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!).

Peep These

It’s that time of year. Can you identify the trees and plants from whence these colorful leaves came?

Answer

From left to right: Virginia creeper, staghorn sumac, sugar maple, Japanese knotweed.

Although we had lots of responses, no one identified all four leaves correctly. Leaf number 4 was the stumper, with some identifying it as “hobblebush,” some as “basswood,” and others as “quaking aspen.” Perhaps we were a little sneaky picking a leaf from a Japanese knotweed plant.

This week’s contest winner was Northern Woodlands!