There has been a fair bit of rain up our way, much more than in Melbourne itself, so there is plenty of moss around (although not much fungi on trees this year). This yellow stuff only grows in one part of the property, where it is more open and with more sunlight.
Does this mean it's not really moss?!
Whereas down in the creek bed, which is dry (no running water, just some damp), this moss is growing well on the base of an old pussy willow tree. This tree is the only one of its kind on the whole property, so I'm curious as to how it got to grow in the creek.
Native violets, also known as Viola hederacea. When I looked this up on the net, I got mostly gardening sites that talked about native violets as weeds that can take over your garden. But they apparently like damp conditions, which is why I'm seeing so many right now. We had a reasonably wet winter up on the property. This is the one everyone talks about - lilac and white. And these are tiny. I had to get down on my hands and knees to look properly and photograph, and even then, the flowers are slightly out of focus.
But there is another kind of native violet growing on the property, which my trusty Trigg guide tells me is Showy Violet (Viola betonicicfolia). This one has no white in it at all. All small, all delicately beautiful.
