Liking the Lichen. Part 3. Originally published 11/18/2021.

November 18. 2021

Stratford’s Hidden Universe 

#stratfordhiddenuniverse #stratfordshiddenuniverse #stratfordecology #stratfordctecology #lichen #tree #parks #nature #openspace #forest #history #stratfordct #symbiosis #rocks #NorthAmerica #worldwide flavoparmeliacaperata #commongreenshield #dye #salve #wrinkled #palegreen

A Wrinkled Beauty 

Flavoparmelia caperata: Common Greenshield Lichen

Flavo: Latin for “yellow”. If you read up on nutrition, flavonoids are the good colors in fruits and vegetables.

Parma: shield

Parmelia: little shield 

Caperata: wrinkled 

Common Greenshield Lichen can be found worldwide as well as right in our own backyards. Unlike most lichens, they can tolerate heavier polluted areas and have been found the first to come back to an area after some type of clearing, whether it be a fire, construction, or some other kind of decimation. Yet like most lichen, they provide an extra source of oxygen and food for creatures like deer, squirrels, and hummingbirds.

Even though called “Greenshield” in English, their Latin name more closely describes their pale yellow-green surface color when dried out. Like other foliose lichen (see November 11, 2021), when faced with large amounts of water, they turn a darker green when wet.  Common Greenshield Lichen look like pieces of lettuce stuck to the bark of broadleaf trees, the type of trees they most prefer. They reproduce asexually (neither male nor female) from their centers. In their centers resides a bump/ pustule looking structure that produces “soredia”. Soredia are powdery cells made of algae covered in fungus that are released and blown into the wind. The soredia come to rest on different types of objects yet only survive in ideal circumstances, especially on broadleaf trees.

Humans have used Common Greenshield Lichen to dye wool and ground down as a powder for burns.

Liking the Lichen. Part 2. Original publication 11/11/2021.

November 11, 2021

Liking the Lichen. (Part 2 of 2, or 3? So much information on lichen.)

#stratfordhiddenuniverse #stratfordshiddenuniverse #stratfordecology #stratfordctecology #lichen #tree #parks #nature #openspace #forest #history #stratfordct #symbiosis #rocks #NorthAmerica #puncteliarudecta #dye 

Punctelia: originates from the Latin word “punctum” that can be translated as “dot” or “small spot”. Ever had a puncture wound or something was punctured? Related to the words “puncture”, “punctuation”, and “compuncture”. 

Rudecta: translates from Latin as “are dry”. “Rud” (or “rudi”) is a Latin root that we are familiar with from the words “rude” and “rudimentary” that can mean someone or something mean, tough, below, not in good standing, or “rud” by itself relates to “red”. “Ecta” has a close relationship to “ecto” meaning “outside” or “external”.

Punctelia rudecta’s translated names can be either “Rough Speckled Shield” or “Speckleback Lichen”.  DNA analysis links Punctelia rudecta to about 20 other cousins of lichens all in the Punctelia family. Punctelia rudecta can be found from Mexico to Canada. 

Punctelia rudecta belongs to the category of lichen called “foliose” lichen. Foliose lichen begins as white spores and when it matures, foliose lichen can be distinguished by the two clearly distinguishable sides, top and bottom, two dimensions, usually the green or green/blue side and the “back” side that can be brownish in color.  Other features include leafy-looking ridges and bumps, it is mainly flat, and it hangs on loosely to whatever it is hanging onto. 

Two very interesting facts about Punctelia rudecta. First, it is a “dry” lichen most of the time. However, when confronted with a situation of massive water influx, it can hold up to 300% of its dry weight in water. After it takes what it needs for water, Punctelia rudecta slowly releases the rest.  Secondly, this relates to the “rud” for “red” in its name. This is one of those “don’t try this at home” situations. A pink dye can be extracted from Punctelia rudecta using ammonia as a solvent.  You may be wearing some Punctelia rudecta right now or it may be listed as a “natural coloring” in something else you use or consume.

