When we think about human overpopulation - the ticker hit 7,000,000,000 this past week - we might think globally first: to ship breakers in Bangladesh, or the slums outside Sao Paulo. Domestically, our thoughts go to urban centers - Times Square at midday, or an aerial shot of a New Jersey suburb. But rural areas are dealing with human population growth, too, just in different ways... 

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If you're a fan of a good, old-fashioned New England winter, with snow piling up under the eaves, you'll be pleased to know that we're going to have a La Niña this year. If you can't tell a La Niña from an El Niño, and also can't recall old-fashioned New Englanders speaking Spanish when talking about the weather, read on...

Nope, this is not another early snowfall. But what is this fluffy, white stuff on the ground?  

Every other week we run a photo of something unusual found in the woods. Guess what it is and you'll be eligible to win a copy of The Outside Story, a paperback collection of our Outside Story newspaper columns. A prize winner will be drawn at random from all the correct entries. The correct answer, and the winner's name, will appear in next week's column. 

Kyle Jones took this close-up shot of a tree's root wad with a small hole at its center. What do you suppose made this hole? 

 Visit our What In The Woods Is That? contest archive.