Green Bumelia and Winter Snow Beginning

At 3:30 with a stiff NNW wind bringing the first dry flakes of light snow, I went to the Woods. The SW gate and southern boundary trail I thought would let me find shelter from the wind. Just into the Woods past the three big bur oaks, I was struck by the green leaves of the Sideroxylon chittamwood standing there. They sometimes keep their green well past the other species. Tomorrow this will have a bole and branches with all its green bedecked with white. All along the southern edge of the woods the wind was coursing through the open stand.
I walked out to the large excavation on the southern edge of the woods where two giant excavators had dug a crater 20 feet deep, exposing the large municipal pipe line buried there. The crews had spread gravel more or less along the route of the old grassy road bed from the east and shoved up a new small mountain of dirt at the SE corner of the delta. Smashed a few large willows at the edge of the delta.
I walked north from there into the heart and shelter of the center of the Woods. Cold! 18 F and windy and growing colder each quarter of an hour as the front moves in.
The sensible northern species are ready.. the walnut, elm, oak, hickory, persimmon, locust, sugarberry, cottonwoods, box elder, the red bud, ash, mulberry, even the big pecan, have shed their leaves, protected their growing buds with thick scales and filled the vital meristems with sugary cryo-protectant chemicals. Ready to take the cold, and it is coming. But still green (although not looking happy) are the Ligustrum privet, Elaeagnus autumn olive, and Euonymus vine. The succulent green mistletoe seems perky and unperturbed. Its leaves were not drooping or darkening. The animals in the Woods were preparing too. Two larger herds of deer were foraging on the last bit of green before it turns white. The yearlings may not have seen snow before and I wondered if it was a sight that made them skittish, a little worried, or wanting to stay close with the others. I sang to them and the older larger does stopped and looked at me curiously for a moment before moving off. The chickadees, cardinals and other small passerines were actively flitting about.. also trying to stock up on their last good meal and find the best shelter before the cold night coming.
Snow starting to blow in a little more thickly and I recalled the lines of Robert Frost 

"Whose woods these are I think I know.   

His house is in the village though;   

He will not see me stopping here   

To watch his woods fill up with snow."

North Rim Trail, Early and Late Trees and Leaves

Returned to the Woods' North Rim Trail on this Thanksgiving morning for the first time this year. Cool morning 45F. Saw two groups of three large deer each running away south.  The trail segments are in reasonable shape, if somewhat overgrown from lack of use.. No massive blockage or saw required. The north portion of the Woods is the wilder part, less visited and more homes for animals of the woods. Many burrows in active use. I used my cedar walking stick as a scythe to cut old asters and a short clippers to clear greenbrier.
Most (97%) of canopy leaves are down now. But a curious thing, some individual trees and some branches still hold their leaves. Why? Is there an advantage to holding leaves a bit later? What are the species, apart from Sideroxylon Chittamwood,  that are likely to do this? What are the trees that put out their leaves before everyone else? It continues to be very dry..

Crinkly Woods

Took a walk out to the Woods via the SW Gate last two days. Today late in the afternoon. The newly fallen bur oak leaves by the south gate make a loud, crunching sound.. like walking in a bowl of corn chips. Further east and north where pecan dominate, the fallen leaves are more of a silvery, high pitched sound. The leaves around the big cottonwood make a different dry paper sound.
  The big (fifth largest) cottonwood #39, diameter 122 cm or 4 feet is on its way out. The massive single stem rises 40 feet in a graceful arc to the northeast. A huge old branch, forks off there and rises more vertically to become the top. The highest branches may be 65 feet up. All around the base at ground level are big hard conks of a polypore eating away at the supporting xylem and heartwood of the stem. That huge weight held up high for the many decades of its life will come crashing down on the world below it when the fungus has eaten too much of the support. Looking at the crown, the tree looks healthy; but it is doomed by the fungus at its base.
  Today there were two deer southeast of the Delta. The buck snorted and ran with white tail flag flying. I sang to it and it stopped, partly hidden by trees between us. It watched me as if curious.Yesterday there were five (mostly younger) deer in one group.
  The Delta is a solid green carpet of 2 inch tall annuals, Stellaria chickweed, Glechoma ground ivy, Allium spring onions, Viola violets, some Galium cleavers, some Apiaceious(?) abundant delicate annual with leaves like a Geranium Erigeron but a smell like parsnip, some false dandelions, some grass (Festuca?). The little rain we've had in the past couple of months, a quarter inch a few weeks ago, has started the spring growth and the unnaturally warm days and nights have kept them growing.
  Leaving the Woods at sunset this evening, and looking west through the forest, I was struck by the view, revealing the density, placement and various forms of all the stems of the trees as they separately seek the canopy and bend to escape each other. This is not visible in the summer months. Leaves obscure this view. It is clear at sunset in the dim light when the stems are mostly in silhouette. There is a new perspective here, offering new knowledge of the spacing and the lives of the tree community.

