On my morning power walk, I saw, out of the corner of my eye, a flash of lime green. I was compelled to make a quick stop for a closer look and a photo. The moss growing on the fallen branches was fluorescent in the early morning sun.

I maintain an average pace of just over 9 mins/K (approx 6.6 mph). Because I have short legs, this is a very fast pace for me. Also, because I’m nearing my 67th birthday, I allow myself the indulgence of one or two quick photo stops over the 70 minutes or so that I walk.

Looking for and finding photo ops, is one way to keep my walks enjoyable and interesting.

“One gram of moss from the forest floor, a piece about the size of a muffin, would harbour 150,000 protozoa, 132,000 tardigrades, 3,000 springtails, 800 rotifers, 500 nematodes, 400 mites, and 200 fly larvae. These numbers tell us something about the astounding quantity of life in a handful of moss.”

~ Robin Wall Kimmerer