Summer Heat and the Woods

Parked by the SW gate this morning at 9:30. It has been hot and dry (even for this part of the year and this part of the world) and I wanted to see if there was any water remaining in the wash. Just about a month now 28-29 days maybe since we have had any rain. The average high temperature over the month has probably been 96-97. The first four days of this first week of August were 102,103,101 and 100.. and yes! the western wash still has water (near the road).
Entering the SW Gate the cicadas were thrumming loudly. One stridulated and flew as I walked by .. but crashed a few feet away. I picked it up.. likely an adult nearing the end of its life. I wonder if the flooding killed many/ most/ few/ or any cicada nymphs.. buried however deeply they burrow in the soil.
Passing by the dragonfly perch there were four of the Sympetrum sp. there at the regular location southeastern tip of the sedges.
Nearby big green ash to the west 100 feet had shed large numbers of its seeds recently.
Lots of Micrathena webs around in the Woods.. mostly around areas with sun and low green vegetation along stream bank etc.. not that many in the deep woods along the Main SW trail.
East on the trail to the Dam I encountered soil with more clay dried and broken into polygons with cracks providing refugia to soil arthropods and other small organisms.
About 50 m west of dam there was also fresh yellow white sand along the trail looked like it had been washed in during flood, dried and then blown by wind.
Principal green in lower 30 cm of understory were young persimmon plants.
Elm at the dam has 30 cm long slime flux streak on bole and as I observed a nymphalid landed opposite on trunk. Drawn by fermentation?
Up to Tall Stump and east to the Elm Bridge. Wash there was dry except for one small puddle 1/2 square meter.. shallow muddy water. A large, 80-90 cm long olive brown snake crawled quickly out of the puddle as I approached. There were dozens of Gambusia trapped there on which the snake had surely been dining.
I walked along the wash and in places there were large holes dug in the bank like crayfish castles.. one or two. There were lots of tracks in the bottom of the wash, deer, coon etc..
Near the top of the wash immediately upstream of the crossing from the end of the Pipeline Trail over to the Northern Loop there was a large pool with a steady flow of water coming in.. and above that, flowing water all the way to the culvert. pretty amazing. A second olive brown snake maybe 50-70 cm escaped upstream there.
No sight or sound of deer or turtles.
I painted fresh blue paint on older trail blazes and blazed new marks for the Pipeline Trail.
A few large diameter branches broken and fallen across or hanging above trail were puzzling. No real wind for the past 4 weeks but these branches (hackberry, oak and elm) had green leaves and so must have broken recently. Reminded me of the phenomenon of "branch drop" when seemingly healthy green branches would crash down from trees on still nights. Bit mysterious.