Green Fall and Snow

Cold winter morning, with NW wind bringing snow by mid morning. I went to the Elm Bridge early, to clear a fallen elm blocking the Southeastern trail. Entering the Woods, the ground is littered with incongruous green. Mostly pecan leaves, but also some elm and mulberry. They've held their green leaves through the first week of November. The strong 20-40 mph winds through Norman all this past week with the outbreak of the polar vortex have brought them down, green. A bit strange. I wonder if these trees dropped their leaves months earlier, when the rains stopped in August & September; then re-flushed new leaves September & October that they've held until now. Maybe check the phenology cameras in the Woods. Most of ash and hackberry are now bare.. silent sticks waiting for winter. The big cottonwoods still have most of their crowns, although the hard freeze this week has turned the green to a more grayish-green.. same for the small bur oaks that held their green leaves until now. Soon the only green above ground level will be juniper, scattered Sideroxylon chittamwood, a rare Ilex holly or two and the abundant Ligustrum privet shrubs. The main growing season for the Woods this year reaches an abrupt end. But on the forest floor, winter violets have new green leaves. Liriope monkey grass and Geum avens are growing now that the shade of the summer canopy is gone.

The deer are moving into the Woods for shelter this morning with the northwestern storm winds blowing (and hunters active). The Woods' deep, south-facing ravines can provide a relatively snug escape from the wind; and there are patches of green Liriope and Elephantopus for food.
Yesterday, I saw 3-4 deer,  including a healthy-looking young buck with antlers, close by a doe. This morning, there were four young deer together in the south central Woods. I stop and sing to the deer and wave my hands. They listen.. and when I then sit down they crane their necks and tilt their heads to better see me and figure out this strange apparition. The bucks are making their 'scrapes', clearing half meter square areas of leaves down to the soil, to let females know they are there, ready to breed.

The ponds and the Wash are empty and the soil is dry.. not desperately so.. but we need several good soaking winter rains to replenish the ground water table.. nothing in the forecast to do that for now. The Woods will be different this evening with an inch of fresh snow.