Dry and Full of Light

The Woods today are light and clear. All deciduous leaves are down, leaving Ligustrum privet, and Euonymus evergreens more noticeable. I walked in via the North Gate with no mission in mind other than to observe and enjoy. Cold, high 30's at first; but then rapidly warmed to low 50's. The Vespula wasps were out foraging from their ground nest. I saw a couple green bottle calliphorid flies and a pentatomid bug out wandering around. A cluster of a dozen small flies.. chironomids? were flying low over the SW corner of the West Pond. I've seen this before weeks or months ago.. small flying insects- like chironomids - flying over the same 3-4 square meter area. One or two deer I spotted 3 times in different parts of the Woods.. a rabbit dashing, a few squirrels, someone had plucked and eaten a robin or two near the east end of the East West Trail.. left two piles of feathers by the big pecan snag. I saw the big pileated woodpecker fly from the pecans at the base of the Ravine Trail near the East Pond. The southeast corner had leaves of violets. They looked dry and stressed.