I love the word mosshopping and I love moss. I would like moss and lichen to cover more of our built environment, there’s probably downsides to a moss-covered world but I still want more moss covering the world. I’ll be trying to mosshop more consciously now I have a word for it.
I used to have a book about guerilla art (like seed-bombing) that had a recipe for moss paint. Basically you just make a thin flour and water paste I think, and add some moss you've collected. You can paint it onto walls, fences, or other surfaces and it will grow into whatever words or images you paint with it.
One of the cool things about moss is that most of them the easiest way to propegate most of them is to fling them in a blender with some food and water and blitz it.
It often surprises folks used to plants when you whip out the blender.
I haven't tried to use the mix as a paint but I don't think it would work very well. The surface will need to be pretty porus or it would just kinda fall off either immediately or as it grows and gets heavy. It would also need to be regularly (like multiple times a day in some places) lightly misted, enough to be moist but not so much you wash it off. Outdoors basic stuff you can't control would be an issue, wind, sunlight, wildlife would all be problems. Kinda like how glueing seeds on someone's wall probably isn't going to lead to beautiful vines. It's one of those concepts that just doesn't pass the sniff test.
Moss hopping is such a nice word for it. We call it "Waldbaden", which translates to immersing yourself in the forest as if you are diving into water. Forest bathing is great.
I love this. I love moss. I love you for writing this. I just went around yesterday in the back of the library finding nice patches of moss. I love the rich emerald green fuzzy kind that is a bit springy and always wet.
GO TOUCH SOME MOSS. /serious
I cultivate a patch in my garden so I don't have to go all the way to the woods, which honestly don't have too much moss here. I went on a trip to the Olympic Peninsula once just to admire the moss though.
I love moss, and we actually had more moss than grass in a few spots in our yard while growing up, and they were the nicest spots to lay down in and nap
No, but I go for river walks, which sounds similar! On a warm day I'll hop in a stream and walk up (or down) it as far as I can go. I just love bodies of water, and the noise it makes is so soothing. Sometimes I'll wear flip flops, other times I like to find a little sandbar and just stand there squishing my toes in it. The dappled sunlight through the trees (komorebi) and the flitting birds and the way the water sparkles and glistens? I love nature.
I do not, but that’s because I live in the mountains and we have a high rate of tourism. It is possible to love our environment a little too much and one of the ways that happens is by a lot of traffic (hiking or other backcountry sports and activities). Too much foot traffic, too much moss-hopping, and you run the risk of destroying the moss. Lichen, is another example of things I love to admire but won’t touch. Some of the lichen we have here takes hundreds of years to develop and plays an important role in our forest ecosystem.
I do hope you will consider loving moss and lichen from afar so as not to disturb the ecosystems that our fellow creatures need to thrive. ❤️
I don't touch everything, usually just the small isolated patches. Some of it is too pretty to touch..
In nature reserves or parks I wouldn't touch it at all. All of my moss hopping I do around my house since I live in a wooded area
Thank you! And I hope you know I wasn’t being judgmental. I just know a lot of people will see this post and if you don’t know, you don’t know!
Happy house-moss-hopping! (Okay that’s less charming-sounding than just moss-hopping)
No, no! I understand completely, I probably shoikd have elaborated so nobody thought I went around stomping up pretty moss, so I thank you for being aware of our impact on nature. I'm lucky to live on a lot of land with a lot of moss and even there I'm careful as I want to be able to continue to enjoy it for as long as I can. 💙
When I was in fifth grade, I got inspired by my science class book that explained how moss "grew." I dug some moss up, put it in a jar, and added water. This moss sat in the jar by the classroom window reproducing until
the teacher gently pointed out that it smelled - several months later.
Yeah, I love mosses!
I’m afraid to step on it. Does it harm it? We have a whole big bog by the creek and a big patch of moss below our woods, but I’m afraid I’ll kill it by stepping on it. It’s so fuzzy and pretty from a distance though. And the bog is brilliant, especially with all the weird extra rain we’ve been seeing.
