A Year of Moss: Welcome!

My 2024 project

Welcome to A Year of Moss! This is my 2024 project, a New Year's resolution, if you will: photographing the mosses I find while out and about, and sharing a roundup of photos, moss facts, and thoughts every week.

Why did I start the project? Two reasons:

1) I was inspired by the opening story in Jenny Odell's book "Saving Time: Discovering a Life Beyond the Clock," where she talked about how some moss that appeared in the soil of her houseplant captured her attention during the Covid-19 lockdown. Watching the moss reminded her that nature was following a time cycle of its own, and gave her a constant reminder to get out of her own head and be mindful, inspiring her to see moss everywhere.

2) Despite being a plant enthusiast, I know almost nothing about mosses. Heck, when I was considering this project, I had to Google "are mosses plants?" (Yes, and I will ramble about their taxonomy later.) Moss is everywhere there's moisture, and yet I can't even begin to tell the differences between the species. Considering that moss is a taxonomical category in the same level as mammals, that would be like looking at a mammal and not being able to even guess whether it was a mouse, a cow, or a blue whale. I want to change that.

The practical goals of the project are obvious: learn to tell mosses apart, understand their life cycle and defining features, watch how local mosses respond to local conditions, perhaps try some experiments with moss or intentionally seek out places with cool moss. 

The overall goal, though, is more philosophical. I want to pay attention. Searching for mosses puts a new filter over the world: on my first moss walk, I was shocked by how colors, textures, and details I'd never taken a second glance at before suddenly jumped out at me. I discovered not just moss but tons of other details: snail shells, mushrooms, lichen in every color of the rainbow, a deer dropping sprouting some sort of fungus that looked like dandelion fluff. My gaze crawled over the bark of trees and compacted soil of the hiking trail, wandered into sidewalk cracks and scoured the gravel on the northern side of our garage. To look at the world with such focus is to see anew.

I encourage you to join me in looking for moss whenever you're out and about— it often crops up in unlikely places. May we have a wonderful year of paying attention together!