Cold Opossum

Four nice walks in the New Year.
I returned from the tropics of Belize and went for a sunset walk on the 13th with temperature diving to 11 F.. near a low for this winter.
I saw and heard no deer, no dogs.
The Woods were very dry. The leaf litter of October/November still unconsolidated, crisp, light chaff. No water in the Wash at the Elm Bridge.

On the 14th with temperature in the low twenties I took a longer afternoon walk on all the trails. Very little blow down or branches to clear. Fewer than ten small branches down on the trail cut by twig girdlers. Previous years there have been scores of these with the distinctive ring incision the cerambycid longhorn beetles make before laying their eggs. Small amount of gossamer across the E-W Fence Line Trail probably from activity on warmer days a week earlier.
Much of the new winter green ground cover forbs like Stellaria chickweed were looking poor, browned up around the edges of the new small leaves from cold and/or drought.

There was a recently dead young opossum at the eastern end of the Ravine trail, perhaps dead from the sub 15 F cold of the past few days, or more likely perhaps, a predator or dog moving through. The pelage was barely mussed with few tufts of hair nearby.

The Western Pond was mostly (85%) open water. The Eastern Pond was 75% frozen over.

There was still a pool of water in the Western Wash between Highway 9 and the Pipeline.
Robins and cardinals in the Woods. No deer, no dogs.

Another late walk on the 16th.. much warmer.. nearly 60F. Late just past sunset I saw one deer navigating south into thick concealing brush on the west end of the sand dune. I heard one owl near the Grandfather cottonwood at twilight.

Then the 21st, a pleasant afternoon walk with new geography faculty member, Kirsten de Beurs. We discussed a possible phenology class and maybe a phenology cam from the south (blower building) recording the Woods. We discussed possibly using 30m satellite data to register when and where Woods have been flooded back to 1980(?) and possibly having Geography students map more precisely the location of Carpenter's steel post 200 foot grid.. perhaps more big trees too.

No deer or dogs. Few birds. No branches down from light (.02 inch) freezing rain & snow on the 20th. Armadillos have been heavily foraging the trails and southern area turning over the upper soil and leaves in winding foraging bouts.