Picture below: Punctelia rudecta both mature and growing.

Liking the Lichen. Original publication 11/4/2021.

November 4, 2021

Liking the Lichen. (Part 1 of 2, or 3? So much information on lichen.)

#stratfordhiddenuniverse #stratfordshiddenuniverse #stratfordecology #lichen #tree #parks #nature #openspace #forest #history #stratfordct #symbiosis #rocks 

Lichen generally receive a bad reputation yet remain key indicators of local environmental, especially air and water, health.  Lichen also continuously produce oxygen due to the algae that needs to be part of their structure.  Algae are considered “true plants”, even though single celled, because they undergo the process of photosynthesis. 

Years ago I had someone during a presentation I was giving about trees slam lichen as “tree killers”.  This belief remains on the opposite end from the truth. Lichens actually protect trees and their bark.  If someone rips the lichen off, it’s the equivalent to peeling off your entire epidermis (top layer of skin) with a potato peeler.  All protection has been lost. Lichen and trees exist in a symbiotic relationship, where neither party comes out harmed and both mutually benefit. 

Interesting side note: the word “symbiosis” was actually developed to explain the existence of lichen with and on the other party they exist with. 

Yes, when branches come off of trees, they have a lot of lichen on them.  Most trees lose branches due to dehydration, disease, and old age. The lichen helped protect those branches from outside elements, they can’t help if the tree has become dehydrated or diseased from within. Yes, lichen break down rocks that they grow on yet the breaking down process takes many, many, many years.

Lichen also attach where they can get lots of sunshine. Just like humans and other types of living organisms, lichens need sunshine to grow and thrive because they are living organisms, they breath, and they grow. On rocks the lichen tends to cluster on the sunny side and trees may have more lichen on one side and in the upper branches due to where they get the most sun exposure. 

Lichen can be found on all 7 continents, including Antarctica. They can actually reproduce and survive in extreme temperatures, even going down to -20 degrees Celsius or -4 degrees Fahrenheit. The interesting aspect of their existence is that they can’t exist on their own, they need something to attach to. That something can be trees, rocks, or even stationary human-made objects. Lichen can be killed during fires or in areas with large amounts of sulfur dioxide in the air. Lichens do absorb heavy metals from water and/or the object they are attached to.

Lichens contain four parts: fungi, algae, bacteria, and yeast. Their reproduction involves the fungus only. The fungi reproduce and the other parts join it. Structurally, they are similar to a human hair with an outside cortex composed of  thick, closely packed cells. The cortex also gives protection and color for some species. The second layer consists of the algal (algae) layer. In the middle comes the medulla with loosely packed fungal cells surrounded by a thin cell wall.

Lichens attach from their cortex with tissue-like vegetative structures called a “thallus”. Thalli can also be found in liverworts, algae, and fungi.  The thallus grows out of the cortex and attaches the lichen to an object. From this point, it grows outwards from a central point in a radial (think clock turning) way about 0.2 inches yearly. The large lichen visible now took many years to grow. 

Preview for next week: Punctelia rudecta 

It’s a salvage yard in the cosmos. Weekly Wins with Your Mind in Bloom, LLC 11/12/2021

Yes, we’ve been missing, incognito, silent from our website here. Slowly going through what needs to get done for our clients. Before another week goes by, we want to let you know we are still here.

This autumn saw a huge upswing in students applying and taking high school placement exams for private high schools. Some application cycles remain open, the individual school needs to be checked with. Don’t forget your vocational and agricultural schools as well.

We also saw a huge uptick in students who are struggling with the in-person back-to-school mode. Many students, of all ages, fell into the habit of waiting until the last minute with Google classroom. Many were locked out of assignments and/ or couldn’t catch up on what was due from the beginning of the year.

A third trend the last couple of months has been open positions “in house” for many companies. This is why maintaining of list of contacts remains ever so important. If someone is trying for an open position, another position has now opened up. Let them know you’re interested in applying.

