On your bark, get set, grow!

Borneo barks were a treat. i spent so many trail-moments getting down on my knees "eye-level, eye-level!" :) and marveling at the fungi, mosses, ferns, climbers, creepers, and lianas. this post is devoted to all of the above, but the last. that one deserves a post by itself. As does the life supported by leaf litter. 


what's captured here pales in comparison to the fragile beauty of the real thing -- or even the memory of it. the wetness of the rainforest and the freshness of it was the essence that a bark absorbed and reflected in supporting so many different life-forms. 

Lovely interplay of green and sun. BRL, Danum Valley, Borneo

I just wanted to lean against these buttresses and hear the tree's heart beat. A little climber took that opportunity

Orchid on a tree branch. Taken from the canopy walk, BRL. Danum Valley, Borneo

Rainforest Chiaroscuro. A pepper vine growing on a branch. Coffin trail, Danum Valley primary forest. 

Pretty tutus? One of myriad fungii -- on a fallen log, West Trail, Danum Valley, Borneo.

Life finds a way... even on a stump. 

Just outside the Field Center, Danum Valley, Borneo

What a pretty pattern the ivy made on the variegated bark. Danum Valley, Borneo

I could spend all day with these fungii. Apparently 600,000 species in Borneo alone.

This reminded me of ballet dancers. Pink and dainty, on a fallen log.

Can you smell the wetness?

No, not coral. fungi on bark. Fallen logs were one of the richest sources of life on the forest floor.

The textures, the patterns, the wetness -- bliss.

A fern is one of the most beautiful creatures on earth, according to me. And this one, wet, green and defying gravity captivated me.

two lantern bugs, a gecko, lichen and a lovely tree bark.

This fallen log was on the Argus chase. I could have spent much longer soaking in its richness.

The rainforest. pinnacle of beauty. once lost, it takes a patch of moss on a canopy tree, for example, decades and decades to regenerate. imagine bringing back a forest ecosystem with all its players.