I have a friend who's in the process of trying to buy a woodstove, and like many of us in this down economy, money's an issue. The new stoves that sit gleaming on the showroom floors are beautiful. But three grand for a woodstove is out of the question. She's asked me for advice on what used stove to buy, and like most men, I have plenty of opinions to offer on the subject... 

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There was a time when I considered the mourning dove to be too commonplace and familiar to be worthy of much attention. All of this changed one winter when I began to notice that some birds at my birdfeeder had frostbitten toes and missing toenails. I looked into the matter and learned that mourning doves were originally a southern bird, and they're not well adapted to our harsh winters...

The larvae pictured here may seem a bit out of place on a snowy winter's day.  Who are these guys? We don't have a video for you, but they were reported to be alive and wriggling when found on top of the snow.

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. 

The scat here was found in early November. Whose scat is that? (Hint: take a close look at the white flecks.)    

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