Now winter time is a distinctly dangerous time to be a stick. Especially if you are out in the forest minding your own business and encountering people and animals that can find all sorts of uses for you. You can get covered in dogs saliva, or chucked into the river to play a game devised by that yellow bear that liked the honey. You can be set fire to, used as a weave for a bird's nest or even swept out to sea.…