Dodging Bullets & Torrential Rain

Hiking these past two days has not been fun. Yesterday I got halfway up the trail and suddenly there was a lot of shooting off to the south of me. Muzzle loader season has begun. Seems like it's more dangerous out there than rifle season was. I chose to stay close to the house to hunt for some mniums. I lucked out and found lots of them all along the dirt lane running beside the woods. I also found a really neat moss that is lime green. I'm trying to identify it. So far no luck.
Today I got up and headed immediately out to hike because I knew the rain was on it's way. I had just gathered some mniums and several medium cushions and then the rain arrived. By the time I got home, I was pretty cold and wet.
Hopefully tomorrow will be better for hiking. I know it's supposed to be cold out but I think I can handle that. I'll be hiking at the park down the road - I don't dare go into the woods until everyone has their muzzle loaders packed away for the year! I desperately need more medium mosses. It's not that there is a lack of them but they are so difficult to spot with the leaves on the ground.

A Fresh Start!

I have been so busy with my moss sales thanks to the holidays and haven't had much time to post. Right now, it looks like the rush is now behind me so I will get back into posting and try to do it on a regular basis.
The woods are ever-changing with the weather. Every time I head up the mountain, I see different things.Right now I am concentrating on gathering all I can before the snow starts to fall. With the leaves on the ground, it's been a challenge to find cushion mosses - I almost wish I could walk up there with a leaf blower!
Other mosses, however are so easy to spot - frog mosses and the sheet mosses stand out like a sore thumb and boy, are they ever gorgeous at this time of the year!
I've been collecting some new varieties and having some success selling them on Ebay & Etsy. Fern moss is so much easier to harvest right now. It seems the freezing and thawing really lifts them and they are so easy to remove. The mniums are sporing right now and they, too are easier to spot at this time.
I recently found tons of spoon moss in an area that I rarely hiked and those are becoming very popular with my vivarium customers.
I have added my twitter link to this blog. Do follow me! You can get a look ahead to what I will be selling over the coming weeks!