Frosty morning

We had a frosty morning in southwestern Oregon today. 

Liquid jewels

Like liquid jewels, raindrops cling to a small clover growing in a pasture Roseburg, Ore., on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2013.

Gossamer strands of silk

A very small spider sends out gossamer strands of silk as it attempts to parachute into the wind from its perch on an electric fence along a country road near Roseburg, Ore., on Sunday, Nov. 10, 2013. The behavior called "ballooning" is used by small spiders to fly on the wind. 

Look carefully and you can see the silk behind this lovely little spider. A moment after I took this photo she sailed off with the wind.

This spider looks like it had a misfire and the silk is stuck to the wire.

The small jumping spider was not trying to fly. It seemed to just be enjoying the sunny afternoon on the electric fence.

Magnificent mushrooms

I stalked mushrooms in a pasture near our home in southwestern Oregon this afternoon. Just add a little off-camera light and even mushrooms look cool.

Slimy snail on nbcnews.com

It's my snail photo, via ZUMAPRESS.com, in this week's Animal Tracks gallery on nbcnews.com.

Cow skull in "fairyland"

Moss grows on a cow skull found on a damp forested hillside in the Coast Range mountains rear Elkton, Ore., on Sunday, Nov. 3, 2013.
My family and I call this area the "fairyland". It looks amazing this time of year. I didn't spot on fairies on my hike, but I did see a large buck.