Greening of the Woods

Today and yesterday both broke 80 F. I've been spending as much time as I can several hours a week in the Woods watching spring bursting out. Today flowers on the mexican plum were blooming on several trees along the trail between the two ponds. I discovered a pair of Canada geese on the West Pond looking like they were thinking about a nesting site.. and on the East pond there was a night heron standing still in the SE corner. There was a decomposing possum along the trail near the big pecan there tree # 122 busy with blowflies laying their eggs. I re-discovered a small 50 cm tall holly 25' west of tree #131 and nine or ten stems of a thorny unknown (Gleditsia locust?) by tree # 138.
Around Norman, quince and forsythia are fully blooming. In the Woods along the Tree Loop, every elm appears to be blooming. In town, the Bradford pear just 'popped' into full bloom these two days. At home, the big oak out front lost its last leaves and started to open up new green catkins and leaves together. The big deep ravines in the north Woods are now green from side to side with spring Stelleria, chickweed and others. The water in the wash has fallen to 5"  at the post.