![Mossy rock with fossil shell](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi17td81a7Zhr13mdDgmUsMqVy8FKLyp4tbDf8WZGr1Pn92ERdA0L6HLBdLz1UnXBrIAsi8g7VYa-_UJe6afySymdYAI3cp56n1N3hlYNjuFiRpLHCeV61C1M8NbjO7htiuQa4K-A/s400/rocktop1.jpg)
When Dave of Via Negativa announced International Rock Flipping Day, September 2, 2007, I was a little reluctant to join in. I devote much of my biological attention to leaf litter and the forest understory, but rocks are my least favorite thing to look under. I find much more interesting stuff under decomposing tree parts, broken concrete, and organic detritus, and our recent dry weather has driven the soft damp-loving litterbugs off Droop Mountain's ridgetops. I decided to interpret the mandate to flip as beatnik talk. This is a crazy rock, man. Flip city.
![Spiral fossil](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxjLgOc2HExunVDTUNM-YpIjpt7xnUc4S-OW1s4MWJ1TvK6K81TchT5pJQA03V0J5NHXBoq_uEJgtbWo2CWFL_sBw1VKJn9xrr3rFhG8ZhmojJeT5a7bYMqxykk_A1n2t-EHVNHA/s400/rockspiral.jpg)
Lest you think that spiral is my work, take a closer look. It's actually a weathered fossil, reminding us that Droop Mountain used to be an undersea environment. I could really flip over this rock. Man.
![Raccoon scat on a rock](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY_hLaEdcGlTepAkD90Tx5wYrT3zSfWy5_dbgQSKRz-NHBEZlrpsnLh_YhJeHsWzjhHECb3UD4gi4dssBtE80Q4PNzc0DDGkbl35jJ2Lgzmu_n6ycqjno0s0-s6TaofNgD1jp34A/s400/rockscat.jpg)
All the small mammals like flat rocks. They're a great place to leave messages, what mammalogists tactfully call scats. This raccoon has eaten a lot of beetles and crickets, and, I believe, at least one little crawdad, demonstrating rock-flipping credentials of his own.
![Mycelium under a rock](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA096f8MK67gWHdySbMsLjxKPjY89KZlC8MUHtbf0H44rvwsRxycALtvl4B-h0wmhrCXQEfLFDMnQJArvLlbWB1LotxmESZWrfSIeCCDFp50_XR-EkatIYtDdjsV5uvbBHKMtnug/s400/rockmycelium.jpg)
![Fluffy blue fibers under a rock--perhaps mycelium?](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzBpqQ9iPhL7w-mD3UhqzmCu7xF6yXYCa1U1vHGs3qawZ3fDfO7YuD7NIjT13a_PgioYixDb7EbaVLdhJTD_zZNUGMi5h68dild7x7t64cXo5-OUo7ejyoV7Tozk5EyNKNS2VTxA/s400/rockbluefibers.jpg)
The rock-flipping planning committee has focused on "creatures" under rocks, but it occurs to me that there is also subterranean flora. I found growing mycelia under most of the rocks I turned over, even though fungal fruiting bodies have been scarce this year.
![Jerusalem cricket, under a rock](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9STjyl0eSalsQMtyRqtNutVyyQPG0kyrQIR0VaxtV2hZMpNsguQQpl6nrVqSd7ui0p5nCFyZ59G-sC_WcD5Hmev7GTvFMcO0BKZnhc8Cu-AXUmtu8ONOUyyhWHCTRmZIIU7DL_A/s400/rockjerusalemcricket.jpg)
At last--something with a head! Jerusalem crickets are not my favorite insects. One semester in college, I lived in a basement overrun with the smelly things. They got into my laundry basket and ate big holes in my clothes, which I couldn't afford to replace. One good thing about our recent dry, hot weather--the Jerusalem crickets that usually appear under the bathroom sink have taken to the woods seeking cooler, moister quarters.
I'll update with a list of links to other rock-flipping blog events later.
7 comments:
**snaps** Very groovy! I like the spiral a whole lot.
Taht spiral rock makes me flip, too! It's like a petroglyph, one of my passions.
I'm glad you found flora under rocks. That was one of my goals, which I failed to accomplish.
Little spirals are fairly common, but this one is about six centimeters across.
Rose--we can feel sure that there was microscopic flora, even if we couldn't get good photos.
This was fun. And I had not idea that Jerusalem crickets had a smell.
Your pictures are quite scary!
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