Violets and Morels

Out to the Woods this afternoon through the SW Gate. First visit since the March tornado in Moore, I wanted to see if there was much blow down from the strong winds. I brought my saw. One good sized elm near butterfly corner had fallen north across the trail and another elm SE of the grandfather cottonwood had also fallen north across the trail.
It has been warm and sunny with good soil moisture. In the Woods, purple violets are in bloom along with the Lamium purpureum henbit. Stellaria, grasses and sedge are also growing and greening much of the floor of the Woods. One early leaf-out shrub is the invasive Lonicera mackii Amur honeysuckle. I found stems on the W. Dune trail and by the old populations. Other invasives: two more meter-high stems on SE end of Ravine trail look to both be Ailanthus Tree-of-heaven. I'll wait for leaves to be sure.
The East Pond water depth was 1.32 feet and the west pond was 1.48. The west pond is covered with a heavy scum of greenish pollen. North of the East Pond there was one single morel a pale light mocha colored cap. On the west trail 20 feet north of WT #4 post there were three  more big morels with a bright cinnamon red colored cap. I initially thought 'false morel'.
Mexican plum flowers are almost gone now, Bradford pear leaves are almost fully out, no flowers remain there.
As I was passing by the southern most young pig carcass used in the current forensic study two vultures came to roost in the tall trees to the west. They waited for me to leave. I wondered if they were attracted and comforted by the smell of the carrion.
Leaving the Woods there was a lovely soft spring sunset, reminded me of happy days.

Rolling Thunder Tornadoes

Severe weather been forecast for ten days now to hit this afternoon. At 6 PM I went to the Woods SW Gate. Right on schedule, the storm was coming in. As I walked into the warm, still Woods the rolling, continuous thunder in the north was like a distant battle sweeping my way. It was a tornado on the ground in Moore crossing I-35 at 6:30. In the Woods, animals were preternaturally quiet. Three crows flew away. I watched a stream of ants ascending a dead elm and wondered if they were preparing for their subterranean home to be flooded. Many of the trees in the Woods are right on the cusp of breaking buds, but most have not done so. It is really only the flowering Mexican plums and the elms. Some of the elms are beginning to drop their mature green samara seeds. The cottonwoods buds are all as swollen as they can be, without opening. Oaks, walnuts, pecans, willows, sugar berry, catalpa, green ash, rusty haw, coffee trees, persimmons, chittamwood, soap berries, are all still quiet.. no sign of any bud development.  After a quick half hour loop through to the NE Tree Trail and back, the wind began to rise with rushing cool air flooding south. I paused under a large bur oak snag #47 and looked up to see a turkey in the branches..but only for a moment as the dead branches of an elm snag crashed into the oaks and sent the turkey flying east. I returned to the SW Gate and watched the sky as the storm came in.

Peak of Early Spring

Update on spring: after an inch of gentle mild rain spread over the last ten days, the Woods are coming to life. Across the forest floor, the light halo of green is almost everywhere.. early Lonicera honeysuckle and Rosa multifora leaves unfolding, Stellaria chickweed, Galium bedstraw, Lamium purpureum henbit (first blooms today), early Poa grasses. In the shrub understory, young Ligustrum privet and Acer negundo box elder leaves (first ~ 3%) leaves are unfolding. When the box elder leaves come full flush, the canopy understory will be closed until September. No turtles in the ponds or visible in the Woods but the ponds are looking OK: 1.36' in the East Pond and 1.52' in the Northwest. Both are covered with a light film of pollen. The East (and probably the NW too) has hundreds and thousands of mosquito wrigglers. They both have a few gerrid water striders but are in need of some odonate larvae, tadpoles or Gambusia to hunt down the wrigglers.
  I saw just one white-tail, a larger doe near the south delta. Several old burrows right along the main trails are freshly dug out.. must be armadillos.. or maybe box turtles. No more tracks of hogs - thank goodness.
  Prunus Mexican plum is in full beautiful bloom scattered through the Woods.
Around Norman, the Forsythia, Quince and Bradford Pear are either at their peak bloom or just before it.
Heather's forensic pigs are in full bloat on this sunny warm day.
Sky is powder Carolina blue.

General Verdure and Great-Horned Owl

Out to the Woods via the Tree Loop trail. We've had light cool spring rains, an inch total over the past week. The Mexican plum Prunus mexicana are all blooming scattered through the Woods, like individual points of light. A few of the Bradford pear, Pyrus are also beginning to bloom. One, on the Pipeline trail had a dozen branches of flowers just newly, fully open. Another pear, seventy feet east, had no flowers but many green leaves just beginning to break bud.  Along the Tree Loop, the elms have all had their small red and green flowers open since February. Yesterday the first redbud flower buds were showing their rich deep pink color still largely closed inside the bud.
There is a south-facing slope on the west side of the west wash I enjoy watching in the spring, as the Galium bedstraw, Stellaria chickweed and other annuals first begin to turn the ground from brown to green.. and then as the low shrubs and young trees fill in a wall of green.
The air is redolent with patches of wild green onions north of the main east west trail.
Along the north fence line, the crews have cut and shredded a swath of destruction ten feet or more south from the fence. They've completed that 'mowing' from the NW corner to the top of the slope down to the western wash. Walking along the newly opened space, the air is filled with the smell of cut cedar wood. I am tempted to place my beetle traps out along the fence to see what is flying.
Sad note from five days ago.. coming to the East Pond I saw an unidentifiable brown shape floating by the the big cottonwood. With two sticks I fished out a beautiful great-horned owl. It must have been recently dead as the wings were not stiff. It was a gorgeous animal with magnificent wings, feathers, large round yellow eyes, powerful beak, strong stiff legs and powerful talons. A mystery, why it came to be floating there. I emailed Gary and rang Tamaki and took it to the Museum.

Cutting and Shredding along the Woods N Fence Line

This morning Greg and Fred, OU Arborists and I met Shain and Tommie OEC at NW corner of Woods. OEC began trimming trees along the north fence line. They will prune trees and shred the vegetation up to 10 feet S of the power lines. Heather's class was out, placing new pigs: 12 on the upper terrace and 6 below on the floodplain. The northern edge of the Woods will be transformed this week and will look scalped. I collected my bug traps. I explained the Woods was a sensitive area and asked that the trimming always be conservative where possible. I trust they will honor this; but there will be a significant disturbance of the habitat.
At 4 I walked the NE Tree Loop to enjoy the late winter Woods while still peaceful and untrimmed. 57 F today with piles of snow melting this morning and more snow and sleet due tonight. Spring.