Luscious lichens and shredded bark

I saw these most amazing lichens on a tree trunk at a local garden nursery last fall. Aren't they gorgeous? They are the colors of the sea.

I was also fascinated by the bronze-colored shredded bark on this conifer. I wish I'd made note of what it was, although now that I think about it, it wasn't marked. 

A pair of bluebirds continues to show every intention of setting up housekeeping in the nest box just outside my office window. Last fall, I put a good-sized wad of soft cat hair I'd collected inside that box, for the comfort of the woodpeckers or other songbirds that occasionally shelter there in bad weather. I haven't noticed the bluebirds removing those gifts from Waldo and Luther, so I trust they don't find them objectionable. Me wonders if they will use it to line their nest or just build on top of it. We shall see.