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!).
A reader in the Finger Lakes region of New York sent in this photo of flowers he’d never spotted before. What are they?
These are the female flowers of a butternut tree (Juglans cinerea), which are quite different in appearance than the male flowers.
This week’s contest winner was Karen Sutherland