Bear's Head Tooth Mushroom

This photo was taken last fall. It's what the bear's head tooth looks like when it's fresh - and un-nibbled. This mushroom is said to be edible and although not choice, is reportedly "very good if cooked slowly." I've got a few standards that I like (chicken mushrooms, puffballs, hen-of-the-woods, various boletes); this one just seems more decorative that plate-worthy to me.

Whitetail Deer - Bed & Breakfast?

As usual, there's a ton of deer sign out in the woods around here, and I've come across many beds.  The snow's been deep for most of the past several weeks, but a lot of the beds have been melted out all the way through to the bare ground.  This makes me wonder if deer re-use the same beds numerous times.

I'm posting a shot of a Bear's Head Tooth mushroom that's on a tree where deer have been yarding up. (You can see some beds under the hemlock on the right.)  A close-up of the mushroom shows that it's been seriously fed upon.  Deer are known to eat mushrooms, and it doesn't look like rodent nibbling, so I'm assuming this is one of the food sources getting them by until spring finally arrives.