Arethusa Falls is beginning to break out of its winter sarcophagus of ice. The footprints leading up to the ice face may indicate the first ice climber of the year to decide that the ice is too rotten to climb. Early spring, Arethusa Falls Trail, Crawford Notch State Park

Arethusa Falls is beginning to break out of its winter sarcophagus of ice. Early spring, Arethusa Falls Trail, Crawford Notch State Park

Looking south-southeast from the top of Arethusa Falls. The trail I use to climb to the top is in there somewhere. Early spring, Arethusa Falls Trail, Crawford Notch State Park

Peeking through a screen of bare white birches (Betula papyrifera) at Frankenstein Cliff. Early spring, Arethusa Falls Trail, Crawford Notch State Park

Frankenstein Cliff rises into the crisp wintry sky above a forest of bare beeches (Fagus grandifolia), but the ragged remains of ice on its sheer face indicate that spring is on its way. Early spring, Arethusa Falls Trail, Crawford Notch State Park

The nearly overgrown meadow north of the Elephant Head Trail Head is still gripped in snow, but the twigs of the trees are showing signs of spring. Early spring, Crawford Notch State Park

The meadow north of the Crawford Connector Trail Head. Early spring, White Mountain National Forest

Looking south along the Beaver Brook Trail just south of where it first approaches Beaver Brook. The tracks in the rain-glazed snow look like those of a vehicle, but they're actually from dozens of cross-country skis. Late winter, Beaver Brook Trail, Beaver Brook Association, Hollis, NH

Looking south along the Beaver Brook Trail. The trail is nearly flat, and nearly straight, as it makes its way through second-growth pine and hemlock. Late winter, Beaver Brook Trail, Beaver Brook Association, Hollis, NH

Looking east across the Beaver Pond to the cabins at the end of Campsite Trail. Late winter, Beaver Brook Trail, Beaver Brook Association, Hollis, NH

Judging from the buildup of rain-crusted snow, nobody has stopped to relax on this bench since fall. You can sit here beside the Beaver Pond and listen to the birds in warmer weather. Late winter, Beaver Brook Trail, Beaver Brook Association, Hollis, NH

Looking southwest from the big meadow just north of Crawford Notch. Mount Tom and Mount Avalon in the distance. Late winter, White Mountain National Forest

Elephant Head. Late winter, Crawford Notch State Park

A hemlock sapling (Tsuga canadensis) has been collecting the winter's snow into a large snowball. Late winter, Arethusa Falls Trail, Crawford Notch State Park

"The Bridge of Kazad Dum." Late winter, Arethusa Falls Trail, Crawford Notch State Park

The approach to "The King's Highway Bridge." Late winter, Arethusa Falls Trail, Crawford Notch State Park

Arethusa Falls locked in ice. Late winter, Arethusa Falls Trail, Crawford Notch State Park

Arethusa Falls locked in ice. "My" ledge, just to the right of the center of the waterfall, is also covered with ice that spills down its right-hand edge. Late winter, Arethusa Falls Trail, Crawford Notch State Park

Arethusa Falls locked in ice. Late winter, Arethusa Falls Trail, Crawford Notch State Park

A frozen seep beside Arethusa Falls. The tiny watercourse is inconspicuous most of the year, but it burgeons into a massive natural ice sculpture in winter. Late winter, Arethusa Falls Trail, Crawford Notch State Park

Looking down from the top of Arethusa Falls. Late winter, Arethusa Falls Trail, Crawford Notch State Park

The bleak summit of Mount Washington, with its forest of antennas and small cluster of buildings. Late winter, White Mountain National Forest

Mount Washington is beginning to lose some of its snow-cover, but in mid-March, there is still plenty of winter weather ahead. Near the left-hand side of the picture, you can see where the Cog Railway makes its way up the mountain, but the other things that look like roads are the natural tracks of avalanches and rockslides. (The Mt. Washington Auto Road is on the other side of the mountain.) Late winter, White Mountain National Forest

