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.