Cold Wet New Things in the Woods

You see the most unusual things in the Woods when you go at the most unusual times.
Friday afternoon as all of Norman huddled beside heaters or cups of hot tea, with a steady drizzle of almost freezing rain outside, I put on knee boots and my best winter raincoat and went to the Southwest Gate of the Woods. The first thing I noticed was how open or bare the Woods suddenly seemed. The rain of the past few days brought down almost all the autumn leaves, leaving the Woods looking suddenly wintry. The next thing I noticed was how rich the colors were everywhere. The rain saturated everything and brought colors to their fullest. The big brown Auricularia jelly fungus growing on the dead elm and the two white agaric mushrooms (Coprinus?) growing at the base of the tree. Flood water from campus had backed up just short of the fifty meter post. The ground all through the SW third of the Woods will be getting a good deep long drink, saturated all the way down to the ground water table.
I walked north and east into the heart of the Woods away from the sound of the traffic on Chautauqua, taking care not to overtop my boots in some hidden depression.
The maze of leaves floating in the shallow water, rounded clubs of bur oak, light on the underside, richer red-brown on the top, the brighter yellow-green mottling of elm leaves.
Some things that are normally hidden in the Woods were revealed. Passing by the second largest cottonwood, as I have a hundred times before, I was surprised to find a four meter tall Euonymus americanus(?) hearts a busting bush in the shade of the dominant, second-largest cottonwood. Its leaves were still a bright green.  It is the only one I have seen in the Woods, although its cousin, the Euonymus vine is a moderately common evergreen in the winter there. North to the East Pond, I caught the pond smell, not the same as the watery acres I had just walked through. This was a familiar smell of permanent or older water.. perhaps with fish..or some other forms of animal life.
On the north side of the Pond there were the bright red leaves of a black oak. It had been crushed two(?) years ago in a significant blow down; but it looked like it had come back, and was going to do well.  I haven't seen red that rich and bright in the leaves of any other oak in the Woods.
East along the Northern Loop to Island crossing. The water there was flowing at a good volume, not quite covering the island. Southward along the levee the Chasmanthium fish-on-a-line grass was a bright yellow. At the small cluster of big cottonwoods, I disturbed the owl that perches on the east side of the Wash. It hooted and flew west a hundred feet to a new perch. I had not noticed before, that one of the three large cottonwoods had broken where the flow comes in from the smaller eastern culvert.  At Tall Stump, and here and there through the Woods, the prettiest fall colors were on the Viburnum shrub trees with their orange brown leaves. Each Viburnum stood out like a surprising flame in the distance. The Northwest Pond was brim full and filling areas west and south, flowing into the cattails. The distinct  almost fishy, smell of older water was there again.
After completing my looping wander through the Woods I packed up and headed out and stopped to say hello to Kim B leaving the NW Gate with her Dad and three colleagues after collecting insects in the rain from the forensic site.

What do Robins Hear

Pleasant end of the afternoon. I went to the North Central Gate at 3:30. (One tree down across the trail south needs a saw.) From the herpetology array I went west. This section could still use some additional clearing of Verbesina frostweed and Symphoricarpos deerbush from summer's growth.
In the center of the Woods there were a couple of white-tailed deer, a doe and yearling. I waved to them and sang. They stared for a while, frozen in place, and then nervously twitched their tails and began to feed again.. partly ready to dismiss me as the harmless local nut.
There are small patches of green Stellaria and Glechoma (?) Gill over the.. in the Woods west of the trail south of the East Pond. The patches are discreet, the size of a bathtub or maybe 2-3 times that. Interesting to return with new spring canopy and see if extra light (beneath dead trees?) explained the location of these spots of green.. or water .. or?
   I took the trail along the west side of the Wash and stopped to watch the robins. There were only 30-40 in sight at any one time but the air was filled with the calls of a hundred or more.
I wonder what they hear. Is it all noise to them.. or do they pick out particular messages from particular individuals? I sat and listened for a quarter of an hour. Then abruptly (in < 2 seconds) 90% of the calls stopped. I looked up to the sky and saw a short burly owl taking flight from the wash, heading west across the Woods accompanied by a troupe of crows.  Another minute gone by and all was returning back to normal.
  I was sitting across the Wash from the oldest and largest Albizia mimosa, I had cut a year or more ago and started thinking about invasive plants. The mimosa stump now has a cluster of two-meter high stump sprouts.. wilting after the cold freeze Saturday night. Down in the Wash walking north to the Bur Oak bridge, I was struck by the still green and fresh curtain of Clematis virgin's bower growing there up into the sub-canopy branches. On the sides of the Wash north there are many stems of Lonicera maacki asian amur bush honeysuckle. I need to cut them and watch to see if they resprout.
Returning up the hill along the Northen Rim trail I spotted the two Ailanthus Tree-of-Heaven meter high saplings that remain, after we pulled up 30+ in the same area. I am inclined to leave them and watch their development.