Mount Eisenhower losing some of its snow-cover in mid-March. Late winter, White Mountain National Forest

Tracks of a red squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) record the rodent's busy, energetic foraging. Notice that the tracks record the way the squirrel moves: He hops, rather than walks. The snow is littered with winter-fallen twigs and the empty husks of beech nuts (Fagus grandifolia). Late winter, Arethusa Falls Trail, Crawford Notch State Park

Tracks of a red fox (Vulpes vulpes) prowling. You can tell a fox's track from a dog's because the fox is usually very careful to place its hind foot into the footprint of its front foot, reducing the likelihood of stepping on a twig or crunching a noisy dry leaf. The snow is littered with the empty husks of beech nuts (Fagus grandifolia). Late winter, Arethusa Falls Trail, Crawford Notch State Park

A clump of young red spruce (Picea rubens) in the meadow near the Elephant Head Trail Head. Late winter, Crawford Notch State Park

The Arethusa Falls Trail, like any very popular trail, is well compacted and lies nearly two feet below the surrounding snow. The wind collects the winter's litter of cones, twigs, and needles into the trail. Late winter, Arethusa Falls Trail, Crawford Notch State Park

A fallen yellow birch (Betula lutea) turns part of the Arethusa Falls Trail into an obstacle course. Late winter, Arethusa Falls Trail, Crawford Notch State Park

A young hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) has succumbed to the winter gales. Late winter, Arethusa Falls Trail, Crawford Notch State Park

A mixed hardwood and evergreen forest near Arethusa Falls. Late winter, Arethusa Falls Trail, Crawford Notch State Park

A bare white birch (Betula papyrifera) stands in stark contrast to the winter sky. Late winter, Arethusa Falls Trail, Crawford Notch State Park

The stump of a winter-killed white pine (Pinus strobus) stands on the bank while the tree lies in the canal below. Winter, Mine Falls Park

Looking south along the Millpond Trail. It is a former road, obviously, and still used by emergency vehicles and for utility access. This part of the trail passes through a mature forest of mostly white pine (Pinus strobus). Winter, Mine Falls Park

Looking north along the Millpond Trail. It is a former road, obviously, and still used by emergency vehicles and for utility access. This part of the trail passes through a mature forest of mostly white pine (Pinus strobus). Winter, Mine Falls Park

Even in the relative shelter of Crawford Notch, winter gales keep this tall eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) perpetually leaning south. White birches (Betula papyrifera), cowering below the old giant, have a somewhat easier life. Mount Willey in the background. Winter, Crawford Notch State Park

Even in the relative shelter of Crawford Notch, winter gales keep this tall eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) clear of branches on its upwind side. Mount Willey in the background. Winter, Crawford Notch State Park

Old eastern hemlocks (Tsuga canadensis) are tortured by the frequent winter gales, while white birches (Betula papyrifera) live a more serene but shorter life. Mount Willey in the background. Winter, Crawford Notch State Park

Mount Willard. Winter, Crawford Notch State Park

The picnic tables at the Arethusa Falls Trail Head don't get much use this time of year. Winter, Arethusa Falls Trail Head, Crawford Notch State Park

Mount Crawford, with Montalban Ridge in the background. Winter, Arethusa Falls Trail Head, Crawford Notch State Park

The east-facing side of Frankenstein Cliff. Winter, Arethusa Falls Trail Head, Crawford Notch State Park

Frankenstein Cliff. Winter, Arethusa Falls Trail Head, Crawford Notch State Park

Frankenstein Cliff. Winter, Arethusa Falls Trail Head, Crawford Notch State Park

A forest of bare hardwoods, including American beech (Fagus grandifolia), white birch (Betula papyrifera), hickories (Carya sp.) and others on the southward-facing north wall of the canyon of Bemis Brook. The snow lies at a seemingly impossible angle on the hillside. Winter, Bemis Brook Trail, Crawford Notch State Park

