wood creatures

With no snow or hoarfrost around here, I was looking for some alternative designs in white for my wintertime photography. It was only after I had this close up of the bark of a white poplar up on the screen that I noticed the white designs looked like fairyland creatures, little ghostly gremlins with eyes, limbs and pointy ears. It took me back to when, as a child, I was prone to seeing fairies, gnomes and goblins pretty much every time I stepped into the woods. Too bad we seem to lose that imaginific power as we grow up ... except maybe through photography! Or is it old age ? :)