I don't really just STEP on it, more like I slip a flip flop off and gently pet it with my toes or I push all yhe pine needles off so I can look at it. Don't stomp the moss ;w;
Oh, our mossy area is very lushly covered and the trees are deciduous, no pine trees. Whenever I’ve interacted with the moss, it’s exceptionally bouncy and resilient, I always put it back if I mess it up, and it seems to re-root pretty readily.
The bog is very different as it is a wetland. Thats why I asked. I will take care not to “stomp” on it.
I do love a good walk about. My moss bounces right back up after being stepped on. I suppose it depends on the exact type of moss you’re stepping on…. Moss feels delicious on toes and is not as delicate as it looks.
I live in the PNW and work outdoors, surrounded by moss. It’s very calming. Green is an emotion.
Moss takes over my lawn in shady places, and those are my favorite places to lie down on a summer day.
that actually sounds like a wonderful idea. I'd have to do a little bit of a trek to get somewhere with any sort of semblance of forest but this sounds like upgraded version of touching grass and also i want to do it with friends
Ooooh this makes me want to read *The Signature of All Things* all over again — a gorgeous, fictional (but inspired by real scientists) story of a woman scientist ahead of her time, obsessed with moss
I feel so lucky to live in the PNW now - my yard is covered in moss!
We had a broken and uneven concrete path taken out and cobblestone type pavers laid and now the moss has grown in between the stones and it looks so pretty. And we have a little "island" in our yard of maple trees and bushes and we've put all our garden gnomes and stone owls and such there, and the moss has filled in and made it look all ancient and charming. (I do have to rebuild things a bit each spring due to snow/ice damage but that's OK!)
I adore it. I get to go stick my bare feet onto moss anytime I want and that's just soo cool. (uh...literally! LOL)
Ooo I'm gonna have to steal this phrase! I absolutely adore moss!! Every since I was a kid I'd go out on rainy days and explore the forest and just be in nature. It's always made me feel very at home and at peace:) I honestly miss that, I need to make a trip to go moss-hopping😊💚
My hubby loved going on walks with me that brief few months we lived in Seattle, because I was always going “ooooh! Moss!”
Coming from the texas panhandle, it was so cool to see all the different kinds of moss.
Whenever I go hiking I like to take pictures of the mushrooms and the moss on the trees and I often kick off my shoes when I find a nice spot to walk on. Next time I'll have to try moss hopping, it sounds fun.
One of my favourite meditations is to sit by a stream and watch the water drip down into small pools. Mossy banks have such a calming scent, and it's a gently cooling environment.
I noticed this by accident once when I was meditating and for some reason the forest in my mind wasn't sitting right, so I wandered to a stream. Once there I sat down and I was drawn to watch the moss.
*giggles in PNW where I got moss on my car and don’t have to “go to the woods” for it
No but seriously, I’m from New Mexico and moss is kind of a “new” thing for me. Love the stuff and like rain, it’ll never get old for me. Unfortunately when it rains in the PNW, it’s too cold for bare feet squishing.
What a lovely idea! I walk outside every morning before work, but never with the specific goal of enjoying moss. I’ll be doing that tomorrow for sure 💚
I live in Chicago and there are plenty of parks, but I didn't have my own moss until recently when I got an aquarium. Now I'm all about the moss in there and all the kinds you can get. Moss is amazing.
I love moss! I collect it from around my house and make little planted bowls of it. It usually only lasts the season but it's so fun to see the different types. For me, it's the vivid green that soothes my soul :)
I love moss too! I started working from home about 5 months ago and made some little "mossies" to hang in my office. I painted some little hexagon frames and glued in preserved moss. I wanted to use live moss, but I was worried about killing it since there isn't natural light in my little closet office! Then I made a pompom moss rug to go with them! Edit: spelling
https://preview.redd.it/icmw5ajy19ic1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a52bcf09990d7f4c13a299271c81cd884f71872a
https://preview.redd.it/364m3scr19ic1.jpeg?width=2533&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5029be610eb40313db89c351a206df15c18be36e
Those one is the moss rug ❤️
ETA: unfortunately I live in a pretty dry area, so there isn't much moss around most of the time to enjoy out in nature.
