50°F. Slight Breeze. Still some ice in protected areas. 
After enjoying way too many Christmas meals, I had to go walk it off. Plus, I had received the wonderful gift of a BlackRapid Sport Slim strap for my camera. I NEEDED to test it out, so off I went.
The ground was wet and muddy in areas, there was a small amount of ice left on some protected areas, but not much. I did not expect to see any fungi since it had been below freezing for over a week, but I was wrong! The ice had been a good source of moisture in this area, and I spotted several fungi I’d never seen before. The color of the first polypore was so vivid it popped right out of its bed of dead branches and leaves! No, I did not adjust the color saturation in Photoshop. This lovely fungus is a Cinnabar Polypore.
There was also a type of Brown Jelly Fungi, I don’t know which one, next to the polypore. It had already started to dry out.
I figured I was off to a great start in this area and looked around for more winter surprises. I didn’t have to go far to find what I think is False Turkey Tail. I failed to get a photo of the underside of this fungi to help further identify it. The two are different colors, but they are the same type of fungi.
After this wooded area I hiked a little over a mile to a mostly Osage Orange forest. About 4′ up on an unidentified tree, there was what I think might be Irpex lacteus, or Milk-White Toothed Polypore.
After the ice melted the creek apparently rose, so when I reached the crossing point of Spring Creek, the sandy bottom had some very interesting patterns made the water’s movement.
Here is a view of the creek from the other side. It is really beautiful! You can see the roots of the large tree on the left that are becoming exposed due to erosion. It is hanging off the embankment, I wonder how long it can keep hold of the earth. You can also see some bird’s nests in the distance, mistletoe at the top, a bunch of hairy poison ivy on the large tree trunk. Notice how still the water is, such a gorgeous tranquil day.
The area north of this tree is almost always a sure thing for finding fungi, so I started looking hard. I didn’t find fungi, but the lichen were going nuts. My finger in the photo below shows exactly how tiny they are. I think this is an golden eye lichen surrounded by several other types. They are so tiny, that all I could think of was getting ahold of a micro lens to get closer. It really is gorgeous stuff and I intend to return with said lens in hand to capture these beauties again.
Not much of note after this point on the way out. It was cool, sunny and gorgeous, so I loved walking off a tiny bit of the food I enjoyed over Christmas.
On the way back, I went a different way and found this grouping right before the creek crossing. I have no idea what it is really, but it was gilled, very firm and rooted in that stump. It had started drying out and splitting.
The remaining 1.5 miles back to the car was quiet and blissful. Camera strap was a hit! Merry Christmas to me!