Fall Return to the Woods

Out to the Woods twice this week. Today with Darin and Rebecca to explore leaf litter research possibilities. Lots of leaves down now, maybe 80%. Most canopy leaves still up high on old grandfather cottonwood. A few mosquitoes on tree loop as I replaced/ refreshed tree tags. Pool at Island Crossing is partly refilled. Water pooled in the wash is dark with organics. With the saw, I cleared the slowly sinking arch of the broken elm and vine tangle blocking the NW trail by the big Viburnum. Cleared the fallen elms blocking the west end of the Two Friends Trail. Quarter inch rain a few days ago, left a nice autumnal acid smell in the air, decomposition starting again. Found some salmon pink slime mold recently crawled up on elm log.  Near largest western cottonwood, big leaning pecan has broken at base, crashed down and smashed or scarred several other trees. South 30 m from big cottonwood, leaning old elm has scar bleeding flux that is attractive to two Polistes wasps, a Vespula yellowjacket and several species of flies. No predation going on, although flies are a bit skittish about quick movements of Polistes.
No deer seen but some buck soil scrapes are showing up along tree loop. Gambusia roiling the surface of the NW pond.. shallow and small but still enough to sustain. The Gambusia will have eliminated most invertebrate larvae including odonates. One more substantial tree to clear from trail leading down the hill below the south end of the Tree Loop. Spider webs mostly gone from trails. Woods are busy with abundant robins at 5 PM before the time change this weekend.

End of Summer Skink Onions and Twig Girdler

Back to the Woods for the first time in two months. A warm 85 F day with a dry SW wind. In the Woods it felt like the end of summer and not yet the start of autumn. At the NE Gate there was a rustle of dried post or bur oak leaves down on the trail, but most of the canopy leaves are still up and green (95%). Only the last flowers were still blooming, patches of white Eupatorium boneset. The Woods were dry. The NW pond shoreline was about 10 feet away from the full shore at the end of the stones. The surface of the water was alive with feeding minnows, most likely Gambusia mosquito fish. I saw no dragon or damselflies, probably consumed by the minnows. Along the Wash only the deeper pool by the old ragged steel culvert still had water. The mud around it was full of tracks of racoons.
The pool above Island Crossing had disappeared. In the soft mud that remained, several Vespula yellow jackets were gathering moisture or mud.  Not so common to see them in the Woods.
Leaning on a sugarberry I inadvertently grabbed a stinging hymenoptera of some sort. Good sharp sting to my finger. Like a honey bee, maybe a bit stronger. I did not see it. First sting from hymenoptera this year. Lasted maybe a minute or two sharply.
At the southern end of the Tree Loop there was a pile of scat, probably racoon. Full of rounded seeds of sumac? fox grape seeds? sugarberry? This is a time of plenty of food when residents of the Woods will be feeding and fattening up.
I saw just two white-tailed deer in this mid-day walk. Almost no spider webs across the trail.. and no agelenid funnel weaver spiders. First time the SW corner has not had a big population in autumn in the past few years. Few other insects flying, one Polygonia question mark butterfly, a few mosquitoes by the West Dune trail. On the West Dune trail there were red berries of Cocculus snail seed.
  By the Elm Bridge I was surprised and delighted to see lots of Allium spring onion clumps growing and looking healthy.
The Parthenocissus Virginia Creeper up the biggest NW cottonwood by Carpenter's steel stake had gone a rich wine red color but by the NE gate they were still mostly a mottled green.
I walked almost all the trails except the northern Ravine Trail and some of the SE. There were lots of smaller branches down, including two different bunches of green pecan leaves cut by twig girdlers.
Only one big pecan branch blocking the trail required a saw to clear.
  The Woods are changing seasonally and developing successionally, gradually growing older and changing character with the months and the years.

