Most mornings, and Boxing Day was no exception, I enjoy a mug of tea in the kitchen window seat where the woods behind our house provide a simple and soothing view. This time of year there’s little color, but the backdrop is varied browns of fallen leaves, and branches coated with moss and lichens. Against those muted Winter tones, the bright white object on the ground at the edge of the woods stood out – not a pale stone or mushroom cap, but something aggressively and purely white. I worried it was a small animal – an owl or coyote’s prey – and thought I should take a look.