but not like “professional” good, just okay.

It’s about that time, ain’t it

Lol

A white, fringed lichen growing in a small rosette on tree bark

A white, fringed lichen growing in a small rosette on tree bark

It’s been a good spring for lichens so far. This Heterodermia (maybe H. specioca?) is not uncommon around my area but always seems to pop up unexpectedly.

Otters are back!

Digitized image of Walker’s collection label that reads “brook, Petoskey” next to 7 small snail shells

Who’s gonna help me find the (likely extinct) Petoskey Pondsnail this summer? F. Bryant Walker collected 13 snail shells in 1908, wrote a vague label, found them to be a new species, and I don’t know if anyone ever really followed up much.

Brad (goofball) wearing a black shirt with white text that reads “SAFETY, DIGNITY & HEALTHCARE FOR ALL TRANS PEOPLE”

Who’s got two thumbs and a sick ass shirt?

Fairy Shrimp Sticker — Querkus Creative Fairy Shrimp rely on Vernal Pools for their entire life cycle. These crustaceans emerge as soon as the pool fills with water or thaws in the spring and water temperatures hit a certain temperature , ...

Some Michigan artists are making shrimp stickers!
www.querkuscreative.com/products/p/b...

Pin lichen from the inner wood of a dead Ash in a swamp. I figure this is likely Mycocalicium subtile but haven’t checked the key because I’m a lazy bum.

A lichen with a white thallus & little black pins about 1mm tall.

A lichen with a white thallus & little black pins about 1mm tall.

Bark of a Red Pine with distinct white coloration along the plates of bark, especially along a fissure.

There’s a pin lichen that’s been bothering me for a while, shows up on old growth Red Pine. Easy to spot because the white thallus appears on the margins of the bark plates, making them look wreathed in white. Probably just Mycocalicium subtile but that’d be boring.

I did! It’s been enjoying the sunlight in my front window since last summer. I oughta mail you some if you’d like to have some material but I also didn’t get permission from the landowners (TNC) to collect so I’ve been a little skittish

An otter swims in open water between two sheets of ice on Lake Michigan

Otter on an ice float eating some species of Sucker (Catostomus sp.)

Otter on an ice float eating some species of Sucker (Catostomus sp.)

Went to the local marina and got to watch an otter fishing for an hour or so

Finally got out to see some lichen today. I’m often wrong about this specific group but some features point towards Pertusaria rubefacta, that’d be a new one for me!

Figured out an easy hack for IDing mosses for other people. Works every time 😎

I’m not sure. The Bryophyte Portal shows a few collections from Colorado, Kansas, and California but I wonder if future taxonomic work will show them to be different from the Great Lakes populations.

Best find of 2024 was way back in June. Some friends and I likely found the first Michigan record of Syntrichia cainii on the beautiful alvars of Drummond Island! Felt great to add a new addition to the flora!

The Lives of Lichens: A Natural History by Robert Lücking & Toby Spribille

I got a cool book in the mail!

This is where those illustrations came from if you wanna see more

Chaenotheca sp. (possibly C. ferruginea)

Illustrations from The Lichen Genus Chaenotheca in the Northern Hemisphere by Leif Tibell

Illustrations from The Lichen Genus Chaenotheca in the Northern Hemisphere by Leif Tibell

Illustrations from The Lichen Genus Chaenotheca in the Northern Hemisphere by Leif Tibell

It always cracks me up to think of this illustrator (Montreuel?) being approached to draw pin lichens for a paper. “So they’re like… a bunch of squiggly little wiggly guys? Who are all hangin’ out together?” Yeah you pretty much nailed it.

I’ve never had a bobcat climb up on a camera before! Pretty fun to hear the little sniffs!

Thank you!! I was surprised with how well the pictures came out, it’s just a bargain AmScope brand dissecting/stereo scope with my phone camera up to the eyepiece