Likin' Lichens.

Right about the time things started getting cold and the bugs were getting hard to find, I started getting really interested in all the different plants and critters to be found in the yard. Unfortunately, the snow hit soon after. In the mean time, I've been gathering a small library of field guides so I'll have lots to look at and identify when spring/summer rolls around. One group of organisms that I've found surprisingly interesting (and conveniently as identifiable in winter as summer) are lichens.
I'm learning to recognize some of the more common ones. It seems like the prettiest ones are the rarest though. Here's an attempt of some photos of them with Chrissy's camera (which is no good at macro shots).

I think this is Lipstick Powderhorn (Cladonia macilenta). It is growing on an old fence post.


Though this is out of focus, I'm surprised this photo turned out at all. I took this through a 10x hand lens. The yellow lichen on the left is Poplar Sunburst (Xanithoria hasseana). The whitish one on the right is Star Rosette Lichen (Physcia stellaris). They are both growing on a dead grey birch branch.