15 December

 A sunny morning with early frost.  By the time we reached the Forest and Wetlands, the frost had cleared.  

Moss glowed in the sunlight.

On the forest floor, ferns and moss gleamed.

The fungus population remains abundant, although it is beginning to diminish.

LBMs continue to appear.

The odd, and still unidentified "poached egg fungus" is shrinking, leaving the stem evident that attaches it to a fur log.  Although it could be taken for a bit of debris discarded by a walker, the now apparent stem reduces that likelihood.

Tiny orange fruiting bodies of a slime mold share the log with the mystery fungus.  

The weather allowed a clear view of Mount Arrowsmith with its growing snow pack.

The Marsh had a mist rising from its south side. 

It was comfortably warm, sitting on the dock and admiring the view.  There still are few waterfowl--we heard mallards, and saw them in the distance, but that was the extent of the population.

The shrubs and trees fringing the marsh, however, had a lively flock of crossbills.

Most of them were either females or juvenile males--they were too distant to get a good enough view to determine which.  There was one showy red male, who was also a flighty red male.  Oh well.  No photo.  

The sunlight on the Marsh was dazzling.

As we left, we spotted a very late, very slow, very unlikely garter snake making his way across the path.  It must attest to the warmth of the season, that there are still snakes even somewhat active.

We continue to wonder whether the carving of this stump is the work of a woodpecker or a bear seeking insect larvae.

On reflection, perhaps both creatures have shaped the stump.  In any case,  it has apparently had a lot to offer various biota since its demise.  

Here we are, five days from the winter solstice and the Forest remains vital and diverse.