Early Sunday morning I went to the NE Gate of the Woods and hiked in to the big blowdown by the Wash. I cleared away tangled broken branches of elm, oak, hackberry and pecan to get to the double trunked big pecan resting across the trail. This was a mature tree with a 15 inch and 20 inch diameter trunks at 30 feet up the bole and a full crown of green leaves 30 feet further along the bole. It had blown down two years ago but maintained enough root contact to keep a green crown growing. It was suspended five feet above the trail so I had left it and just ducked under each time I passed by. Now it had fallen further to block the trail and I reluctantly decided to cut a section to restore the trail route.
The saw was reasonably sharp but it was still dicey cutting once, twice, three times, trying to get through and not knowing how the heavy tree would turn, jump, spring etc.
The weight of a full tree like this is just enormous. I paused and thought how remarkable that all the large trees around me routinely support tons of weight.. sometimes tilted, or extending away from the main trunk as large heavy branches.
As I was leaving, I noticed a large tall Albizzia mimosa, probably the parent tree of the two I had cut earlier this summer along the Creekside Trail. It was in flower and had new hanging seed pods. I cut it and will watch to see that it does not survive. Beautiful invasive tree.
Sunday, July 28, 2013
Saturday, July 27, 2013
Washed Woods
Beautiful damp Saturday morning. Twenty four hours ago, Norman was in a flash flood 4 inch downpour.. in addition to the 4 plus inches of rain that fell ten days previous, unusual for July.. but great to keep the trees and greenery thriving. At 8 AM I entered the SW Gate. There was quite a pile of woody debris, bark and twigs washed up there, blocking the gate. The water had drained just to the first 50 m post north. The Woods north, west and east of there was flooded ankle deep. I took the Big Log trail and found a box turtle just past the Big Log. It had found a small golf ball-sized depression and looked like it was having a drink.
There are some large trees down and blocking trails: north side of W Dune trail (old cedar and greenbrier), creekside lower end of NE Trail at big blowdown, and old pear tree at NE Gate entrance. There will be a good bit of trail clean up needed from various trees or branches down and flotsam debris.
I saw two rabbits flitting through the brush and one spotted fawn north of the W Dune trail north end. A few mosquitoes buzzed me but just a handful. I heard a flicker calling, saw robins in the lower Woods and watched a flock of seven geese fly over the W. Pond. The animals of the Woods are probably still recovering from the pummeling rains. I saw a dozen or so pale thin earthworms drowned in pools of light tea-colored water along the SW trail. I still don't know if they are native or introduced species. Along many of the trails the big orange Araneus had spun large webs, perfect in the morning light. Three or four small (Gambusia?) fish were swimming in the pool above Elm Bridge. In several places, polypores have produced large white hard conks on fallen logs and I saw two or three big batches of Auricularia jelly fungi full fleshed after the rain.
All through the lower Woods, much of the ground has been washed bare, stripped of leaf litter. The trails served as channels where grasses are bent in the direction of the flow. Even the Northern Loop trail was washed.. from the volume and rate of the precipitation, not flooding from the Wash. The East Pond was 3.3 feet and turbid muddy brown. The West Pond was 2.62 feet. I searched for snapping turtles sunning on a log but did not see any. No odonates flying. The post in the Wash washed away. I recovered only the depth gauge. At Island Crossing, I was impressed to see the water depth had overtopped the 2 m tall steel pipe that marks the trail. The water was flowing rapidly out at the Beaver Dam, but without significant wind, much of inundated area will remain flooded for a few weeks, even with warm early August high temperatures.
There are some large trees down and blocking trails: north side of W Dune trail (old cedar and greenbrier), creekside lower end of NE Trail at big blowdown, and old pear tree at NE Gate entrance. There will be a good bit of trail clean up needed from various trees or branches down and flotsam debris.
I saw two rabbits flitting through the brush and one spotted fawn north of the W Dune trail north end. A few mosquitoes buzzed me but just a handful. I heard a flicker calling, saw robins in the lower Woods and watched a flock of seven geese fly over the W. Pond. The animals of the Woods are probably still recovering from the pummeling rains. I saw a dozen or so pale thin earthworms drowned in pools of light tea-colored water along the SW trail. I still don't know if they are native or introduced species. Along many of the trails the big orange Araneus had spun large webs, perfect in the morning light. Three or four small (Gambusia?) fish were swimming in the pool above Elm Bridge. In several places, polypores have produced large white hard conks on fallen logs and I saw two or three big batches of Auricularia jelly fungi full fleshed after the rain.
All through the lower Woods, much of the ground has been washed bare, stripped of leaf litter. The trails served as channels where grasses are bent in the direction of the flow. Even the Northern Loop trail was washed.. from the volume and rate of the precipitation, not flooding from the Wash. The East Pond was 3.3 feet and turbid muddy brown. The West Pond was 2.62 feet. I searched for snapping turtles sunning on a log but did not see any. No odonates flying. The post in the Wash washed away. I recovered only the depth gauge. At Island Crossing, I was impressed to see the water depth had overtopped the 2 m tall steel pipe that marks the trail. The water was flowing rapidly out at the Beaver Dam, but without significant wind, much of inundated area will remain flooded for a few weeks, even with warm early August high temperatures.
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