Lichens

My wife and I have been hunting for lichens on our walks the last few days. She discovered what she called a miniature garden of them and we've since been taking more notice of them. We've also noticed that in spite of the cold weather we've had many of them have turned a brighter green and are producing their fruiting bodies, in this case the raised cup-like growths. Perhaps this is a sign of spring, but if so it is the only sign we've seen.