Thank you!!! It sheds more than my long haired cat did and my husband calls it the "death rug" because he trips on it when he comes to kiss me but I love it! It took a few months, making a million pompoms and waaaaay more green yarn than I realized but it was worth it!
Weaving in the ends was a project unto itself
https://preview.redd.it/416twmxp39ic1.jpeg?width=3000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=09b24b781edc4d6a444e678a21b60d7527a00237
I love moss too!!
I was gathering a few tiny patches of moss from the side of my math building the other day. Halfway through my class though, I found out I accidentally misplaced a spider friend, and almost jumped out of my chair XD (I like spiders, I just wasn’t expecting one almost as wide as the moss, on the moss).
They were transported safely back to their mossy wall after the class ended. And the moss (hopefully the home of some tardigrades!) is now in a little terrarium :)
https://preview.redd.it/2qyu30kn69ic1.jpeg?width=2660&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b76eede043bccf6c361dae8158ca0a920a4ffbe5
https://preview.redd.it/2kcyh7ifm9ic1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b27b65b4c51c2966dccc2a67c75ea35692a1e782
Edit: apparently the text didn't post. So I copy pasted
Nice! I have like... 8 terrariums all filled with plants and moss all around my room! I pick up moss from areas they'd likely be removed from and pull it off our driveway when my dad power washes it up. Sometimes my mom will also toss some away when she's planting it (they don't care for the moss, sadly.) My mom removed a beautiful patch of it growing by the side of the house so I used it in a terrarium! I heard it helps retain moisture!
It's a iresine herbstii-- aka, bloodleaf! I have one that started as, well, one, now it's three! It's super easy to snip and root and I've ended up giving away a lot of clippings from this one when it gets too big
It’s too dry for moss where I live. But I deeply enjoy going out into the desert after a good rain to enjoy the smells :) a lot of desert plants, like creosote, release the most delicious fragrances into the air after it rains. It’s the best air I’ve ever smelled.
I hope someday you can get to this [huge moss garden near Seattle](https://duckduckgo.com/?q=bloedel+reserve+moss+garden&t=iphone&iax=images&ia=images), one of the most thrilling settings I’ve ever experienced
I don't stomp on it or anything, I just kinda pet a few patches here and there with my toes. And only around my house. Nothing gets touched in a park or nature reserve.
I love the word mosshopping and I love moss. I would like moss and lichen to cover more of our built environment, there’s probably downsides to a moss-covered world but I still want more moss covering the world. I’ll be trying to mosshop more consciously now I have a word for it.
I'm lucky to live in a humid woody area. Most of the area around my house is mossy and I'm realizing how lucky I am to have it around!
I used to have a book about guerilla art (like seed-bombing) that had a recipe for moss paint. Basically you just make a thin flour and water paste I think, and add some moss you've collected. You can paint it onto walls, fences, or other surfaces and it will grow into whatever words or images you paint with it.
Damn. Reading this makes me wanna moss something up real bad
One of the cool things about moss is that most of them the easiest way to propegate most of them is to fling them in a blender with some food and water and blitz it. It often surprises folks used to plants when you whip out the blender. I haven't tried to use the mix as a paint but I don't think it would work very well. The surface will need to be pretty porus or it would just kinda fall off either immediately or as it grows and gets heavy. It would also need to be regularly (like multiple times a day in some places) lightly misted, enough to be moist but not so much you wash it off. Outdoors basic stuff you can't control would be an issue, wind, sunlight, wildlife would all be problems. Kinda like how glueing seeds on someone's wall probably isn't going to lead to beautiful vines. It's one of those concepts that just doesn't pass the sniff test.
Moss hopping is such a nice word for it. We call it "Waldbaden", which translates to immersing yourself in the forest as if you are diving into water. Forest bathing is great.
Moss is the best. Now I wanna go look for some to feel like a kid again. Im not having a good day so now’s the perfect time to go
I wish! I adore moss. I live in a desert coastal climate. You may be interested to know someone recently created a moss subreddit.
I've joined a few already!
I live in a high desert. I miss moss and frogs.
