December 11th.  Back at Grayville Falls, this time with a frosting of snow.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

December 13th.  Twentyseven degrees and ice back on the marsh.

 

A little Photoshop play.

 

December 14th.  New owners of Route 85 Lumber have begun modifications to the property.

 

 

 

Pine catching dawn light across the channel.

 

December 17th.  Early afternoon, cloudy and mid-forties.  I went looking for green!

 

 

 

 

 

Lichens and moss.

 

...and quartz.

 

 

 

Spotted Wintergreen (Chimaphila maculata) and Haircap Moss.

 

Haircap Moss.

 

Here is a piece of boiler slag, left over from the steam era on the Air Line.  Boiler slag is a residue of non-combustible material deposited when coal is burned by a locomotive.  It's common along the sides of the trail.

 

Birch Conks or Polypores (Piptoporus betulinus) on a rotting birch trunk.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

An old Pine not far off the trail.  Given the massive branching at the base, I wonder if its form results from a damaged leader when it was very young, or perhaps multimple seedlings growing close to each other.  As I recall, pines don't "stump sprout".