Month: February 2012

No Moss Recipes, No Moss Cookbooks

by Karen Nierlich

Clover and Moss

When I first started this blog I promised moss facts, poems, arts and craft but no recipes and no cookbook. I don’t yet know why moss isn’t edible and isn’t eaten, however to the best of my knowledge it isn’t eaten by animals or humans.

I consulted the book Gathering Moss: A Natural and Cultural History of Mosses by Botanist and Native American Robin Wall Kimmerer (Oregon State University Press, 2003) on this matter. In the book Kimmerer says moss is used by birds as a nesting material and animals use it as bedding, however she doesn’t know of any animals eating moss except for bears prior to hiberation. In the story it says bears eat large quantities of moss just before they hibernate and the theory is that it “plugs” them up for the winter.

Just telling you what I read.

 

Then There was No Moss

by Karen Nierlich
Moss & Shoes
Moss Curve and Two Shoes; Cornell & Washington, Albany, CA

A situation arose in my neighborhood recently involving the removal of a mossy specimen I’d been photographing. There is this one spot I’ve been really keen on. (Said with a fake British accent.) For one reason or another, I’d been photographing it over and over — over 3 years.

I did get this photo recently –though the moss is on the dried on side and not brilliant green as I’d like. I went back about a week later, after a good rainy day expecting to see more moss. However, there was less moss.

I’m pretty certain the homeowner scraped it away. I might have put that moss at risk by calling attention to it. Must be more careful.