A reader from the Finger Lakes shared this photo of red markings in the snow. Though it may look concerning at first, no one was injured. What is this from?
What in the Woods is That?
“Tadpole” Tracks
A reader shared this photo of these tadpole-shaped tracks in the snow. It’s not an actual tadpole, of course, but what is it? Who left these tracks and how?
Ahhh-choo…?
While walking through the woods in northern New Hampshire this past week, we spotted several areas where it looked like someone had spilled ground pepper on the snow. What’s happening here?
Tree Mystery
Reader Jackie Robidoux shared this image of a tree snag marked by...something? What is at the opening here? And what does it indicate?
Bumpy Bitternut
We spotted this bitternut hickory, bedecked in wart-like baubles, in Foley Park in Norwich, Vermont. What are all these bumps on the tree’s trunk and branches?
Who’s Hair?
Reader Anjelica Carroll found these clumps of white hair just off a path at the Retreat Trails in Brattleboro, Vermont. What is this? (There’s a hint at the bottom of the photo!)
Sugar Maple Stumper
High up in a sugar maple, we found what appeared to be two partially completed circumferential cuts, as one would make when girdling a tree. What happened here? And why do the cuts appear…
Mossy Trail Mystery
While out walking on a little-used woods trail beneath a steep cliff in central Vermont, we found this patch of yellow moss attached to the vertical rock face at the base of the cliff,…
Cold Case
We found this insect, with a loooong backside appendage, lying dead on a sidewalk after a cold night. What is it?
Mystery Package
We discovered this green orb partially wrapped in what looks like a dried leaf in recently disturbed soil near a field in Thetford, Vermont. What is this?
Keep Palm and Carry On
We found this seedling in the understory of a Vermont northern hardwood forest, sprouting what look like palm leaves, as well as the dark leaf in the center. What’s going on here?
A Bunch of Questions
While walking through a patch of brambles in Thetford, Vermont, we noticed many of the plants had bunched up leaves that were turning pink or brown at the center. What are these bunches, and…
Look Berry Carefully
This time of year, many native shrubs and trees produce fruits that attract wildlife and thereby help the plants to spread their seeds. Here are five native species and one non-native invasive…
Great Blobs of Jelly
We found these blobs with goo-filled craters on the forest floor in an area comprising mainly hemlocks and pines on an island in the Connecticut River. What are they?
A Long Gaze
If you gaze long into a forest ... the forest also gazes into you. With apologies to Nietzsche, we found these eye-like objects staring back up at us from a rich northern hardwood forest floor…
Pond-side Dazzler
We found this glimmering beastie perched on a (non-native) lupine seed pod near a pond in Orford, New Hampshire. What is it?
Insect Intrigue
Reader Ken Hatch found this small, green, spiky thing on a leaf near the White River in central Vermont. What is it?
Baffling Bumps
A staff member found a mass of these bulbous pink formations on the stems and leaves of a wild grape vine in Thetford, Vermont. What are they, what makes them, and why?
Sticky Situation
Reader Jude Eldridge shared this photo (taken by her husband, Bill Duffy) of flies stuck to the underside of a beech leaf. What’s happening here?
Leaf Me Alone
On a recent walk through the woods, we saw what appeared to be a leaf crawling across another leaf. What is this?