A tall eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) stands out against the skyline of the southern wall of the canyon of Bemis Brook. Winter, Bemis Brook Trail, Crawford Notch State Park

The steep southern wall of the canyon of Bemis Brook is mostly covered with evergreens, especially eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis). Late on a winter morning, the sunshine is just beginning to appear at the tops of the trees at right. Winter, Bemis Brook Trail, Crawford Notch State Park

Bare hardwoods, mostly white birch (Betula papyrifera) and some American beech (Fagus grandifolia) stand in stark contrast against the dark hemlocks (Tsuga canadensis) and the steely blue winter sky. Winter, Bemis Brook Trail, Crawford Notch State Park

Frozen Bemis Falls is hidden behind a blanket of snow. Winter, Bemis Brook Trail, Crawford Notch State Park

Bemis Falls is hidden behind a stockade of fallen logs and a blanket of snow. Winter, Bemis Brook Trail, Crawford Notch State Park

Looking upstream from Fawn Pool toward Bemis Falls. Winter, Bemis Brook Trail, Crawford Notch State Park

It's interesting that these two dead hemlocks (Tsuga canadensis), less than five feet apart, are infested with two different species of fungus. The one on the left has only a white polypore fungus, and the one on the right has only an orange fungus. Winter, Mine Falls Park

Frankenstein Cliff is lightly dusted with new-fallen snow, winter, Crawford Notch Downloaded 196 Times.

Tracks of a fox (Vulpes vulpes) making its way through the thicket beside the Ammonoosuc River. Winter, White Mountain National Forest Downloaded 133 Times.

Tracks of a shrew (probably a northern short-tailed shrew, Blarina brevicauda) lead to a perfectly circular tunnel in the snow. Winter, Crawford Notch State Park Downloaded 122 Times.

Imprint of a fox's (Vulpes vulpes) body, where it bounded into the compacted trail, then back out again. You can see the round outline of the animal's chest, and light drag-marks where its feet brushed the snow as it jumped out. (The circular holes and drag-marks running parallel to the trail are from a hiker's walking poles.) Winter, Crawford Notch State Park Downloaded 160 Times.

A winter crane fly of the family Trichoceridae rests on the winter snow. Read more about my "discovery" of these unusual insects in Snow Flies. Winter, Mine Falls Park Downloaded 141 Times.

Footprints of a muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus) in a thin dusting of snow atop the ice on the Mill Pond, late fall, Mine Falls Park Downloaded 124 Times.

Tracks of a mink (Mustela vison) in the late-fall snow. You can see where the little carnivore loitered, possibly to investigate a scent or to leave its own scent-mark on a dead branch. Late fall, Mine Falls Park Downloaded 133 Times.

A small Jack Pine (Pinus banksiana) near the edge of Frankenstein Cliff. Notice how water has worn a neat channel in the ledge right up to where it spills over into the forest far below. Late fall, Frankenstein Cliff, Crawford Notch State Park Downloaded 322 Times.

Lightly falling snow glitters among the trees in the weak morning sunshine. Late fall, Arethusa Falls Trail, Crawford Notch State Park Downloaded 140 Times.

Snow-covered trail bridge across a partly-frozen mountain stream. This is the "Bridge of Kazad Dum" on the Arethusa Falls Trail. Late fall, Crawford Notch State Park Downloaded 136 Times.

In places on the north and west sides of Pack Monadnock, junipers (Juniperus sp.) are so abundant they could be called the dominant "tree." Fall, Pack Monadnock Downloaded 186 Times.

Looking west along Frankenstein Cliff (before we get to Frankenstein Cliff proper). Arethusa Falls is the white patch of ice near the head of the Bemis Brook Valley, just below the second dead branch (the "V" shaped one). Late fall, Crawford Notch State Park Downloaded 120 Times.

