It Has Always Been So - A Poem By Paul Vincent Cannon

Absorbing Possibility - Haibun by Paul Vincent Cannon

At dVerse Frank is hosting the Haibun with an invitation to write a sci-fi haibun – for more detail follow the link below: dVerse Poets – Haibun – Scifi Haibun Image by ImaArtist from Pixabay “Now it’s time to leave the capsule if you dare” David Bowie Absorbing Possibility Borg-like I shape to ascend the pod. I smile at the robots now reduced to menial tasks, this is the new age beyond…

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Mysteries - a poem by Paul Vincent Cannon

At dVerse Kim is hosting the Quadrille (44 words sans title) with an invitation to write a pome including the word engrave. dVerse Poets – Quadrille – Engrave Your Name Across My Heart Image by Pexels from Pixabay “You have offered them to me I am only giving them back” Craig Arnold MysteriesI dig into the yawning yearning hole within,your graven image behind my heavy eyes,your pulse a beat…

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Ill Winds - prose by Paul Vincent Cannon

At dVerse Bjorn is hosting Prosery (144 words of prose) with an invitation to use a line from Leonard Cohen’s ‘You Want It Darker’ – “There’s a lullaby for suffering.” dVerse Poets – Prosery – Leonard Cohen Photo: decathlon.com “It’s dark often at these times.” Juliana Spahr Ill Winds When I’m hiking in winter I notice when I’m not moving my body temperature drops, hypothermia is a risk. The…

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The Leaf Is All - a poem by Paul Vincent Cannon

Photo: Taken in Kirup State Forest May 2023 “Perhaps the purpose of trees is to hide the verticality of trees” Linda Pastan The Leaf Is AllThe leafis a riveris a cloudis rainis the groundfor the seed,becomes a plantbecomes a forestbecomes oxygenbecomes breath,life for all thingsand whenthe leaf fallsit isit becomes,for all things. Copyright 2025 ©️Paul Vincent CannonAll Rights Reserved ®️

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Are These My Legs? - a poem by Paul Vincent Cannon

Photo: clipstock.com via Bing “I got out of bed on two strong legs. It might have been otherwise.” Jane Kenyon Are These My Legs?I marvel at the smallest of things,the unseen, indescribable acts Itake for granted where cause and effect are seemingly absent likethe moment I get out of bed,what is the event that precedes the movement that makes it so,can it be reduced to cause and effectlike the…

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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.

To The Last - a poem by Paul Vincent Cannon

At dVerse Laura is hosting Meeting The Bar with an invitation to write an Open or Free Verse poem. For more detail follow the link below: dVerse poets – MTB – Open to the Question Photo by Fernanda Pereira: https://www.pexels.com “Kiss by kiss I cover your tiny infinity” Pablo Neruda To The LastSheuncertain of her desireopened the door tothe feast withinopened the bottletwo glasseslong…

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Not Missing Anything - a poem by Paul Vincent Cannon

Photo: waterandnature.org “And puddles glimmering in my mind” John Masefield Not Missing AnythingMotes gathercataractically in thecorners of your eyes,time fritters your wallsof brittle doubt,yesterday you knewtoday you don't needthat obsession,now, you just enjoypuddle-jumping angstriddled pavements,waving the tour busgoodbye and breathingwith ease, not holdingeverything, not…

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The Morning Celebration - a poem by Paul Vincent Cannon

Photo: Dawn – Taken last week looking out over the Blackwood River to East Augusta. “There will come soft rains and the smell of the ground …” Sara Teasdale The Morning CelebrationI dosometimesjust a few linesof made up song,more often I just humfor the physical resonance,I sing mostly in my heada song for all life,now and again I keenfor so much lossbefore I turn tocelebration. Copyright 2025…

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A Pestering Yearn - a poem by Paul Vincent Cannon

Photo: walking bush trails around Lake Margarette west of Beacon, spring 22. “I thought the earth remembered me, she took me back so tenderly” Mary Oliver A Pestering YearnWhere did you plant your compasswhat words did you dress in,how did you survive drowning that you are here now in spite of ...did everything run in 7s and 12s?O for the perfect days, of hoursthat first sweet cool…

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