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June 17th, 2011 What in the Woods is That?

What in the Woods Is That?

Play our biweekly guessing game!

Whatever draws us into the forest—be it birdwatching or logging, hiking or hunting—all of us are unified by the sense of wonder we feel in the outdoors. The forests, fields, and streams of our region are full of mystery, and if you stop and look closely, you’ll see all sorts of oddities.

Below find a picture of one such woodlands curio. Guess what it is and you’ll be eligible to win a Northern Woodlands woodpecker magnet designed by artist Liz Wahid. A prize winner will be drawn at random from all the correct entries. The correct answer, and the winner’s name, will appear when the next column is posted and in our newsletter (sign up here!).

Elinor’s Puzzler

Our friend Elinor Osborn took this surreal picture. What is it?

Elinor's Puzzler Image

Answer

A spiderweb.

A noiseless patient spider,
I mark’d where on a little promontory it stood isolated,
Mark’d how to explore the vacant vast surrounding,
It launch’d forth filament, filament, filament out of itself,
Ever unreeling them, ever tirelessly speeding them.
And you O my soul where you stand,
Surrounded, detached, in measureless oceans of space,
Ceaselessly musing, venturing, throwing, seeking the spheres   to connect them,
Till the bridge you will need be form’d, till the ductile anchor
  hold,
Till the gossamer thread you fling catch somewhere, O my
  soul.
-Walt Whitman from Leaves of Grass

Thanks, Elinor, for sharing this picture. Check out more of Elinor’s beautiful photography here.

This week’s contest winner was Dave Patenaude of Tolland, CT.

© by the author; this article may not be copied or reproduced without the author's consent.

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