Mackay's Fragile Fern

 
I haven't made a list yet of the new plants I saw in Kentucky, but tonight I took a harder look at one of the ferns I got pictures of, and I think it's another new one. I thought this was Fragile Fern, and it sort of is. I was going to show how it likes to grow out of crevices in rocks, and it does.



But I don't think it's the common Fragile Fern, Cystopteris fragilis. I think it's Mackay's Fragile Fern, Cystopteris tenuis, which isn't really rare, either, but I hadn't seen it before. You might recall it took me forever to identify fragilis.

One reason I took this one's picture is the mature sori on the underside.



The round shape and random placement are consistent with a fragile fern. But here's the part that made me read all the text in my most detailed fern guide.

Here's a picture of a mature frond of C. fragilis. See how the pinnae (leaflets) are growing out from the rachis (stem) at right angles?


Now look at the first picture above. I know it's hanging downward, but all those pinnae are angled toward the tip. Yow can even tell this is true in the closeup with my hand. They aren't at right angles.

Thus, I'm tentatively calling this Mackay's Fragile Fern.

Now, if I could only remember more of these many ferns I've discovered. Some of them I have down pat. Others not so much.

In other news: It was a nasty cold windy and rainy day. I wrote in the morning, and printed and assembled 20 copies of Devotions for Hikers in the afternoon, and went to the Post Office and bank. But I didn't feel the need to walk there in the bad weather. I have a car.

	See Fragile Fern
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The Trees Will Clap Their Hands

 
So today was all about getting the final preparation done for the talk I am giving Sunday on "A Christian Perspective on Caring for the Earth."

As it turns out, the church does not have projection capability, and I'm not ready to try mine with the reloaded operating system on my computer (unless I end up with a whole lot of extra time tomorrow night, which I don't expect). But if they did, I would put all the scripture verses on nice backgrounds. Is this poetry, or a literal description of how creation will rejoice when the Lord comes?

I left this one large so you can click on it to see it bigger if you want.

Background is Cumberland Falls, Kentucky.

Now I have to make sure I know what time I need to be at the Barnes and Noble in Muskegon tomorrow!

	See Light
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Almost Daniel Boone- Starting and Ending

 
So Ester and I went out to breakfast before I got on the road. Somehow it came up that I was on a road trip, and the waitress, Sarah, asked where I was going. When I said "Daniel Boone National Forest," she got all excited because she couldn't remember how many greats, but he is one of her ancestors. So we began with almost Daniel Boone.



Then I had to say goodbye to Ester, which is sad, but we'll see each other again, so I'm movin' on. She can't be serious when it comes to pictures.



Finally in Kentucky, and the hills of the Daniel Boone National Forest are ahead!



Marie beat me there, so she scoped out the places to eat. We had nice salads. She's tired. She'll look more perky tomorrow, but I wanted to prove I actually connected!



General Burnside State Park. Just outside the National Forest... so we almost made it to Daniel Boone on this end as well. We are paying for a site with electric for a couple of days so we can get organized. After that, we're going primitive. Here, I can charge things up and get internet. We took a little walk around the campsite at dusk. Very civilized. That's ok, we are here safely, Marie likes the trailer, we are together, and all is well!

	See Thrilling Prospect
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