NATURE IN WINTER will cover the unique physical stresses winter places on our native flora and fauna and some of the interesting adaptations they have evolved to cope with it. Providing Mother Nature cooperates, participants will learn about some of the properties of "nature's long underwear," or snow, and take a close look at the lives of some of our four-legged fauna by following their tracks. One field trip will combine a hike through one of Mike's favorite forests, the Point Woods, with a visit to the Montauk Seal Haulout site to glimpse this winter visitor. NATURE IN WINTER Fridays February 4, 11, and 18 9 am - noon Course fees are $20 per class; $50 for the course. Class sites for Winter in Nature are: 2/4: Stony Hill. 2/11: The south end of Barcelona Neck near Staudinger's Pond. 2/18: Point Woods. No special equipment is needed other than warm boots. Mike Bottini is the author of the best-selling "Trail Guide to the South Fork" and is a veteran naturalist and former field officer for the Group for the South Fork. He is also an award-winning columnist and a former adjunct professor at Southampton College. For the last few years Mike has led a highly popular series of field naturalist courses."Nature in Winter" is his latest offering. Previous students highly recommend Mike's courses: "You have no idea what you've been missing all around you until Mike explains it," says an amateur birder. "It's like he turned the light on in a dark room." "Mike is really good at communicating his knowledge--and his understanding of how everything's connected to everything else," offers a computer technician. "Mike's course will turn you into a nature nut," observes a local hiker. "I never understood the richness of our environment before." For more information visit MikeBottini.com or call Mike at 631-267-5228.