Christmas Eve Deer and Robins

Christmas Eve late afternoon, a walk in the Woods, a balm from the traffic and the bustle. From the NW entrance at 4:00 - an odd thing - the water from the NW pond is spreading and inundating more of the low land, despite the lack of rain for this past week. An indication of a recovering water table? Water depth at 2.50 ft. There is a light film of pollen covering all the surface and hay fever has afflicted people this week. Too early to be Juniper. I wonder what it could be? No minnows ruffling the surface, no turtles.
 It was all peaceful (and warm). Through the Woods, there were only flocks of robins.. and three deer - two does and a yearling. I stopped, waved and sang a greeting to the deer. The moderate winds of this week brought down lots of small ends of branches but nothing significant across the trails.
I see fewer vertebrates in the Woods now, since the new station was built, limiting access to wild lands and the river to the south. Long time since I've seen raccoon, coyote, even armadillos in there. Fewer box turtles now. I did flush a barred owl from the big pecan tree above East Pond.
There are freshly-used prominent cliff or slope face burrows easily visible from the East Pond.
The Wash has long pools of standing water, although the Elm Bridge is dry. It will all be flowing again in the winter storm due in two days. Water depth at East Pond is 1.82 ft.
Last of the golden sun setting at 5:15. I watched the late light in the top 6 feet of the Grandfather cottonwood's highest branches. Those highest buds, branches and leaves must be especially valuable.

Warming Winter Woods

Out early Saturday morning to the Woods via the NE Gate. Mid December and the Woods were mid 50's.  I walked in  on the Tree Loop and wondered if trees would begin to break their buds before the winter solstice. The Woods are open now and clear. The last of the canopy leaves are down. Only the evergreen understory shrubs, Ligustrum, Elaeagnus, and Euonymus remain. At the south end of the loop, a cottontail rabbit dashes away east. There is still water in the Wash, not flowing as far as the dry Elm Bridge. At the East Pond the water is 2.85 feet.
  It is a good time to wander and get lost, off trails, and to find new things. On the west side,  the southwest quarter still has pools of standing water in a patchwork covering 40% of the area. These would be perfect for salamanders but there are none. I wonder about the patchwork effect that this could create on soil micro-arthropods, earthworms and other invertebrates either inundated or safe and dry above the standing water. On the west side two big trees are down from wind and rain a week ago. A large oak snag  near the twin persimmons (#63) has fallen - its roots rotted away to too little support. By oak snag #57, an old elm killed by beetles and disease has broken. Both trees smashed down others when they fell.
In the south central Delta the green growth of annual herbs is advancing. Across the northern and western section it is purely Stellaria, chickweed. In the southern section it is a more diverse mixure of Stellaria, Viola violets, Cardamine bittercress, Geranium, Glechoma and young leaves of a borage. with some patches of Allium spring onions and grass scattered here and there. Four healthy, well-fed white-tail, deer grazing there as I arrive, run away uncertainly. The deer diagonal trail across the Tree Loop needs a blow down cleared. The West Loop of the Tree Loop does, too.
  The dense stand of small diameter green ash is knocking branches tree to tree in the wind. A tall willow makes a repeated forsaken screeching as the wind blows a snag leaning against it.