Spinulosity
Most of the ferns have gone to ground, but a few of them are evergreen and make every walk in the woods an identification challenge. This one I found lying down on the job on a moss-covered rock, and though it had rolled its leaflets, probably in anticipation of fierce cold—this so-called thermonastic movement is actually a winter survival strategy—it was not yet ready to give up the botanical ghost. It is, based on the thrice-cut leaves and the close-to-the-leaflet midvein arrangement of the spore-bearing fruitdots, a Spinulose Woodfern, but I'm not sure which variety it might be. No matter: it's enough—for me, at least—to be able to place it in the Dryopteris spinulosa clan and work on the taxonomic subtleties later. It's a good project for a long winter's night.