The last leg of the Frankenstein Cliff Trail is nearly level as it passes through a rich but rock-strewn forest. Contrast this with the sparse forest in the scree of the western slope of Pack Monadnock. Late fall, Crawford Notch State Park Downloaded 115 Times.

Footprint of a moose (Alces alces) in the middle of Arethusa Falls Trail, early spring, Crawford Notch Downloaded 103 Times.

Mouse tracks, either white-footed mouse (Peromyscus leucopus) or deer mouse (P. maniculatus), in the snow, winter, Crawford Notch Downloaded 123 Times.

Paper hornets (Dolichovespula sp., probably D. arenaria) overwinter in their nest near the Arethusa Falls Trail, mid-winter, Crawford Notch Downloaded 114 Times.

Arethusa Falls is beginning to break out of its winter sarcophagus of ice. The footprints leading up to the ice face may indicate the first ice climber of the year to decide that the ice is too rotten to climb. Early spring, Arethusa Falls Trail, Crawford Notch State Park

Arethusa Falls is beginning to break out of its winter sarcophagus of ice. Early spring, Arethusa Falls Trail, Crawford Notch State Park

Bemis Brook above Arethusa Falls, with a few holes opening up in the ice. Early spring, Arethusa Falls Trail, Crawford Notch State Park

A hole in the ice of Bemis Brook above Arethusa Falls. The layers in the snow reveal the history of the past winter's snowstorms, but they will soon disappear into the brook. Early spring, Arethusa Falls Trail, Crawford Notch State Park

This odd fence is designed to prevent beavers from damming the culvert where Beaver Brook passes under Beaver Brook Trail. Late winter, Beaver Brook Trail, Beaver Brook Association, Hollis, NH

Cattail (Typha latifolia) seed heads rise above the frozen Beaver Pond. Winter gales shred the seed heads, carrying some of the fluffy seeds far afield, but many remain until the stalk falls into the pond in spring. In this way, the plant both propagates itself over great distances, and ensures that its parent patch has a chance to spread. Late winter, Beaver Brook Trail, Beaver Brook Association, Hollis, NH

Arethusa Falls locked in ice. Late winter, Arethusa Falls Trail, Crawford Notch State Park

Arethusa Falls locked in ice. "My" ledge, just to the right of the center of the waterfall, is also covered with ice that spills down its right-hand edge. Late winter, Arethusa Falls Trail, Crawford Notch State Park

Arethusa Falls locked in ice. Late winter, Arethusa Falls Trail, Crawford Notch State Park

A frozen seep beside Arethusa Falls. The tiny watercourse is inconspicuous most of the year, but it burgeons into a massive natural ice sculpture in winter. Late winter, Arethusa Falls Trail, Crawford Notch State Park

The stump of a winter-killed white pine (Pinus strobus) stands on the bank while the tree lies in the canal below. Winter, Mine Falls Park

Bemis Brook peeks out from its winter sarcophagus of snow and ice. Winter, Bemis Brook Trail, Crawford Notch State Park

Ice slowly grows its way upstream to cover a hole in the winter covering of Bemis Brook. Winter, Bemis Brook Trail, Crawford Notch State Park

Gray granite ledge can still be seen on the bed of Bemis Brook through a hole in its five-foot-thick blanket of ice and snow. Winter, Bemis Brook Trail, Crawford Notch State Park

Gray granite ledge can still be seen on the bed of Bemis Brook through a hole in its five-foot-thick blanket of ice and snow. Winter, Bemis Brook Trail, Crawford Notch State Park

Frozen Bemis Falls is hidden behind a blanket of snow. Winter, Bemis Brook Trail, Crawford Notch State Park

Bemis Falls is hidden behind a stockade of fallen logs and a blanket of snow. Winter, Bemis Brook Trail, Crawford Notch State Park

Looking upstream from Fawn Pool toward Bemis Falls. Winter, Bemis Brook Trail, Crawford Notch State Park

Ice on the Mill Pond has taken on a pattern that looks almost like leaves. Late fall, Mine Falls Park Downloaded 220 Times.

