Went to the Woods this afternoon at 3. It was pleasant almost 60 F. Along the Tree Loop, the flowers of the Ulmus rubra slippery elms were opening and open.. new development this week. Each Elaeagnus autumn olive had new green leaves emerging along the stems. The green understory was growing with Stellaria chickweed and Capsella shepherd's purse.. a few Capsella in bloom. There were also the older winter-green leaves of Geum Avens, Allium wild onions and others. There were 4 white-tail deer SW of the Elm Bridge.
I took a saw and cleared an old fallen Celtis sugarberry snag blocking the W Dune trail. Spring is coming on - marvelous Day. Thirty degrees cooler, clouds and snow tomorrow and Monday.
Saturday, February 21, 2015
Tuesday, February 10, 2015
Twilight to Near Dark in the Woods
Another mild mid late winter day in the Woods. Just before sunset I walked in via the NW Trail past the pond and set out, off-trail through the open Woods. East of the NW Pond the forest floor of leaves of hackberry, willow and elm was sprouting a greenish verdure. Young inch high sprouts of Galium bedstraw, Stellaria chickweed and other green understory herbs were beginning to rise above the dried leaves. Good forage for young cottontails, mice and other small herbivores. I wandered east, deliberately not following the marked paths, to see what new sights I would find. As I walked, I encountered soft subtle currents of air, cooler down drafts and 50 feet farther on, warmer eddies. I wondered if the paths of these currents are set by the topography and vegetation so that in the absence of significant wind, wildlife living in the Woods knows which way the breezes will blow and can navigate familiar routes, following scent trails to food, safety, favorite places or to hunt prey.
By the time I turned back west the twilight was moving on to near dark and I admired the silhouetted forms of the larger trees. The form and size of big deciduous trees are always better appreciated at night and in the winter. The massive pecan with its spreading crown, so different from the lower but massive trunks of the walnut or more tightly gathered crowns of the old elm and sugarberry. The largest green ash with unbranched bole rises straight and tall over branching lower species.
I did not see any white-tailed deer this evening.. but I often do. This is their world. We think of them out and about in the daylight forest, seeing it much as we do. In fact the forest of the white-tailed deer is most often the crepuscular forest of twilight and early evening with colors shifted to reds and golds of sunset or faded altogether into the shadows and forms of the forest near darkness.
I paused to talk with my friend the barred owl. I usually encounter at twilight setting in the branches of one of the largest pecans or some of the smaller old junipers nearby. It calls to the evening and I answer with a four or five note whistle from a small owl. The barred owl I think is curious but has heard this often enough that I think it knows I am not the real thing.
By the time I turned back west the twilight was moving on to near dark and I admired the silhouetted forms of the larger trees. The form and size of big deciduous trees are always better appreciated at night and in the winter. The massive pecan with its spreading crown, so different from the lower but massive trunks of the walnut or more tightly gathered crowns of the old elm and sugarberry. The largest green ash with unbranched bole rises straight and tall over branching lower species.
I did not see any white-tailed deer this evening.. but I often do. This is their world. We think of them out and about in the daylight forest, seeing it much as we do. In fact the forest of the white-tailed deer is most often the crepuscular forest of twilight and early evening with colors shifted to reds and golds of sunset or faded altogether into the shadows and forms of the forest near darkness.
I paused to talk with my friend the barred owl. I usually encounter at twilight setting in the branches of one of the largest pecans or some of the smaller old junipers nearby. It calls to the evening and I answer with a four or five note whistle from a small owl. The barred owl I think is curious but has heard this often enough that I think it knows I am not the real thing.
Sunday, February 8, 2015
Late Mid-Winter Warm Day in the Woods
This morning I finished refreshing blue flags on labelled trees around the Tree Loop. This afternoon I took off to see the Woods on the warmest day of the year. 77 F at 4 o'clock. I took one spray can of paint for the once annual refresh of all the blue blazes in the Woods. I walked 80% of the 2 miles of trails checking everything I could see.
The southern and central Woods were busy with woodpeckers - lots of small groups of two and three, a few different species. Three white-tailed deer moved away SE of the East Pond.
The soil was soft everywhere, enough moisture - though none recent, and warm sun. The Delta and across much of the southern central Woods there is a modestly abundant cover of Capsella Shepherd's Purse, Stellaria Chickweed and other low green annuals. There were tracks everywhere through the Woods. The NW Pond was moderately full and looked to have the first beginning of the layer of Juniper pollen it will have later on. Patches of spring onions several inches high scattered here and there. (Why don't / can't they grow as a larger green sward, I wonder. What limits them?) The West Dune Trail has a tree down across the trail. None of the trees are active yet, although the first silver maple flower buds in Norman began to open last week.
The southern and central Woods were busy with woodpeckers - lots of small groups of two and three, a few different species. Three white-tailed deer moved away SE of the East Pond.
The soil was soft everywhere, enough moisture - though none recent, and warm sun. The Delta and across much of the southern central Woods there is a modestly abundant cover of Capsella Shepherd's Purse, Stellaria Chickweed and other low green annuals. There were tracks everywhere through the Woods. The NW Pond was moderately full and looked to have the first beginning of the layer of Juniper pollen it will have later on. Patches of spring onions several inches high scattered here and there. (Why don't / can't they grow as a larger green sward, I wonder. What limits them?) The West Dune Trail has a tree down across the trail. None of the trees are active yet, although the first silver maple flower buds in Norman began to open last week.
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