Wondering about the title of this post? This relates to assisting with high school and college entrance essays. Not sure what to say? Connections remain key. Talk to us for more about this. Also, this does happen in other media as well. I caught up on a couple of episodes of “Reservation Dogs” on Hulu. (I highly recommend for something different, watch this show.) In one scene, the main police officer had an observer with him. They went to ask someone about the theft of a large amount of copper. The officer said that the man owned a “junk yard” and the man replied it is a “salvage yard”. The English language has enough vocabulary to connect things in different and crazy ways.

And “cosmos”? “Cosmos” is the Latin word for “universe”. We are taking a class on Nature Education through Cornell and had to come up with a concept. We are all part of the cosmos, even in our own little areas we inhabit and our connections to the cosmos begin there.

Speaking of cosmos, with leaves coming off of trees, lichen now has become more visible. The picture here shows some growing on a broken tree branch. Lichen serves as an environmental indicator and also produces oxygen.

Be Like a Plethodon cinereus: Wins for September 2021 with Your Mind in Bloom, LLC.

As we were in the middle of writing this, one of our resume clients called. Like many people these past two years, a lot of question marks surrounded their employment status. We spoke at length not only about they needed for their resume yet what need for self-advocacy. Today they called me and told me they finally self-advocated and they got what they asked for. So, if nothing else, self-advocate. Having trouble with self-advocacy? This is one component of what we do.

Plethodon cinereus is the scientific name for the Eastern Red-backed salamander. Salamanders fall under the amphibian classification because they are cold-blooded and their existence consists of half on water when eggs and half on land. The word “amphibian” comes from the Greek for 2 or double lives. Eastern red-backs also fall under the classification as “lungless” because they breathe through their skin. One cool aspect about the species most people don’t know has to do with their tails. They can grow them back should a predator grab onto one and eat it or they can drop them if they are grabbed.

Late August and September saw a lot of tail dropping and regrowing. Schedules shifted based on weather and other unexpected happenings and scrambling to reschedule and get back into a routine. With political happenings, we have put together several resumes and cover letters as people search out other options.

Academics have also remained a top priority. Right now our clients continue to try to obtain State licenses and pass their classes.

One interesting academic project we are helping with consists of response to literature papers. Remember all of those books and poems and how long it took to cite the text? How things have changed. When we say papers, they can be anything from 2-3 to 5-6 pages, or more. These amount of pages can still contain a lot of information.

One common struggle we help our clients with goes back to the title of this post. How to figure out something they are reading or reading about and they don’t know what to do with the information. We spend a lot of time breaking information down and applying it and reapplying it.

Here’s a taste of what we share with the local column we write because we do the same thing here that we do with our clients:

Cinderella Under Your Flower Pots, Logs, Rocks, and Leaves

Plethodon – Scientific name given to species of North American salamanders that lay yolk filled eggs and whose eggs, once hatched, go straight to land. Unlike other amphibians such as frogs and toads, their young don’t stay in the water as tadpoles to grow to adulthood first.

Amphibian – from the Greek “amphibios” – 2 lives/ double life, both in water and on land 

Cinereus – derived from the Latin “cinis” meaning ashes, gray/grey, ash-like, ashen

(Interesting cultural side note: The name “Cinderella” comes from this root as well as in the original stories of Cinderella from Eastern Europe (sorry, Disney fans) she does clean the ashes yet the wicked sisters end up losing out on a lot more than the prince.  Cinder – ashes ella – woman/girl)

Be like a Plethodon cinereus: regrow and regenerate your “tail” when something or someone breaks it off.

Show Up, Show Up, Show Up. Weekly Wins With Your Mind in Bloom, LLC 8/13/2021

So where to begin this week? The heat has been blowing through and summer has begun to wane. Summer camps are wrapping up or have wrapped up. Some schools have already started going back. Even in the middle of everything, sweating and praying Zoom will hold on and the power won’t go out, people still need help.