Snow-covered trail bridge across a partly-frozen mountain stream. This is the "Bridge of Kazad Dum" on the Arethusa Falls Trail. Late fall, Crawford Notch State Park Downloaded 136 Times.

This ice-covered cliff is a hazard of falling icicles on a winter morning as the sun warms the night's ice. And the seep below is perilously slick with inches of solid ice. Late fall, Crawford Notch State Park Downloaded 146 Times.

Ice climber halfway up the waterfall, late winter, Arethusa Falls, Crawford Notch Downloaded 107 Times.

A young oak (Quercus sp.) waits out the winter. Oaks retain many of their dead, brown leaves right through the winter, though this little one has only about a dozen left. Young beeches (Fagus grandifolia) also tend to hold onto their leaves, but the mature trees don't. Late winter, Beaver Brook Trail, Beaver Brook Association, Hollis, NH

Cattail (Typha latifolia) seed heads rise above the frozen Beaver Pond. Winter gales shred the seed heads, carrying some of the fluffy seeds far afield, but many remain until the stalk falls into the pond in spring. In this way, the plant both propagates itself over great distances, and ensures that its parent patch has a chance to spread. Late winter, Beaver Brook Trail, Beaver Brook Association, Hollis, NH

A hemlock sapling (Tsuga canadensis) has been collecting the winter's snow into a large snowball. Late winter, Arethusa Falls Trail, Crawford Notch State Park

A red squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) sits on a stump assessing whether I am a threat or not. Late winter, Arethusa Falls Trail, Crawford Notch State Park

Footprints of a red squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus). This shallow impression in dusty snow on top of a hard crusty snow shows the details very clearly. Late winter, Arethusa Falls Trail, Crawford Notch State Park

Tracks of a red squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) record the rodent's busy, energetic foraging. Notice that the tracks record the way the squirrel moves: He hops, rather than walks. The snow is littered with winter-fallen twigs and the empty husks of beech nuts (Fagus grandifolia). Late winter, Arethusa Falls Trail, Crawford Notch State Park

Tracks of a red fox (Vulpes vulpes) prowling. You can tell a fox's track from a dog's because the fox is usually very careful to place its hind foot into the footprint of its front foot, reducing the likelihood of stepping on a twig or crunching a noisy dry leaf. The snow is littered with the empty husks of beech nuts (Fagus grandifolia). Late winter, Arethusa Falls Trail, Crawford Notch State Park

A clump of young red spruce (Picea rubens) in the meadow near the Elephant Head Trail Head. Late winter, Crawford Notch State Park

A twig and cone of a red spruce (Picea rubens) lies on the snow. In late winter, the snow is littered with cones, twigs, and needles of spruce and fir. They may have been cut by a squirrel who then forgot to collect them, or simply blown down by the wind. Late winter, Arethusa Falls Trail, Crawford Notch State Park

A fallen yellow birch (Betula lutea) turns part of the Arethusa Falls Trail into an obstacle course. Late winter, Arethusa Falls Trail, Crawford Notch State Park

A young hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) has succumbed to the winter gales. Late winter, Arethusa Falls Trail, Crawford Notch State Park

A bare white birch (Betula papyrifera) stands in stark contrast to the winter sky. Late winter, Arethusa Falls Trail, Crawford Notch State Park

Many meadow flowers hold their seeds all winter, dropping them in the spring. I don't know the species of these. Late winter, White Mountain National Forest

Many meadow flowers hold their seeds all winter, dropping them in the spring. I don't know the species of these. Late winter, White Mountain National Forest

Moss, which remains green all winter and photosynthesizes any time there is enough light, pokes through the melting snow of late winter. Winter, Mine Falls Park

The stump of a winter-killed white pine (Pinus strobus) stands on the bank while the tree lies in the canal below. Winter, Mine Falls Park

