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January 10th, 2024 Reader Photo Gallery

December 2023

Your December photos included winter birds, early ice, and evidence of squirrels’ appreciation for this year’s bountiful white pine cone supply. In Kingsbury Plantation, Maine, Kent Nelson enjoyed the rare sight of an inverted rainbow, and also in Maine, George Wheelwright and some companions found an especially odd example of beaver woodworks. Check out Ken Hatch’s image of a taphole coffee table, and Lucy Birkett’s easy-to-miss, but cool find: the winter home of a pine tube moth.

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This gallery is made possible through generous support from the Larsen Fund.

December 2023 Photo: Sam Cox
Alvordton, OH. “I was walking along a trail through the woods when I noticed that the ground next to the trail was covered in whitewash and pellets. I looked up and found that there was a great horned owl staring back at me. I quickly backed away and took a few pictures.” | Photo: Sam Cox
December 2023 Photo: Bekky Honkala
Wilmington, NY. “Various lichens in Adirondack Park.” | Photo: Bekky Honkala
December 2023 Photo: Deb Clough
Madison, NH. “Madison Boulder glacial erratic.” | Photo: Deb Clough
December 2023 Photo: Kathy Leonard
Randolph Center, VT. “Ice forming on a small pool in our woods.” | Photo: Kathy Leonard
December 2023 Photo: Tom Grett
Northern Adirondacks, NY. “A friendly gray jay in the northern Adirondacks.” | Photo: Tom Grett
December 2023 Photo: Richard Philben
Shelburne, MA. “Salmon Falls after the December deluge of rain.” | Photo: Richard Philben
December 2023 Photo: Ross Lanius
North Haven, CT. “Normally viewed small plants may be uninteresting until viewed through a magnifying glass or photographed with a macro lens. Then the details become visible as with this pussytoes wildflower.” | Photo: Ross Lanius
December 2023 Photo: Nancy Allen
Greene County, NY. “Black Dome Ridge.” | Photo: Nancy Allen
December 2023 Photo: Lucy K. Wyman
Mt. Jackson, NH. “I just stumbled on this in the saddle between Jackson and Webster and it reminded me of a meringue.” | Photo: Lucy K. Wyman
December 2023 Photo: Geoffrey Bluh
Conway, MA. “A star pattern of some kind of fungus in the heartwood of a tree stump found in the Conway State Forest.” | Photo: Geoffrey Bluh
December 2023 Photo: Charlie Schwarz
South Williamsport, PA. “The little boy of the woods, a black-capped chickadee in a silky dogwood shrub.” | Photo: Charlie Schwarz
December 2023 Photo: Sheri Larsen
Essex Town, VT. “This cute snowman made with all-natural products was found along a local trail earlier this month (at a time when there was snow!).” | Photo: Sheri Larsen
December 2023 Photo: Jen Adams
Campton, NH. “Sunset lenticular clouds over Tecumseh.” | Photo: Jen Adams
December 2023 Photo: Susan Cloutier
New Salem, MA. “Witch hazel blossoms provide color and nectar.” | Photo: Susan Cloutier
December 2023 Photo: Kirk T. Gentalen
Tenants Harbor, ME. “Muskrats.” | Photo: Kirk T. Gentalen
December 2023 Photo: Geoffrey Bluh
Plainfield, MA. “Ancient white ash on a stone wall stands over the nearby barn. Land owner has donated a parcel of her property to the Franklin Land Trust earlier this year.” | Photo: Geoffrey Bluh
December 2023 Photo: Ross Lanius
North Haven, CT. “Patches of haircap moss abound at the edge of the woods. The small stalks have many branches when view up close.” | Photo: Ross Lanius