August Woods Walk and a Chicken

Hot. July 15-Aug 7 are the Woods' hottest three weeks over recent 30 year average. I went to see the mid-late summer Woods at 2:30 via the SW Gate. Immediate relief from the sun under the shade of the big bur oaks. The soft racket of cicadas filled the air.. not deafening; but audible. I walked north and encountered a large white-tailed doe that trotted north inside the fence line.

I  followed her along the Westside Trail. The soil, through the swampy west side near Chautauqua had no standing water. It looked damp.. but no mud and no water outside the sedge-lined swamp. Along the Main SW trail, discrete patches of Carex hystericina sedge were growing where the canopy opened for a patch of light. Southeastward, the Polygonum was growing in a more expansive stand.

By the NW Pond, I disturbed a young Great Blue Heron that flew noisily east in the main pond and then up into a tree, as I passed by. Despite the heat of the past few weeks, the pond was well-filled. Libellulid dragonfly and Coenagrionid damselfly.

On the laden Viburnum, a full crop of fruit were still green.

The East Pond was only half filled.
Despite the heat; there was enough rain in July to keep good water in the ponds; and have fresh Auricularia wood ear fungi growing at the base of trees.

Lots of spider webs all through the Woods, mostly Micrathena gracilis.. but there were other, maybe Linypheiids?

I was surprised to see the wash full and gently flowing at Elm Bridge and at Island Crossing. At Island Crossing there was a school of minnows (Gambusia?).

Not much blooming in the Woods. The Elephantopus is growing up and filling in along the trail but no flowers.

With good soil water, plenty of light and heat, and leaves still in good condition; this may be near the peak of total daily photosynthesis for the Woods. I think the life of the Woods now is going to be even more nocturnal than usual. More foraging by moonlight or starlight.

 Just east of the Big Tree #200 a very large pecan has tilted and fallen.

Walking out of the Woods along the south boundary, I hear a 'clucking' sound like a scolding squirrel.. followed by a cry like an immature crow.. confusing. I did not recognize until I saw a domestic hen running along ahead of me from the trash station heading west. Never seen that in the Woods before!

Bambi and Red-Eared Slider

Sunday morning out at 8 with Amy to review the Tree Loop. Needs some refreshing or replacement of ID tags. Trimmed a little of the Elephantopus, Elephant's foot and other vegetation growing in trail. More trimming needed. Abundant Spined Micrathena, Micrathena gracilis females on their webs across the trail. Carried saw into SE connector trail to clear largish fallen ash, blocking trail. Found a young red-eared slider sitting out on the sand below the Elm Bridge.
Then around to SW entrance. Cleared out giant ragweed, honeysuckle and clematis vines threatening to obscure entrance gate. Carried saw to clear dead elm across main SW trail. Two white-tailed does were accompanying four spotted small bambis. The fawns sprinted away east, splashing across and through the shallow water around 125 m. I sang to the does and they walked warily away but did not seem alarmed. No ticks or mosquitoes.

Mid Summer Muggy Woods and Armadillo

I went this morning to the NW Entrance at 9. It had been two months since I was last in the woods. The Woods were muggy, warm, humid from the 1.5 inch of rain night before last. The trails and the forest floor had the look of being washed of all their leaf litter and organic debris.. earlier heavy 2.5 inch rain two weeks ago may have done this.
The NW pond was quiet.. a few species of Libellulid dragonflies skimming around, but no turtles out basking, none that I saw.
I walked about half of the trails, and found one significant tree down across the trails, a dead ash on the SE Connector trail. One Armadillo scurried and hopped away from me at Barney's corner. A white-tailed deer noisily splashed away from me in the flooded NW corner of the NW pond as I was leaving. Throughout the Woods there were many Micrathena gracilis spiders with their orb webs draped across the trails. This would be a good time to study them. Where they build. Do they return to the same twigs if their web is destroyed? When do they build etc. I saw Hyphantria fall webworm on three species of trees: a few box elder, an elm and a pecan.
Not much flowering. The orange Campsis trumpet vines were in full bloom along the roadside fence south of the NW entrance. Elephantopus elephant's foot plants were abundant along the trails and providing thick cover in some places.. but no blooms, The orange-flowered weed, with sharp achenes(?) and dissected leaves was abundant, but few, or no blooms. I did not see any ticks (yet).
  The SW Trail from Tall Stump to Heather's wired trees was underwater. The Tree Loop was in good shape but needs a swing blade to clear some of it.
  I found the Tree of Heaven Ailanthus saplings in the regular location. The crushed leaves have a nutty, burnt-coffee smell that distinguishes them from the similar pecan sapling leaves that just smell like green foliage. There were more stems of the Botrypus fern near and north of the three big cottonwoods along the Wash.

