What in the Woods is That?

On a walk in the rain, we found this silk-wrapped package of Christmas fern frond leaflets. What created this fern ball? And what benefit does it provide?

Despite those wildlife glamour shots we all love, the truth is that we often glimpse only the backside of a creature as it hurries out of sight. Here’s a posterior shot, taken near a garden…

We found this insect trundling across the parking lot at the Northern Woodlands office recently. What is it? (For extra credit, what’s that yellow stuff on its body?)

On a recent walk through a woodlot in Greensboro, Vermont, friends encountered a healthy patch of sugar maple seedlings, but one tree (left) appeared to be dying. Closer inspection showed…

While out pulling invasive garlic mustard, we found what looks like a weird purple carrot sprouting from the leaf litter. What is this?

This shadowy image appeared on a game camera placed in the Vermont woods. What is it?

We spotted these spring leaves emerging from the leaf litter beneath an apple tree in northern New Hampshire. What plant do they belong to?

While out walking in a wetland in Lyme, New Hampshire, we found a whole thicket of...pinecone bearing hardwood shrubs?!? What is going on in this photo?

We found these splintery wood chips scattered across the snow beneath a sugar maple in a Sugar Hill, New Hampshire, forest. What happened here?

Even in early March, you can still sometimes find invertebrates crawling across the surface of deep snow. What is this little creature?

Reader Barbara Strell sent in this photo of a series of holes punched into the bottom of an oak tree in New Hampshire. What happened here?

We discovered these tracks in a snowy field next to a shed in central Vermont. Who left these prints?

Atop Cannon Mountain (elev. 4,081 feet) in Franconia, New Hampshire, we spotted feathery white formations growing sideways from trees and the railings of an observation tower at the summit.…

We found what looked like tiny pumpkins balanced on 6-inch stems rising from the forest floor. What are these?

Through the cold and snow of winter, some plants remain evergreen. Here are four we found recently in the woods. What are they?

This rust-colored log reminds us of Picasso’s 1910 work, “Girl with a Mandolin.” Assuming that the artist hasn’t reincarnated and begun traipsing around the woods of the Northeast,…

While walking in a stand of hemlocks and spruce, we found an area where a deer had dug extensively into the soft ground. Close inspection revealed a number of broken, soft-bodied yellow stems,…

What caused the spotting on this maple leaf? And for extra credit, what species of maple tree produced this leaf?

We found this fungus, covered in droplets, on a tree. What’s happening here?

Reader Dan Zucker shared this photo of intricate patterns “in the rust-colored artist’s bracket (fungus) spores on a large fallen birch trunk.” What made these marks?