lichen of the Fells

Yesterday, Jesse and I took a hike in our local forest, the Middlesex Fells Reservation. The Fells is the closest patch of wilderness to where we live and work. Founded in the 1890s, the Fells consists of ~2500 acres of forest located 5 miles from our office in urban Somerville.

We hiked the Rock Circuit Trail which seems to have been designed around the idea of having you climb over every big rock in the area. Spring has not arrived yet. Despite the warm weather, there wasn’t a single green leaf or bud in the forest. So, I focused on lichen hunting during the hike. You can read more about my lichen obsession in my previous blog post “Becoming Lichenized”. Here are some of the lichen I spotted!