Updating Tree Loop information a week ago, I found a new species, one winged elm by the two black jack oaks.

Number	Side	Genus	spp.	common	Comments	update 15 May 2016
xx	R	Prunus	mexicanus	plum	dead
2	R	Quercus	macrocarpa x stellata		OK
2.1	R	Juglans	nigra	walnut	30' W of #2
2.2	R	Populus	deltoides	cottonwood	45' W; bottom of slope by culvert
2.3	R	Fraxinus	pennsylvanica	green ash	eliminated in flood
2.4	R	Acer	negundo	box elder	20' S of cottonwood; 2.5  m tall
2.5	R	Acer	negundo	box elder	20' S of cottonwood; 2.5  m tall
2.6	R	Robinia	pseudoacacia	black locust	35' S of cottonwood; cut for power line right of way
2.61	L	Fraxinus	pennsylvanica	green ash
2.62	L	Fraxinus	pennsylvanica	green ash
2.7	R	Robinia	pseudoacacia	black locust	upslope SE of copiced Robinia
2.8	R	Robinia	pseudoacacia	black locust	upslope SE of copiced Robinia
2.9	R	Robinia	pseudoacacia	black locust	upslope further S of copiced Robinia
2.91	R	Acer	negundo	box elder	5' S of #2.9
3	L	Carya	illinoinensis	pecan	DEAD
4	R	Carya	texana	black hickory	OK
4.1	R	Carya	texana	black hickory	OK
5	L	Ulmus	americana	elm	DEAD
5.1	L	Carya	illinoinensis	pecan
6	R	Quercus	palustris	pin oak	OK
6.1	L	Carya	illinoinensis	pecan	OK
6.2	L	Albizia		mimosa	sapling 2 m
xx	L	Pyrus	sp	pear	DEAD fallen
8	L	Carya	illinoinensis	pecan	DEAD
xx	L	Elaeagnus		Russian olive	shrub	DEAD;live privet at base now
10	L	Quercus	palustris	pin oak	OK
11	L	Carya	texana	black hickory	OK
12	L	Gymnocladus	dioicus	KY Coffeetree		10' behind #11
		Trail Jct with West Loop
12.1	L	Carya	illinoinensis	pecan	OK
13	L	Carya	illinoinensis	pecan	DEAD
13.1	R	Carya	texana	black hickory	OK	25' W of trail	West loop
13.2	R	Sideroxylon	lanuginosum	chittamwood	OK, small	25' W of trail	West loop
13.21	L	Fraxinus	pennsylvanica	green ash			West loop
13.3	R	Quercus	macrocarpa	bur oak			West loop
13.4	R	Ulmus	rubra	slippery elm	many stem burls		West loop
13.5	R	Quercus	macrocarpa	bur oak			West loop
13.6	L	Diospyros	virginiana	persimmon			West loop
13.61	R	Diospyros	virginiana	persimmon		2 stems	West loop
13.7	L	Diospyros	virginiana	persimmon		broken top; live basal sprouts	West loop
13.8	R	Diospyros	virginiana	persimmon	big		West loop
13.81	R	Diospyros	virginiana	persimmon		tween big persimmon & walnut	West loop
13.82	L	Diospyros	virginiana	persimmon			West loop
13.9	R	Juglans	nigra	walnut			West loop
13.99	L	Euonymus		vine			West loop
13.91	R	Cornus	drummondii	roughleaf dogwood			Pipeline Trl
13.92	R	Cornus	drummondii	roughleaf dogwood			Pipeline Trl
13.921		Populus	deltoides	cottonwood		tilted	Pipeline Trl
13.922		Populus	deltoides	cottonwood			Pipeline Trl
13.923		Cornus	drummondii	roughleaf dogwood			Pipeline Trl
13.93	R	Pyrus	calleryana	Bradford pear			Pipeline Trl
13.94	R	Pyrus	calleryana	Bradford pear			Pipeline Trl