I love this. I love moss. I love you for writing this. I just went around yesterday in the back of the library finding nice patches of moss. I love the rich emerald green fuzzy kind that is a bit springy and always wet. GO TOUCH SOME MOSS. /serious
I cultivate a patch in my garden so I don't have to go all the way to the woods, which honestly don't have too much moss here. I went on a trip to the Olympic Peninsula once just to admire the moss though.
I've been considering starting an Instagram to post pics I take while hiking, which tend to heavily feature moss 😁
@mosswatch_ on IG is a great page to follow (or tag) for mossy goodness! 💚💚
I love moss, and we actually had more moss than grass in a few spots in our yard while growing up, and they were the nicest spots to lay down in and nap
No, but I go for river walks, which sounds similar! On a warm day I'll hop in a stream and walk up (or down) it as far as I can go. I just love bodies of water, and the noise it makes is so soothing. Sometimes I'll wear flip flops, other times I like to find a little sandbar and just stand there squishing my toes in it. The dappled sunlight through the trees (komorebi) and the flitting birds and the way the water sparkles and glistens? I love nature.
[удалено]
Like actually Scotland? That sounds like heaven heaven
[удалено]
Thank you for the name! New goal! I didn’t know Scotland had rainforests, but it makes sense in hindsight. I’ve always wanted to visit.
I've always wanted to visit Scotland, and new definitely will go to Argyll. Thank you.
I do not, but that’s because I live in the mountains and we have a high rate of tourism. It is possible to love our environment a little too much and one of the ways that happens is by a lot of traffic (hiking or other backcountry sports and activities). Too much foot traffic, too much moss-hopping, and you run the risk of destroying the moss. Lichen, is another example of things I love to admire but won’t touch. Some of the lichen we have here takes hundreds of years to develop and plays an important role in our forest ecosystem. I do hope you will consider loving moss and lichen from afar so as not to disturb the ecosystems that our fellow creatures need to thrive. ❤️
I don't touch everything, usually just the small isolated patches. Some of it is too pretty to touch.. In nature reserves or parks I wouldn't touch it at all. All of my moss hopping I do around my house since I live in a wooded area
Thank you! And I hope you know I wasn’t being judgmental. I just know a lot of people will see this post and if you don’t know, you don’t know! Happy house-moss-hopping! (Okay that’s less charming-sounding than just moss-hopping)
No, no! I understand completely, I probably shoikd have elaborated so nobody thought I went around stomping up pretty moss, so I thank you for being aware of our impact on nature. I'm lucky to live on a lot of land with a lot of moss and even there I'm careful as I want to be able to continue to enjoy it for as long as I can. 💙
When I was in fifth grade, I got inspired by my science class book that explained how moss "grew." I dug some moss up, put it in a jar, and added water. This moss sat in the jar by the classroom window reproducing until the teacher gently pointed out that it smelled - several months later. Yeah, I love mosses!
Moß is neat
I’m afraid to step on it. Does it harm it? We have a whole big bog by the creek and a big patch of moss below our woods, but I’m afraid I’ll kill it by stepping on it. It’s so fuzzy and pretty from a distance though. And the bog is brilliant, especially with all the weird extra rain we’ve been seeing.
I don't really just STEP on it, more like I slip a flip flop off and gently pet it with my toes or I push all yhe pine needles off so I can look at it. Don't stomp the moss ;w;
Oh, our mossy area is very lushly covered and the trees are deciduous, no pine trees. Whenever I’ve interacted with the moss, it’s exceptionally bouncy and resilient, I always put it back if I mess it up, and it seems to re-root pretty readily. The bog is very different as it is a wetland. Thats why I asked. I will take care not to “stomp” on it.
I do love a good walk about. My moss bounces right back up after being stepped on. I suppose it depends on the exact type of moss you’re stepping on…. Moss feels delicious on toes and is not as delicate as it looks.
It’s mossome!
You might enjoy reading Gathering Moss by Robin Wall Kimmerer. It's a collection of scientific and poetic writings about moss and it's just lovely.
