Goldthread stays green all winter. It is a small plant with three-lobed, toothed, shiny leaves / Raccoons and skunks are nomads with a limited sense of territorial ownership. They’ll sometimes take turns using the same woodchuck hole for temporary shelter / Beavers and muskrats must adjust the structure of their lodges to accommodate various water levels. Winter floods or, conversely, a significant drop in water level, combined with a hard freeze, can mean death

Dec. 13-14: The Geminid meteor shower peaks. This reliable, multi-colored shower is on a nearly moonless night this year / December to March is a good time to look for bald eagles fishing in open water below dams.  Bald eagles can live for over 30 years in the wild / The brown upright seed stalks of Indian pipes often remain right through the winter and sometimes through the following summer / Lichens are an important part of a flying squirrel’s winter diet

Crabapples are favorites of cedar waxwings, and the birds sometimes descend in huge numbers to clean out the fruits / Underwater excursions in winter can drop a beaver’s core body temperature to below 93°F. Back in the lodge, the beaver warms up within 60 minutes. / The bills of evening grosbeaks are strong as well as large; they can even open cherry pits / Cow-parsnip stalks grow to 10 feet tall and their hollow stems may now be harboring a variety of insects

Carpenter ants are clustered and motionless inside big logs or trees. You might find them if you are splitting substandard firewood / Golden-crowned kinglets are the smallest of our winter birds. They are often very tame, and can be seen feeding on insects and spiders, usually in softwoods / The prickly inflated pods of wild cucumber, a climbing vine, have dried up and become paper thin.  Light as feathers, they are blown about to release their seeds