I’m hoping to go hiking soon to go miss hunting. Want to try and make a nice moss wall in the bioactive I’m placing on building or cover the dirt with it. Still working out how I want to set it up. Maybe some isopods will pop up during the moss hunt.
I live near lots of hiking trails and came across lots of moss in my hikes b4 getting into this hobby. When I was a girl I collects isopods for fun after watching “bugs life” so hopefully I still have an eye for it.Ooh! Let me know how it goes! I'd also like to incorporate moss for sure. The carpet moss I have outside is very resistant to all sorts of weather conditions, and I'm almost positive it'll love terrarium conditions!
I'm so jazzed that the weather's getting nicer here- it's almost warm enough now to pack up my parrot and go hiking! Monty loves the woods, and especially loves to play with bugs. She's very gentle, and tries so hard to pick them up with her big, clumsy feet!
while I'm still sorely tempted to attempt a waterfall, it might be a waste in a panther enclosure... maybe when I eventually get a montane species. 
I have a bromeliad for a house plant that had some babies! Maybe I'll try to separate and add one in my enclosure!
so, I've added to the plant list: It was all scavenged from ancient weeping willow trees by the creek, and no live trees were harmed in the process. None of it has been cleaned yet; I'll give it all a good soak tomorrow and place them under the deck with the rest of the goods, maybe play with it all for a bit and make some rough mockups! 
Ok I need to go hiking now. Those are amazing findsI visited one of the local nurseries a couple days ago. I told myself I was "just looking"... yeah right!!
I also went foraging today, and scored some bark for my background!
- Highland pitcher plant (Nepenthes sanguinea)
- Neoregalia c. Linda x2 (bromeliad)
- Neoregalia "Fireball" (bromeliad)
- Polkadot plants (2 white, 2 pink, 1 red)
The haul:
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The piece de resistance (super excited to use this as a focal planter!! Technically 3 pieces loosely jigsawed together):
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Another planter idea:
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You need to add a little wagon to your bikeRight?! Super stoked about my "stump"!! Gonna put it off center to the left, with my other branch planter to the upper right. I think it'll look pretty snazzy when it's all said and done, especially with some moss!
Bonus pic of my fully loaded bike:
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But there's a bunch of nice lush moss that grows around my house that seems very weather tolerant, so I might harvest some of that!
Nice I’m really looking forward to how this build comes out. I’m sure keeping it alive is going to be hardI have some rough goose neck and some unidentified ground cover that I'll be setting up in a proper 15g terrarium tomorrow with lighting. Ill probably throw some of the wood in there in an attempt to get the moss attached before hand! My ground cover may not survive; I left it in a baggie for too long
It's like a scavenger hunt; I highly recommend it, especially for bioactive set ups!
I'm the same way, I repurpose almost everything, lol. There are some woods close to me, but I'm still in the city so it's not the greatest. Everytime I had to cut down a tree (which I only had heart to do if thing was beyond saving) I would always keep the cool looking branches for me and my friends enclosures. If I can get it for free, just my putting in a lil work and time, plus having fun ta boot. Thats a win, win..win situation lolThank you!! I'm lucky to live in an area with multiple safe foraging grounds within my limited range, especially since I don't/choose not to drive. I figure it's much more environmentally friendly to harvest small amounts of wild dead fall than it is to purchase a bunch of cork, and it's much much easier on my wallet. And fun, to boot!!
I came across several dozen while I was poking through the colonies, and there appear to be many juveniles. Hopefully that means they'll establish themselves and start multiplying! I'll provide an extra feeding this week, see if I can jumpstart them. The springtails are thriving in the a. vulgaris culture, and are present in lesser(visible) numbers in the o. asellus. My little bitty millipedes are also doing very well, and I have some white worms cropping up. All sorts of useful CuC! It can smell pretty vile, allegedly, so I'll keep the bark and mixture outside on the north facing wall until i need it and water it daily.
I read something about moss milkshakes awhile back but was confused on how it works. Let me know how it goes then maybe I’ll try it outHappy to report that my most recent leaf litter harvest came with temperate springtails!
I think I'll try my hand at making a "moss milkshake" this weekend and attempt lto get some moss growing on my bark collection. Apparently if you take some moss (dead or alive) and put it through a blender with a 1:1 ratio of water:buttermilk until it has the consistency of a milkshake and then spread it on a pre-moistened surface, you'll have better luck with a moss mix adhering and growing on vertical surfaces. I certainly have nothing to lose, as my moss is looking a tad sickly anyway and I can easily get fresh stuff of it doesn't work out. Should be an interesting experiment! I'm going to mix all three of my mosses and see what pops up.
LOL I bet you confused a lot of people hauling your bark on a bike!Right?! Super stoked about my "stump"!! Gonna put it off center to the left, with my other branch planter to the upper right. I think it'll look pretty snazzy when it's all said and done, especially with some moss!
Bonus pic of my fully loaded bike:
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