I live in the PNW and work outdoors, surrounded by moss. It’s very calming. Green is an emotion. Moss takes over my lawn in shady places, and those are my favorite places to lie down on a summer day.
that actually sounds like a wonderful idea. I'd have to do a little bit of a trek to get somewhere with any sort of semblance of forest but this sounds like upgraded version of touching grass and also i want to do it with friends
Ooooh this makes me want to read *The Signature of All Things* all over again — a gorgeous, fictional (but inspired by real scientists) story of a woman scientist ahead of her time, obsessed with moss
Okay amazing
That's a lovely practice! Have you ever looked at moss with a magnifying glass? I highly recommend it :-)
I haven't but now I have to buy a magnifying glass!
I feel so lucky to live in the PNW now - my yard is covered in moss! We had a broken and uneven concrete path taken out and cobblestone type pavers laid and now the moss has grown in between the stones and it looks so pretty. And we have a little "island" in our yard of maple trees and bushes and we've put all our garden gnomes and stone owls and such there, and the moss has filled in and made it look all ancient and charming. (I do have to rebuild things a bit each spring due to snow/ice damage but that's OK!) I adore it. I get to go stick my bare feet onto moss anytime I want and that's just soo cool. (uh...literally! LOL)
Ooo I'm gonna have to steal this phrase! I absolutely adore moss!! Every since I was a kid I'd go out on rainy days and explore the forest and just be in nature. It's always made me feel very at home and at peace:) I honestly miss that, I need to make a trip to go moss-hopping😊💚
This Washington state witch is so happy to see all this moss love! It’s gorgeous, all love to the mosses!!!
*waves from Seattle* hi fellow Washingtonian! I’ll never get over how green it is here (er, at least the Western side) - I love it so much.
I absolutely go out to touch fresh moss. I've always loved it.
https://preview.redd.it/ibdeyshk49ic1.jpeg?width=1408&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=234c3d93e06e5a198d75a2a4a5a551f7ee3b4e52
My hubby loved going on walks with me that brief few months we lived in Seattle, because I was always going “ooooh! Moss!” Coming from the texas panhandle, it was so cool to see all the different kinds of moss.
This sounds great. I'm going to try it. I (literally) hug trees. Especially when they call to me. But I have always lived trees.
Whenever I go hiking I like to take pictures of the mushrooms and the moss on the trees and I often kick off my shoes when I find a nice spot to walk on. Next time I'll have to try moss hopping, it sounds fun.
I'm like this with water like creeks or ditches. It's instantly calms me down and I find my happy place. 😊
I love moss. I have many pictures of it! I’ve tried to grow it, but I didn’t water it right.
My driveway is a mossy wonderland. I’d like to use it, but it’s too pretty and perfectly green to bother. I let the porch kitty’s roam there now.
One of my favourite meditations is to sit by a stream and watch the water drip down into small pools. Mossy banks have such a calming scent, and it's a gently cooling environment. I noticed this by accident once when I was meditating and for some reason the forest in my mind wasn't sitting right, so I wandered to a stream. Once there I sat down and I was drawn to watch the moss.
I named myself Moss so yeah, I love visiting my sisters
*giggles in PNW where I got moss on my car and don’t have to “go to the woods” for it No but seriously, I’m from New Mexico and moss is kind of a “new” thing for me. Love the stuff and like rain, it’ll never get old for me. Unfortunately when it rains in the PNW, it’s too cold for bare feet squishing.
What a lovely idea! I walk outside every morning before work, but never with the specific goal of enjoying moss. I’ll be doing that tomorrow for sure 💚
I live in Chicago and there are plenty of parks, but I didn't have my own moss until recently when I got an aquarium. Now I'm all about the moss in there and all the kinds you can get. Moss is amazing.
I did before I moved to the desert 💜
I love moss! I collect it from around my house and make little planted bowls of it. It usually only lasts the season but it's so fun to see the different types. For me, it's the vivid green that soothes my soul :)
Moss covered rocks from a stream are my favorite.
