Most of the leaves are on the ground in the woods, where the rain and cold have turned them into a rough rug of gray, brown, and black. Coats of ice are forming on puddles and ponds. Our world is withering into colorless winter dormancy. And YET, there are little visual oases in the woods that glow green with vibrant life – seemingly magic places where one can imagine over-wintering leprechauns hiding.
Above, you see what apparently are Evergreen Ferns living up to their common name. These plants (Dryopteris intermedia) usually will continue to photosynthesize the sunlight into sugars, and thereby stay green, throughout the winter.
Next to those ferns, is one of many species of rootless moss that I have not been able to identify precisely. It’s trying to cover a dead birch with its emerald-colored blanket of “phylids,” which look like very small leaves and contain a natural antifreeze substance that will keep them evergreen.
Below, you’ll see ice forming on a small local pond, while cattails and other wet-footed flora stand by and cool their heels until spring:
(Images taken in Brooklin, Maine, on November 20, 2022.)