Murchison River

Listen To The Song - a poem by Paul Vincent Cannon

At dVerse Sanaa is hosting Open Link Night (with Saturday Live Edition) – the night we choose a poem to post/read: to join in follow the link below: dVerse Poets – OLN Taken at one of our local cafes in 2023, male magpie – the cake not the coffee methinks 🙂 “The soul wants to fly away when caged, like a bird longing for the open sky” Rumi Listen To The SongGautama always compassionJesus…

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Same Old - a poem by Paul Vincent Cannon

Image by Engin Akyurt from Pixabay “When I have fears that I may cease to be” John Keats Same OldA while backdigging in the weedy spring undergrowth,discarded skincaught my attention,surely a goanna's butno, a snake came byjust to remind methat you can peal offthe outre layerwhile the inner canremain the same old same. Copyright 2025 ©️Paul Vincent CannonAll Rights Reserved ®️

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I’m very concerned that our society is much more interested in information than wonder, in noise rather than silence.

Down Along The Shore - a poem by Paul Vincent Cannon

Photo: taken two weeks ago at Flinders Bay, Augusta. The rock and reef provide a sheltered swimming and snorkelling opportunity (and the recent addition of a fresh fruit ice cream van). “Oh, to be lying on a beach, somewhere, with sand in my toes.” Linda Harnett Down Along The ShoreHe texted meto saythe pallets are readybut I have no energyto go and get them,it's not just that it's hotthe rain…

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EL PAÍS English

The dirt on biocrusts: Why scientists are working to save Earth’s living skin

Think twice before stepping on that crunchy top layer of soil. It may be a vital ecosystem — one that you can help protect.

Also called biocrust, cryptobiotic soil is a community of tiny, dirt-dwelling organisms that form a distinct crust on the top of soil in arid landscapes. These crusts are vital across Earth’s dryland ecosystems, helping to hold loose soil together and prevent erosion. They retain water, provide nooks for other microbes to live in and add nitrogen to the soil.

Cryptobiotic soil often looks like a discolored patch of ground. Upon closer inspection, the stain becomes a mosaic of small, dark lumps, dotted with tiny beds of moss and inconspicuous patches of lichen. But it can also look very similar to regular, crusty soil. Although the crunchy earth might be tempting to trek over, like stomping through a pile of crisp autumn leaves, that’s a major faux pas: Biocrust can take decades to regenerate.

Biocrusts cover around 12 percent of Earth’s land surfaces and inhabit every continent in the world. A major component of these crusts is often photosynthesizing bacteria called cyanobacteria. The cyanobacteria form sticky filaments that act like glue in sandy desert soil, creating a clumpy, crusty surface where fungi and other bacteria take hold.

Depending on what environment a biocrust is in, it can also house itty-bitty mosses, lichens and microscopic algae. For example, in desert areas with more moisture, like Moab, Utah, biocrusts tend to feature mosses. In gypsum-rich soils, such as near Lake Mead, Nevada, lichens take center stage. Some crusts feature all components, and in other crusts, multiple components are missing. But regardless of their community lineup, the crusts all serve as a living skin for desert land.

“They provide this suit of armor to the soil,” says Ferran Garcia-Pichel, a microbiologist at Arizona State University in Tempe. When he first started working with biocrusts around two decades ago, very little was known about them. In the 2023 Annual Review of Microbiology, Garcia-Pichel outlines what researchers have learned about cryptobiotic soil over the last couple decades and what remains unknown.

Stray Bands - a poem by Paul Vincent Cannon

At dVerse Melissa is hosting poetics with an invitation to write an ekphrastic poem using one of four paintings by Emil Nolde. The double challenge is to do so knowing the artist originally declaimed his connection to the NAZIs but was eventually outed as having been involved in the NAZI party. Note: There are a number of famous people who fit into this type of moral dilemma – Martin Heidegger…

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Once More - a poem by Paul Vincent Cannon

Photo: found on pinterest.com “there was epiphany in the pain” Olu Oguibe Once MoreDark emotionnow jiltedexcludedsulkingnot completely annihilated ,woundedhidingdeep in the interior,rising almost to lifeas feelings swirlwhen tiredness infiltratesprojected,legitimised by thincircumstance,attempting blamethwarted by thesmoking gun ofself-awareness. Copyright 2025 ©️Paul Vincent CannonAll Rights…

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Roast Gaza For Christmas - a poem by Paul Vincent Cannon

Photo: A Palestinian woman sitting in rubble – from the Sydney Morning Herald via Bloomberg. (Story – Amnesty Accuses Israel of Genocide in Gaza). “My city’s streets are nameless. If a Palestinian gets killed by a sniper or a drone, we name the street after them.” Mosab Abu Toha It’s not even Christmas yet and my stomach aches! Roast Gaza For ChristmasI'll havethose soft propaganda rollswith…

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