Today was one of those days where almost everything recently ordered arrived either in the mail or on the front porch. Something I needed replaced, the replacement showed up today as did the theme and benefits of showing up.

People think I’m nuts when I talk about my schedule and one thing I need is a scheduler with the hours in front of me. I refuse to use my phone as it has hit the pavement more times than I care to admit. I use a paper planner or notebook to write everything down by the hour. Bear with me while I go back and check my planner at home. Family members going to two different day camps? No problem, we’ll figure it out and the days special coverage may be needed.

Yet this also goes back to the showing up. Life doesn’t happen unless you plan and unless you plan to show up. The two camps was a last minute change. However, even that was due to showing up at events and the opportunity arose. Yes, I missed out on some other things yet there are 10 more months in the year. I just let people know I’ll be back in September.

This week I had the opportunity to try out a Mom and Pop store I’d never been in before, even though I’ve walked and driven by it for almost 2 decades. As I sat and drank their nectar of the gods (aka coffee), several people I knew walked in. I had the opportunity to actually have a conversation with someone I’ve known for years, yet never actually talked to directly. They gave me some very useful information that may even benefit my clients someday.

Sometimes, even on bad days, you just have to throw your hair in a ponytail, jump in the car, and show up.

Lord Edward Thurlow Wrote: May! Queen of blossoms, / And fulfilling flowers, / With what pretty music / Shall we……

charm the hours?

We can’t believe it’s already the first full week in May. The fulfilling flowers are here along with the pollen, poison ivy and baseball. We got our first bit of poison ivy for the year as we cleaned out some overgrowth. Baseball season is also in full swing.

Our hours are charmed with our clients. We completed 2 resumes and sample cover letters. We spoke with 2 other parties about updated their resumes and relevant skills and skill sets.

We went over pharmacology basics, anatomy and physiology, infectious diseases, electricity basics, multiplication, order of operations, exponents, clocks, data sets, writing opinion pieces, reactionary pieces and setting goals.

We also submitted a column about horseshoe crabs and their telson/tail. Would anyone like the information or know someone who would? Please let us know.

Enjoy your blossoms and fulfilling flowers, as some are only here a short time.

What is your favorite pretty music or what music makes you think of May?

Strong Winds Don’t Blow Accomplishments Away with Your Mind in Bloom, LLC April 30/May 1, 2021

The month of April ends like the month felt with winds blowing constantly and in different directions.

One client graduated with a machine operator certification today. Another pulled his average into the 80’s after getting 100% on an assignment. We went over handling those tough interview questions without sounding desperate. We went over clocks, Roman Numerals, sales math, anatomy and physiology, history with math, percentages, and basic algebra.

We also wrote a column for a local Facebook group regarding the physiology of trees in honor of Arbor Day today.

Have an awesome May!

Our Clients Continue to March Forward Successfully With Your Mind in Bloom, LLC (3/5/2021)

This past week we went over academic integrity, composing academic papers, chunking information, organizing information, and going through and analyzing what a teacher or professor is asking for in their questions.

In math, we covered basic statistics, multiplication, borrowing, greater/ lesser than, quadrants, and data sets.

We also covered vocabulary, general science, and anatomy and physiology.

With regards to resumes, in addition to putting them together, we had the discussion about asking for your worth. If you know what you deserve, what your experience is worth, and what the going pay scale is, just ASK. If your potential employer won’t match it, maybe they aren’t the best for you?

As February 2021 Closes, Our Clients Continue Their Glimmer with Your Mind in Bloom, LLC

The month of February always gets a bad rap, including being on of the most misspelled and hardest to pronounce months. Yet February always offers a first smell and sound of spring.

As we wrapped up this final week of February, we had two clients pass their tests to advance to the next level, worked on SMART goals and time management with another, we continued with resumes and math, reading and vocabulary analysis, English language acquisition, anatomy, and general science.

Wishing everyone an awesome March 2021!