Late January Clear Morning

Met Gary and Ryan at NW Gate and entered via Ponds Trail. The West Pond was up to 2.20 ft and East Pond 2.75 ft after the 1.4 inch rain this week. Amazed and pleased to find the floating net turtle trap from ecology sitting in overgrown sedges. Near the ponds we heard a pair of barred owls in the southern Woods calling each other - at 10 in the morning! Wonder what was going on?
The strong winds before the rain brought down across the trail a couple of mid sized dead tops from hackberry, west and (old) east end of Ravine Trail. I cleared with saw. On the upper Ravine Trail the three clumped Lonicera fragrantissima were all blooming. Found a few fresh leaves of Japanese honeysuckle flushing out. At the West Pond new dead possum on the north side of the trail.