It's interesting how this orange-brown polypore fungus (family Polyporaceae) grows only on the underside of this leaning dead tree. Winter, Mine Falls Park

Even in the relative shelter of Crawford Notch, winter gales keep this tall eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) perpetually leaning south. White birches (Betula papyrifera), cowering below the old giant, have a somewhat easier life. Mount Willey in the background. Winter, Crawford Notch State Park

Even in the relative shelter of Crawford Notch, winter gales keep this tall eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) clear of branches on its upwind side. Mount Willey in the background. Winter, Crawford Notch State Park

Old eastern hemlocks (Tsuga canadensis) are tortured by the frequent winter gales, while white birches (Betula papyrifera) live a more serene but shorter life. Mount Willey in the background. Winter, Crawford Notch State Park

Tracks of a red squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus). You can see where the squirrel's tail brushed the snow as it hopped along. Winter, Bemis Brook Trail, Crawford Notch State Park

A mouse, either a white-footed mouse (Peromyscus leucopus) or a deer mouse (P. maniculatus), left its tracks in a thin dusting of new snow atop the older, crusted snow. You can tell the tracks of a mouse from those of a shrew because mice hop, but shrews walk. Winter, Bemis Brook Trail, Crawford Notch State Park

A forest of bare hardwoods, including American beech (Fagus grandifolia), white birch (Betula papyrifera), hickories (Carya sp.) and others on the southward-facing north wall of the canyon of Bemis Brook. The snow lies at a seemingly impossible angle on the hillside. Winter, Bemis Brook Trail, Crawford Notch State Park

A leaf-like green lichen spreading on the trunk of a dead tree. Winter, Bemis Brook Trail, Crawford Notch State Park

Branches of a red spruce (Picea rubens) sapling overhang two seelings of red spruce peeking out from the snow. Winter, Bemis Brook Trail, Crawford Notch State Park

Myriad species of fungus and lichen coat a broken stump, and are themselves coated with snow. Winter, Bemis Brook Trail, Crawford Notch State Park

A garden of mosses and seedlings on top of a pink granite boulder and under a blanket of snow. Winter, Bemis Brook Trail, Crawford Notch State Park

Lichen growing on a dead twig. Winter, Bemis Brook Trail, Crawford Notch State Park

A tall eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) stands out against the skyline of the southern wall of the canyon of Bemis Brook. Winter, Bemis Brook Trail, Crawford Notch State Park

The steep southern wall of the canyon of Bemis Brook is mostly covered with evergreens, especially eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis). Late on a winter morning, the sunshine is just beginning to appear at the tops of the trees at right. Winter, Bemis Brook Trail, Crawford Notch State Park

Snow on a sawn log forms a neat white wedge nearly two feet high. Winter, Bemis Brook Trail, Crawford Notch State Park

Buds of the hobblebush (Viburnum alnifolium) seem to herald the spring, but this is the dead of winter. The hobblebush has borne nearly-opened leaf buds like this since October, and they will not really leaf out until near the end of April. Winter, Bemis Brook Trail, Crawford Notch State Park

Bare hardwoods, mostly white birch (Betula papyrifera) and some American beech (Fagus grandifolia) stand in stark contrast against the dark hemlocks (Tsuga canadensis) and the steely blue winter sky. Winter, Bemis Brook Trail, Crawford Notch State Park

It's interesting that these two dead hemlocks (Tsuga canadensis), less than five feet apart, are infested with two different species of fungus. The one on the left has only a white polypore fungus, and the one on the right has only an orange fungus. Winter, Mine Falls Park

A single brown leaf in an oak (Quercus sp.) catches the cold sunshine of a winter afternoon. Winter, Mine Falls Park Downloaded 126 Times.

A winter crane fly of the family Trichoceridae rests on the winter snow. The straight line under the insect is an illusion. It is actually the fly's left legs, the foreleg extending straight out in front and the hind leg extending straight out behind. Winter, Mine Falls Park Downloaded 109 Times.