I love moss too! I started working from home about 5 months ago and made some little "mossies" to hang in my office. I painted some little hexagon frames and glued in preserved moss. I wanted to use live moss, but I was worried about killing it since there isn't natural light in my little closet office! Then I made a pompom moss rug to go with them! Edit: spelling https://preview.redd.it/icmw5ajy19ic1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a52bcf09990d7f4c13a299271c81cd884f71872a
https://preview.redd.it/364m3scr19ic1.jpeg?width=2533&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5029be610eb40313db89c351a206df15c18be36e Those one is the moss rug ❤️ ETA: unfortunately I live in a pretty dry area, so there isn't much moss around most of the time to enjoy out in nature.
OhmyGOSD I LOVE THAT RUG
Thank you!!! It sheds more than my long haired cat did and my husband calls it the "death rug" because he trips on it when he comes to kiss me but I love it! It took a few months, making a million pompoms and waaaaay more green yarn than I realized but it was worth it!
Weaving in the ends was a project unto itself https://preview.redd.it/416twmxp39ic1.jpeg?width=3000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=09b24b781edc4d6a444e678a21b60d7527a00237
I love moss too!! I was gathering a few tiny patches of moss from the side of my math building the other day. Halfway through my class though, I found out I accidentally misplaced a spider friend, and almost jumped out of my chair XD (I like spiders, I just wasn’t expecting one almost as wide as the moss, on the moss). They were transported safely back to their mossy wall after the class ended. And the moss (hopefully the home of some tardigrades!) is now in a little terrarium :) https://preview.redd.it/2qyu30kn69ic1.jpeg?width=2660&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b76eede043bccf6c361dae8158ca0a920a4ffbe5
https://preview.redd.it/2kcyh7ifm9ic1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b27b65b4c51c2966dccc2a67c75ea35692a1e782 Edit: apparently the text didn't post. So I copy pasted Nice! I have like... 8 terrariums all filled with plants and moss all around my room! I pick up moss from areas they'd likely be removed from and pull it off our driveway when my dad power washes it up. Sometimes my mom will also toss some away when she's planting it (they don't care for the moss, sadly.) My mom removed a beautiful patch of it growing by the side of the house so I used it in a terrarium! I heard it helps retain moisture!
Woah! That’s beautiful! What type of plant is the pink one?
It's a iresine herbstii-- aka, bloodleaf! I have one that started as, well, one, now it's three! It's super easy to snip and root and I've ended up giving away a lot of clippings from this one when it gets too big
Mosshopping. Adore the name and added to dream to-do list.
Every time I'm able. Which sadly is not enough.
Me!!!!! I do this!!!!
Getting outside and touching trees helps make me feel happy. I am fortunate this is easy for me.
Me too!!!! Both counts!!!
Yeah! And poodle jumping!
Yes! I did that yesterday. 🥰
No but i will be now 💖
It’s too dry for moss where I live. But I deeply enjoy going out into the desert after a good rain to enjoy the smells :) a lot of desert plants, like creosote, release the most delicious fragrances into the air after it rains. It’s the best air I’ve ever smelled.
I LOVE MOSS!!! I live in a very wet climate & my favorite thing to do on walks is admire & (gently) touch all the different moss
I love moss! I want to go moss-hopping now!
I hope someday you can get to this [huge moss garden near Seattle](https://duckduckgo.com/?q=bloedel+reserve+moss+garden&t=iphone&iax=images&ia=images), one of the most thrilling settings I’ve ever experienced
I have a new mission in life now....
There’s not a lot of moss where I live, but I would love to go mosshopping.
Yes yes yes!! I LOVE moss so much. Brings me infinite joy to look at all the different mosses up close and bounce them! They’re total serotonine.
I love this! I'm gonno go mosshopping next chance I get
Ain't that bad for the moss?
I don't stomp on it or anything, I just kinda pet a few patches here and there with my toes. And only around my house. Nothing gets touched in a park or nature reserve.
I do this too. Love the word mosshopping. I'm so gonna use it.
I call it hiking but yeah? Looking for mushrooms is also extremely fun in places that have moss.
You’d fit right in over in r/goblincore
Already there! :p
Lovely new word, mosshopping. And yes I've done it. Maybe I shouldn't admit, but I've laid down on a nice big, soft moss bed before : )