British Soldier Lichen

That's the official name, but when I saw it, I thought cauliflower and tiny radishes.  I would have missed it altogether had the ground above Lake Dimmick's spillway been drier.  After our weeks of rain and fog, the soil sucked my feet in, so I skirted the edge of woods, paused to un-suck my walking stick, and glimpsed the little red caps.

Lichen are truly weird and wonderful: not one being, but two working together better than any pair of people I've ever known.  Wikipedia explains it more clearly than I can, so you might wish to read more about it there.

If you do, you will also see an image from one of Ernst Haeckel's miraculous studies.  On the advice of a friend, about a month ago, I watched the film Proteus about Haeckel who brought together art and science, understanding their symbiosis with the same elegance this lichen demonstrates.

British Soldiers?  Maybe, but there's nothing military about this tiny organism.  Perhaps I shall think of it as something more like this: Cheerful Little Cherry-tipped Lichen on Cauliflower Stalks a la Haeckel.