Rachel Carson NWR, Wells, Maine, USA, March 2026 — what we have here is a community. Lichen poking up through a bed of moss. And, of course, lichen is a community all in itself. A cooperation between a fungus (the grey part) and an alga (the pale green part). The fungus provides the durability and longevity, and the green alga provides the energy and nutrients. By cooperating, they become more than either is alone. And, while some would say the moss and lichen are competing for the same resources, I prefer to think both are benefiting from their community. If I were a betting man, I would lay money that the lichen and moss are working together to soften the rotting wood, each in its own way, to make nutrients more available to them both. Makes sense, does it not? More sense than the idea that they are competing. After all, lichen can grow on bare rock, and there are lots of dead trees in the forest. Why be together if both do not benefit? And that is the nature of community, is it not? This Sabbath day, I can only wish you the joy of knowing that you are part of the one great community of mankind, of life on this planet, of life in this universe. Sony a6700. Sigma 16-300 at 161mm equivalent field of view. Aperture program with macro modifications. Processed in Photomator.