South Boundary Cut

Walk in the Woods from the SW Gate on Chautauqua, just above the old trash station. There has been some recent (this week?) power line right-of-way clearing of a 30 foot wide swath, 400 m long, all the way to the culvert where the water drains south from the Woods. This was a thick border of 10 foot high small diameter willow, cottonwoods and green ash with tall Johnson grass and sedge beneath. It was rich, often wet, edge habitat for chickadees, juncos and other passerines. The crews used a D299 rubber tracked Cat with a powerful shredder on the front, and chewed everything down into a flattened fibrous strip between the N and S fence lines. The cleared strip is festooned with a thousand plastic bags newly exposed. I was walking there at sunset and the birds were quite active. I watched a (probably wild) black cat cross under the fence and go north into the Woods. The open SW Woods are now the edge.. no thick brushy habitat providing shelter or a buffer.. just open woods.. or in some sections there is a low hedge of Japanese honeysuckle along the old fence line. I walked the shredded area back and forth a couple of times, intrigued to get a first look at the Woods edge from a new angle; but sad to lose that good habitat.

Saturday morning the East Pond was looking suddenly reddish and turbid, as if some animal like a turtle or a crayfish population had moved in and was going around stirring the bottom sediment. The water is 0.44 foot deep. 

Along several trails, including the southern end of the N-S trail, foraging animals have been noticeable 'bulldozing' their way around through the fallen leaves. Leaving behind a funny pattern of their foraging.. maybe a turtle, or skunk or armadillo or raccoon.

Recently, I have been seeing a group of 3-5 white-tailed deer in the western Woods, in the thick stands of green ash.

This past week I made a tentative new Y trail extending from the big tree grove and East Pond at the NE end and the northern, leaning big poplar at the NW end, past the fallen giant cottonwood to the reclining elm and south to the fumaroles on the SW Trail. The trail(s) go through the thickest of the small diameter ash stands and, on the west, skirt the sedge wetland. We'll see if the trail makes sense enough to keep as is and keep clear.. or if it should be altered.

Spring Rains in January

Last two days the Woods have had a marvelous, much-needed three quarters inch rain - slow and gentle. Fall rains did not come; and the Woods have been unusually dry. I went to the NW Ponds entrance at 4 PM. The NW Pond was up to 0.46' and East Pond was 0.47'. They will both rise over the next two weeks as the water gradually percolates down and raises the water table. The water in the Wash was 31" depth at the post.

There was no water by the beaver dam; but water was rippling as it flowed into the southern delta.

The Woods were quiet,  only one white-tailed deer. The doe ran quickly in front of me descending the steep slope by the NW entrance, as I was leaving.  Fifty feet away it stopped and looked back at me. I stopped and waved. I wonder if some of the deer know me. I think they do. At 5:15, I heard the first barred owl in the SE corner of the Woods begin to call. It was answered by a barred owl in the SW corner.. all along with the barking of neighborhood dogs in the subdivision west of the Woods.

The Woods in mid or late winter are at their most open. The coral berry has lost all its leaves.. only the privet, Russian olive and evergreen junipers produce much greenery over ankle high. It makes the place feel small and the noise of the traffic penetrates farther in through the trees. It is the best time to wander off trail through areas normally too thick to enter. A good time to find new things.

After the light long rains, 20 minutes before sunset, the Woods were filled with a rich light from the low sun when it found a band of clear sky above the western horizon. The rich browns of the fallen leaves set off the wet mottled greens of lichens on the broken branches fallen from the canopy.

With warmth in the mid 50 F range, better soil moisture and earlier lows last month in the low teens, the trees will now begin to swell their buds. We'll have an earlier spring this year.. maybe a few days advanced over last year.

The Largest Tree

Nice day to  be out in the Woods... high 40's and clear sun. I started adding some more large trees to the database working westward along the SW trail from near the Grandfather tree. The largest tree diameter I have measured in the Woods 136.5 cm DBH is the Grandfather tree. It is hollowed out in the center but has a good top. It is in a good location with enough water but some elevation so it has survived the extended floods. It holds its leaves later in the year than surrounding trees. Grand old tree.

I added 23 trees.. all but two were green ash. Interesting that is so dominant over this stretch.. no large hackberries, pecan, oaks, coffee tree, walnut, boxelder, sycamore etc. The large elms in this section have been succumbing to beetles and dutch elm disease for a year or two.

I checked the Vespula yellowjacket nest again at 4. There were no wasps flying; but the ten wasps I counted outside the nest on the leaf litter within 2-3 inches of the entrance, were slowly moving their antennae or legs.

No deer (or other quadrupeds) encountered this afternoon. The water level in the Wash had fallen to 3 inches at the post.

Cold New Year's Day

Out to see the Woods  on this cold cold New Year's Day. At 11 am I started from the NW entry. Gray skies and 29F with 5 mph N wind. The forest soil and leaf litter were wet with the melting snow of the past week. Colors of leaves on the forest floor were rich and vivid.

What is alive and green.. and how does it live through the winter?
The invasives: Ligustrum privet, Lonicera honeysuckle, Liriope monkeygrass, Eleagnus Russian olive, Euonymus burning-bush, Hedera English ivy
Some natives: Cyperus hystericina sedge, Juniperus juniper, Smilax (some), Phoradendron mistletoe
and some herbaceous: Galium bedstraw, Stellaria chickweed, Cardamine mustard, Glechoma hederacea  gill-over-the-ground, Allium spring onions, Geum avens (not much), Viola violets
Plus the stems of deciduous Acer negundo boxelder, Smilax catbriar and greenbrier.

What food is available? Ligustrum privet black berries, Lonicera honeysuckle black berries, Rosa multiflora hips, Symphoricarpos coralberry, Celtis hackberries, Juniperus berries, bur oak acorns, pecans, Maclura osage oranges. Someone took two osage oranges up on to a down tree to eat.

The NW pond @ 0.40 feet,  60% surface covered, 10% ice covered.  The East Pond 0.32 depth, 70% ice cover. Western wash 22.5 inches on post.. flowing past Elm Bridge.

Pileated woodpecker in trees E. of E. Pond. Scores of robins dipping drinks from E. Pond. How do they live through winter? Chickadee. Cardinal, Red-shouldered hawk.

Large active burrows.. by the NW entrance 5-10 m upslope from fallen saw cut pecan;   by cottonwood #164 beneath fallen coffee tree.

Three clusters of Ligustrum privet with leaves turning yellow by camera tree. Stems with low old wounds/ scars from feeding of deer?

Heard dog bark by dead deer on W. Dune Trail. Dog had dragged carcass 30 feet north and eaten out back half, legs, abdomen, leaving exposed bloody ribcage neck and head.

Amazed at Vespula yellowjacket nest. Found 9-10 wasps outside entrance curled up on dead leaves. I picked up three and was astonished to see them begin to move.. after our week of snow and cold.

In zone of fallen pecans from ice storm winter 2000-2001,  rodent poop and honey colored Armillaria? group in cavity in big pecan trunk. Also lots of Auricularia Jew's ear or jelly ear.

One tree full of cool stem burls W of ivy trees.

Green mosses growing on down rotting cedar.. but not on down pecan log next to it.

After two hours, fingers chilled, headed out, headed home. Great  day, great way to begin the year.