Come exploring with me!

Did you ever go somewhere you’ve been wanting to go for a really really long time and then you realized that while you remembered to bring your camera, you forgot to bring a battery for it? Well, that’s what happened to me when I went on a Native Plant Society field trip to Fossil Hill, a beautiful piece of private property in the Cross Timbers area of Texas up north of Dallas. I turned my camera on and the camera battery light started flashing. So I reached into my bag, only to discover that I brought a spare battery alright — but for a different camera. Doh!

What’s a girl to do?

Well, I decided to use my iPhone + some apps and just have fun and enjoy the day.  Come exploring with me and see what I found, starting with this photo of some mosses and lichens.  I just love moss, I always want to pet it.

Now that we’ve looked down, let’s look up through the ancient old-growth post oaks and blackjack oaks to the sunshine and blue sky overhead.

And back down again while I share a “moss party trick” that you can use to impress your friends next time you’re out hiking in the woods. Just break out your water bottle and pour a little on part of the moss — it will green up instantly!

(Assuming you didn’t leave your water bottle with your spare battery, that is. Ahem.)

Next I thought I’d share some of my fellow field trip friends — from left to right, that’s Joe Liggio, author of Wild Orchids of Texas — yep, there really are orchids in Texas, 54 of ’em — J with his trusty Indiana Jones hat on, and Peter Loos owner of Ecovirons.

And here’s my friend Alan Lusk, an awesome photographer (using a real camera, because HE remembered to bring a battery).

Here’s two pretty things in one shot — a moss covered boulder and the lake.

It was so blue, I just wanted to jump right in.

And finally, a liatris blooming on Fossil Hill itself. The Hill really was loaded with fossils — they crunched under our feet while we walked. So amazing to think that the land we were standing on used to be an ocean.

What a great day! Thanks so much to Jeanne and Wayne Erickson for sharing their property with us. I loved every minute of it. Even without my real camera. :)

11 Replies to “Come exploring with me!”

  1. WOW! Lisa, awesome photos..and what a truly beautiful day..love it!

  2. Beautiful pics, Lisa, thanks so much for sharing them with us! I always thought of Texas as dry with cactus! Was I wrong!

  3. barbara lassiter says:

    I’ve only been to Texas twice and both times only at the Dallas-Ft. Worth airport…so how could I know of it’s beauty! Thanks for sharing with us and your photos are great, even without the battery. Necessity is the mother of invention, as they say!

  4. Wow! Thanks for sharing this wonderfully peaceful place. Love that iphone!

  5. Green,purple,blue
    and nature
    are always beautiful but with theese shots…..
    You took me to another world that I’ve never seen before……
    Congrats you all!!!!

  6. thanks for sharing the beautiful photos. it’s always a treat to see the world through your eyes. you take such wonderful pictures. =)

  7. Wow … such awsome photos! Making you wish you were there :)!

  8. Loved seeing your wonderful photos, Lisa! I didn’t know that about moss – I’ll have to try it next time we’re off on a ramble!

  9. *sigh* memories of texas…nice spooky tree picture!

  10. Had a great hike with you!

  11. Hi Lisa, just discovered your blog today- love you’re beautiful photos! Had to share a similar camera battery experience I had recently. We were visiting Yosemite National Park of all places when my battery ran out, noooo!!! Luckily we had the charger with us so we hot footed it to a gas station and asked nicely if we could use one of their outlets to charge it for a bit LOL! We learned our lesson and now carry an extra battery too!

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