Tracks of a shrew (probably a northern short-tailed shrew, Blarina brevicauda) lead to a perfectly circular tunnel in the snow. Winter, Crawford Notch State Park Downloaded 122 Times.

Imprint of a fox's (Vulpes vulpes) body, where it bounded into the compacted trail, then back out again. You can see the round outline of the animal's chest, and light drag-marks where its feet brushed the snow as it jumped out. (The circular holes and drag-marks running parallel to the trail are from a hiker's walking poles.) Winter, Crawford Notch State Park Downloaded 160 Times.

A winter crane fly of the family Trichoceridae rests on the winter snow. Read more about my "discovery" of these unusual insects in Snow Flies. Winter, Mine Falls Park Downloaded 141 Times.

Footprints of a muskrat (Ondatra zibethicus) in a thin dusting of snow atop the ice on the Mill Pond, late fall, Mine Falls Park Downloaded 124 Times.

Tracks of a mink (Mustela vison) in the late-fall snow. You can see where the little carnivore loitered, possibly to investigate a scent or to leave its own scent-mark on a dead branch. Late fall, Mine Falls Park Downloaded 133 Times.

An abandoned hornet's nest. Fall, Pack Monadnock Downloaded 262 Times.

I count at least 30 annual growth rings in this 8-inch slice of red spruce (Picea rubens). Late fall, Arethusa Falls Trail, Crawford Notch State Park Downloaded 215 Times.

I haven't counted very precisely, but there are clearly well over 100 annual growth rings in this 18-inch slice of red spruce (Picea rubens). Late fall, Arethusa Falls Trail, Crawford Notch State Park Downloaded 174 Times.

A small Jack Pine (Pinus banksiana) near the edge of Frankenstein Cliff. Notice how water has worn a neat channel in the ledge right up to where it spills over into the forest far below. Late fall, Frankenstein Cliff, Crawford Notch State Park Downloaded 322 Times.

In places on the north and west sides of Pack Monadnock, junipers (Juniperus sp.) are so abundant they could be called the dominant "tree." Fall, Pack Monadnock Downloaded 186 Times.

The last leg of the Frankenstein Cliff Trail is nearly level as it passes through a rich but rock-strewn forest. Contrast this with the sparse forest in the scree of the western slope of Pack Monadnock. Late fall, Crawford Notch State Park Downloaded 115 Times.

Nearly-bare branches of oak against the steely sky, late fall, Mine Falls Park Downloaded 217 Times.

Close-up of ferns and mosses, mid-spring, Crawford Notch Downloaded 131 Times.

Moss, ground pine clubmoss (Lycopodium clavatum), lichen, and hemlock seedlings (Tsuga canadensis) on an undercut bank, late winter, Mine Falls Park Downloaded 124 Times.

Ground-pine clubmoss (Lycopodium clavatum), late winter, Mine Falls Park Downloaded 103 Times.

Can't identify the species, or even genus, of most fungus, but I know this is of the family Polyporaceae. This is the "wallpaper" of one of my virtual computers. Late winter, Mine Falls Park Downloaded 152 Times.

Moss-covered roots, winter, Mine Falls Park Downloaded 103 Times.

Lichen on red pine, winter, Mine Falls Park Downloaded 117 Times.

Footprint of a moose (Alces alces) in the middle of Arethusa Falls Trail, early spring, Crawford Notch Downloaded 103 Times.

Mouse tracks, either white-footed mouse (Peromyscus leucopus) or deer mouse (P. maniculatus), in the snow, winter, Crawford Notch Downloaded 123 Times.

Paper hornets (Dolichovespula sp., probably D. arenaria) overwinter in their nest near the Arethusa Falls Trail, mid-winter, Crawford Notch Downloaded 114 Times.

Red squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus), early spring, Crawford Notch Downloaded 129 Times.