By Scott Shephard

I was "road hunting" on my last morning in the Maryland countryside yesterday. By road hunting I mean that I drive slowly along mostly deserted roads with my camera ready, looking for something worth "shooting." (In South Dakota, road hunting is a name for one method of hunting pheasants.)

As I turned the car around at a cul de sac, I noticed a dead tree that had been colonized by something that had an interesting texture and color. I put the macro lens on my camera, got out of the car and moved in for a closer look. I took many photos but this is the one I'll share.

After doing a little research, I've learned that this is called "turkey tail" fungus - an apt named for an organism that serves to help in the decay of the dead tree it is attached to. It is slowly eating the tree but it is doing it with great style.

Canon 5DIII 1/60s f/3.5 ISO250 100mm

Here's the big picture (and yes, that's our cool silver rental car lurking softly out of focus in the background. But look at the tree, not the car.)