December 2023 Photo: George Wheelwright
Rural ME. “Amazing beaver activity.” | Photo: George Wheelwright
December 2023 Photo: Karinne Heise
Weare, NH. “Crescent moon at sunset.” | Photo: Karinne Heise
December 2023 Photo: Susan Lichty
Lempster, NH. “Hidden in plain sight.” | Photo: Susan Lichty
December 2023 Photo: Nancy Halloran
Kingston, NH. “Site of an old mill dam in Tucker-French Conservation Land, a Southeast Land Trust property.” | Photo: Nancy Halloran
December 2023 Photo: Sheri Larsen
Colchester, VT. “Barred owl greeted us on Christmas Day. What a great present!” | Photo: Sheri Larsen
December 2023 Photo: Jimmy Byun
Pelham, MA. “Christmas earthstar.” | Photo: Jimmy Byun
December 2023 Photo: Deb Clough
Grafton, NH. “Winter afternoon sun settling over the hill.” | Photo: Deb Clough
December 2023 Photo: Sandy Dannis
Dalton, NH. “Remains of bunchberry (Cronus canadensis) vegetation and seed head.” | Photo: Sandy Dannis
December 2023 Photo: Jen Adams
Campton, NH. “Frozen meadow after the heavy rain.” | Photo: Jen Adams
December 2023 Photo: Charlie Schwarz
Linden, PA. “Short-eared owls spend much of the winter hunting over the hayfields and pastures of north-central Pennsylvania.” | Photo: Charlie Schwarz
December 2023 Photo: Kirk T. Gentalen
Tenants Harbor, ME. “Orange jelly mushroom.” | Photo: Kirk T. Gentalen
December 2023 Photo: Nancy Allen
Hunter, NY. “Ice droplets - Cook Brook.” | Photo: Nancy Allen
December 2023 Photo: Kirk T. Gentalen
Tenants Harbor, ME. “Eastern dwarf mistletoe fruit roughly 8 months old.” | Photo: Kirk T. Gentalen
December 2023 Photo: Sheri Larsen
Hinesburg, VT. “While in the woods on a gray December day, the yellow color on a fallen log caught my eye. (I'm not sure what it is). The log also had some nice bracket fungi on it.” | Photo: Sheri Larsen
December 2023 Photo: Leif Tillotson
St. Albans, VT. Sky and ice reflection. | Photo: Leif Tillotson
December 2023 Photo: Geoffrey Bluh
Putney, VT. “A cache of pine cones on a stump at Green Mountain Orchard.” | Photo: Geoffrey Bluh
December 2023 Photo: Lucy Birkett
Freeport, ME. “Pine needle tube dwelling - where pine tube moth (Argyrotaenia pinatubana) larvae spend their winters, and pupate in spring.” | Photo: Lucy Birkett
December 2023 Photo: Matty DeLuca
North Marshfield, MA. “A rare piebald deer grazing in the field.” | Photo: Matty DeLuca
December 2023 Photo: Karinne Heise
Warner, NH. “Beech nut shells and leaves on the snow.” | Photo: Karinne Heise
December 2023 Photo: Steven Arcone
West Lebanon, NH. “Shoreline melt and re-crystallization of old ice blades, Chambers Pond.” | Photo: Steven Arcone
December 2023 Photo: Nancy Halloran
Andover, MA. “A monkey swing? Along the Merrimack River. Who’ll go first? Not me!” | Photo: Nancy Halloran
December 2023 Photo: Jack Nelson
Hawley, MA. “Lungwort lichen (Lobaria pulmonaria) on a maple. Found in an old growth forest and sensitive to air pollution.” | Photo: Jack Nelson
December 2023 Photo: Sharon Bombard
Williamstown, MA. “Close-up of needle ice by the trail.” | Photo: Sharon Bombard
December 2023 Photo: Kent Nelson
Kingsbury Plantation, ME. “I took this photo while brushing out a trail on our family woodlot on Dec. 23, 2023. I looked up and saw the inverted rainbow. The temps were just below freezing and no wind.” | Photo: Kent Nelson
December 2023 Photo: Judy Sweet
Shelburne, MA. “Crabapples waiting for cedar waxwings to find them.” | Photo: Judy Sweet