Turkey and Thanksgiving Mulberry Green

Early winter arrived last night and today with 40 mph winds and the jet stream cutting south over Oklahoma. Almost freezing last night and a 'hard' freeze tonight, 26F, or so. At 3 pm I walked in through the SW Gate to see what had happened to the Woods with all the shaking and rattling of 12 hours of brisk wind. A hundred yards in, along the South Boundary Trail, I encountered a lone female turkey walking north on the same trail I was on. She was lame, or not happy, using one of her legs/ feet. She ran ahead of me twice, a short ways, although I was not trying to approach her, then she flew to a perch in some heavy low branches of the oak of the Two Friends.
The strong winds of the past twelve hours have brought down almost all of the leaves.. including many still-green mulberry leaves along the SE Trail. Interesting that some trees hold their green leaves much longer.. wonder if this is true mainly for invasive species? In patches where elms were dying the trunks still carried scores of late green leaves.
On the Tree Loop, the Juniper cedar #91 had a bare patch of stem where a buck had rubbed antlers.
The berries of Ligustrum privet are ripe with a glaucous black. The Symphoricarpos buck brush berries are ripe. The Elaeagnus leaves are green, but I saw no berries there.
Also along the tree loop, 50 feet east of cedar #91 a big (>60 cm DBH) old open-grown elm (?) with large, low branches had tipped over and captured & crushed a cedar and some other trees beneath it. I went to examine the base of the fallen tree. The roots had all been eaten up..j ust weakening rot had held the tree up. No sign of scolytid beetle galleries under the bark.. only cerambycids and other wood borers.
Crowds of robins were gathered along the stream and around the East pond. I think they know there is a cold night in store.
The south side of the forest, still has good growth of green Stellaria chickweed and other inch high annuals.
The recent rains had supplied water across the bed at Island Crossing; but not flowing at Elm Bridge.
Lots of medium size branches down along the trails. Interesting sample of lichens from above.. covering the fallen branches. 
I did not see any deer.

Wet Evening in the Woods

Sunday evening a light rain began to fall as the light began to fade. Perfect time to go see the Woods at twilight. At 6 I entered the SW gate and walked the Main SW trail into the heart of the woods. As a hundred thousand Norman citizens hurried home to escape the light intermittent rain and consult the internet, I put on my favorite gray raincoat and went to see what the Woods' inhabitants were doing. Cool mid 50's and mid November but a few crickets were still singing. At Island Crossing the water was slowly beginning to flow with the runoff from the light rain so far. I saw no deer and wondered where they would take shelter on such a gently cool wet evening. On the trail at Tall Stump, there was a hawk's tail feather. Reminded me of watching two days earlier a red tailed or red shouldered hawk flying in circles fairly low over the forest continually harassed by a reckless gang of five daredevil crows. They did not hesitate to dive bomb and harass the hawk, all the while shouting their raucous calls.
The hawk did not seem happy, nor did it seem to be terribly disturbed. It was taking its time.. not fleeing precipitously.
I stopped and looked at the old Grandfather cottonwood. Its leaves are now 80% gone, and the Woods' leaves are 75-80% down. The Woods are opening up again. As darkness came on I enjoyed getting 'lost' or having to retrace my steps to find the right trail in the near dark. The few fresh blazes help when the light is almost gone.
I should walk every day and watch the life of the Woods for my own life.

Fish in the Forest

11/14/2015
Out to the Woods this morning from the construction behind the Dog Pound. I checked and cleared the SE Trail and S. Central trail with swing blade and loppers and renewed the blue blazes. The south Service road is blocked by construction. The dried, old red stems of Polygonum were thick and high, mixed with five foot tall dead stems of ragweed. Clearing the southern end of the two trails at the Service Rd. was a job with the tall dead vegetation. And it was more challenging to clear the growth further west at the southern end of the N-S Trail, beside Heather's solar cell.
Beautiful cool fall day.. overcast with rain coming in a day or so. About 70% of the leaves are down. Along the E-W Trail there was a doe and two yearlings. There will be more seeking safety in the Woods as hunting season begins. The southern center of the Woods east of the N-S trail is green with new inch high growth of Stellaria chickweed and other herbs.

It has likely been a good summer for growth. Heavy, record rains/ floods May and June but then a long 'flash drought' lasting for the rest of the summer. Trees had good soil moisture in the important early summer growing season.. then they just had to survive the drought.
I started clearing the Ravine Trail from the west but was only half done when a bolt on the swing blade flew off. I set it aside and did some minimal clearing back up the slope to the western herp trap, now old and de-activated.
Passing by the NW pond, I saw the water at the NE corner roiled with something in the water. After a few minutes I could see the small fish, gathered where the sunlight was warmest. Gambusia, most likely.. probably placed there by mosquito control folks. There was also a small young garter snake by the water's edge, sunning and perhaps looking for a meal. First snake I've seen in the Woods in years.  I wonder if the fish will bring back the turtles.

Gone to the River

16 May 2015 Gone to the River for the summer. The ticks of Oliver's Woods are a little too amazing. The Woods can rest from my daily walks. The roots of the Elephantopus and the roots of trailside grasses can grow fully into the soil and hold it in place. Trees can fall and I won't be there to clear the trail until September. The Woods can be alone and be itself.

Possum Drinking and Purple Beauty Berries

Returned to the Woods this afternoon at 3:15, the NE Gate and Tree Loop. I brought my clippers and walked the east side of the Loop. It needed some clearing.. and still needs more. It has been months since I regularly walked there; but the trail is OK. I walked down the steep section to the creek and was surprised to see an opossum by the water just ten feet in front of me. It barely looked up at me but went on drinking. I decided to stand and watch this wild animal. It was not well. Breathing looked labored and movements were slow. I wondered about rabies or some other distemper that leave animals with thirst. For all of its difficulty, it was still wonderful to watch this animal that lived its life in the Woods and knew winter spring summer and fall; nights and days.. good fat times and lean times there.
After the rains this past ten days, the Woods were rich with fungi and dark wet colors. Winter greens included Euonymus hearts bustin', Lonicera honeysuckle, Ligustrum privet, Geum avens, Juniperus, Elaeagnus autumn olive, Smilax greenbriar, Liriope  monkey grass, milkweed vine, new grasses, No new flowers but lots of late Verbesina frostweed and Elephantopus elephant's foot gone to seed.
And on my way out, the best brightest fall colors were the big bright yellow rounded leaves of Callicarpa beauty berry with perfect full clusters of lustrous light purple berries.