What in the Woods is That?

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?

We found this exposed sandy area on a hill in central Vermont, where something had scratched up the grasses and disturbed the soil. What happened here?

Author Bernd Heinrich sent us this photo of what he described as “stars in the daytime,” which he spied on August 20th in the noon-time sky. What are they?

Here are four photos from a building the Thomson family is constructing on their property in Orford, New Hampshire. Tom Thomson explained these are all wood species “that I cut or had…

Reader Tammis Coffin shared this photo, from Maine’s Baxter State Park, of some fluffy-looking white matter on a tree branch. What is this?

This poofy white ball was spotted in northern New Hampshire by reader Sandy Dannis. What is this?

We took this photo in a forest in northern Aroostook County, Maine. Can you identify the species by its bark?

We spotted these beech leaves sporting dark stripes in the woods near Bucksport, Maine. What’s happening here?

Reader Ann Basehore found this squiggly, gelatinous mass on a red cedar tree in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania. What is it?

Why did the moose cross the road? Jim Dannis found this young moose (looking worse for wear from winter ticks) bowing down to lick a back road in northern New Hampshire. Why is it doing this?

We came across this interesting seed-like clump amid unfurling leaves along a wooded path in New Hampshire this week. What is this?

Northern Woodlands reader Ciel Setterstrom was hiking on the Nipmuck Trail in Connecticut and spotted some “fuzzy looking stuff” wedged into this tree hollow. What is it, and why is it there?

Northern Woodlands reader Harry Zane discovered these “strange white threads” in an oak log he was splitting. What are they?

This time of year, a walk through the woods reveals many signs of spring. Can you identify these four?

The birds that made this nest have long since vacated it. Why are there leaves covering the nest? (And thanks to Sandy Dannis for the photos.)

Northern Woodlands board member emeritus Si Balch shared this photo of a bumpy trail through the woods. What caused these icy lumps?

While exploring a frozen cedar bog in Dalton, New Hampshire, reader Sandy Dannis spotted this mound with a hole at the top of it. What is this?

We found this gray birch with splashes of red on its trunk. What caused this tree’s blush?

We came across this hole in the snow while cross-country skiing through the woods. What happened here?