December 2023 Photo: Penelope Harris
Cambridge, VT. “Moss, moss and more moss. Lack of snow gives moss a chance to show off.” | Photo: Penelope Harris
December 2023 Photo: Sandy Dannis
Dalton, NH. “New white pine (Pinus strobus).” | Photo: Sandy Dannis
December 2023 Photo: Peggy Warwick
Montague, MA. “Striped wintergreen with seed pods.” | Photo: Peggy Warwick
December 2023 Photo: Richard Philben
Shelburne, MA. “Two small streams created by the torrent of rain that inundated the East Coast this month.” | Photo: Richard Philben
December 2023 Photo: Tom Grett
Northern Adirondacks, NY. “Found this beautiful fungi growing on an old maple stump.” (Editor’s note: this appears to be bear’s head tooth fungus). | Photo: Tom Grett
December 2023 Photo: Michael V. Wilson
Otego, NY. A ruffed grouse. | Photo: Michael V. Wilson
December 2023 Photo: Steven Arcone
West Lebanon, NH. “Melt and re-crystallization of old shoreline ice blades.” | Photo: Steven Arcone
December 2023 Photo: Susan Cloutier
New Salem, MA. “White pine mast year are a bounty for red squirrels.” | Photo: Susan Cloutier
December 2023 Photo: C.J. Frankiewicz
Mount Tabor, VT. “A ? at the top of a white pine in Green Mountain National Forest near Otter Crick in Mt. Tabor.” | Photo: C.J. Frankiewicz
December 2023 Photo: Geoffrey Bluh
Conway, MA. “Ice patterns form around a stick chewed by a beaver at a pond in the Conway State Forest.” | Photo: Geoffrey Bluh
December 2023 Photo: Sharon Bombard
Williamstown, MA. “Old bones being chewed for the minerals (most likely cow bones that were set out on a big rock that borders these woods and the pasture nearby).” | Photo: Sharon Bombard
December 2023 Photo: Judy Sweet
Buckland, MA. “Plantain leaf sedge among fallen leaves in mid-December.” This species is also known as, “seersucker sedge.” | Photo: Judy Sweet
December 2023 Photo: Sandy Dannis
Dalton, NH. “Mt. Lafayette looms above Fort Lake before December thaw.” | Photo: Sandy Dannis
December 2023 Photo: Stephen Rubino
Andover, VT. “Ruffed grouse near drumming log.” | Photo: Stephen Rubino
December 2023 Photo: John Kilmarx
Orfordville, NH. “Mt. Cube on a 50-cent day.” | Photo: John Kilmarx
December 2023 Photo: Charlie Schwarz
South Williamsport, PA. “A male yellow-bellied sapsucker making new holes in an apple tree.” | Photo: Charlie Schwarz
December 2023 Photo: Richard Philben
Shelburne, MA. “The winter solstice sunrise as seen from Wheel-View Farm.” | Photo: Richard Philben
December 2023 Photo: Ken Hatch
Plymouth Notch, VT. “Maple coffee table in the Coolidge Museum in Plymouth Notch Vermont showing how the wood is affected above and below the tap holes.” | Photo: Ken Hatch
December 2023 Photo: Sue Mayotte
Strafford, NH. “Beautiful find for mid-December. Large cluster of oyster mushrooms.” | Photo: Sue Mayotte
December 2023 Photo: Karinne Heise
Warner, NH. “On the way up Kearsarge.” | Photo: Karinne Heise
December 2023 Photo: C.J. Frankiewicz
Addison, VT. “Foot long icicles from windblown wave splashes near Champlain Bridge on Lake Champlain.” | Photo: C.J. Frankiewicz
December 2023 Photo: Judy Sweet
Danville, VT. “View of Mt. Moosilauke from Walden Hill after heavy snowfall in early December.” | Photo: Judy Sweet
December 2023 Photo: Tom Grett
Northern Adirondacks, NY. “A handsome buck in the northern Adirondacks.” | Photo: Tom Grett

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