14		50 m post NE1
14	L	Quercus	stellata	post oak
14.1	R	Ulmus	rubra				broken but healthy
15	R	Carya	illinoinensis	pecan	DEAD
xx 15.1	L	Juglans	nigra	walnut	DEAD
15.2	R	Sideroxylon	lanuginosum	chittamwood		20' W of #15	new fern spp. by tree
16	L	Ulmus	rubra	elm	OK, red/brown interior bark
16.1	R	Celtis	laevigata	hackberry	OK
16.2	R	Sapindus	saponaria	soapberry
16.25	R	Sapindus	saponaria	soapberry	beneath big walnut
16.26	R	Sapindus	saponaria	soapberry	beneath big walnut, along Pipeline trail
16.3	L	Sapindus	saponaria	soapberry	50 CM SAPLING
16.4	R	Elaeagnus	angustifolia	Russian olive	shrub
17	L	Quercus	palustris	pin oak
18	R	Carya	illinoinensis	pecan
18.1	R	Callicarpa	americana	beautyberry shrub
18.2	R	Carya	illinoinensis	pecan
19		100 m post NE2			Cross trail to E side @ 300 m post
19	L	Quercus	marilandica	black jack oak	OK
19.1	L	Ulmus	alata?	winged elm?
20	L	Quercus	marilandica	black jack oak	OK
21	R	Ulmus	americana	elm	OK, gold bark interior
22	R	Carya	illinoinensis	pecan	DEAD	stem resprouts @ 1-2 m die
22.1	R	Carya	illinoinensis	pecan	OK, broken top
22.2	R	Morus		mulberry	OK	N of 2 chittamwood
23	R	Quercus	macrocarpa	bur oak	OK
24	R	Prunus	mexicanus	plum	DEAD
24.1	R	Sideroxylon	lanuginosum	chittamwood	35 ' west of trail at # 28
24.2	R	Sideroxylon	lanuginosum	chittamwood	35 ' west of trail at # 28
25	L	Carya	illinoinensis	pecan	DEAD	#204
26	L	Celtis	laevigata	hackberry	OK
27	L	Morus	alba	mulberry	OK, stem burls like maple
xx 27.1	L	Fraxinus	pennsylvanica	green ash	DEAD
28	R	Prunus	mexicanus	plum	OK
28.1	L	Prunus	mexicanus	plum	OK
29	L	Ulmus	americana	elm	OK
29.1	L	Carya	illinoinensis	pecan	OK
30	L	Ulmus	americana	elm	OK
31	L	Prunus	mexicanus	plum	OK
32	L	Diospyros	virginiana	persimmon	OK
32.1	L	Diospyros	virginiana	persimmon	DEAD
33	L	Ulmus	americana	elm	golden bark
34	L	Diospyros	virginiana	persimmon	DEAD	(dead late 2012)
34		150 m post NE3
35	L	Quercus	palustris	pin oak	OK
35.1	R	Elaeagnus	angustifolia		shrub
35.2	R	Carya	illinoinensis	pecan		no lvs; maybe dead; short sapling
35.3	R	Morus	rubra	mulberry, red	25' W	down slope	bud scales dark on edges, leaves downy, hairy beneath
36	R	Celtis	laevigata	hackberry
36.1	L	Sapindus	saponaria var. drummondii	soapberry	1 m tall sapling; lf buds breaking
37	L	xx Gymnocladus	dioicus	KY coffeetree	DEAD
38	R	Ulmus	rubra	elm	OK
39	R	Juglans	nigra	walnut	DEAD 5/2016
40	L	Gymnocladus	dioicus	KY Coffeetree	OK
41	R	Morus	alba	white mulberry	OK
42	L	Cercis	canadensis	redbud	2-3 tall stump sprouts live, old main bole dead
42.5	R	Viburnum	rufidulum	rusty blackhaw		small 4 m tree; 70' S on trail from Loop & 20' downslope on R of trail
42		200 m post NE4
43	L	Ulmus			DEAD
44	L	Celtis	laevigata	hackberry	OK
44.1	R	Morus	alba	white mulberry	OK
45	R	Prunus	mexicanus	plum	OK
46	L	Ligustrum	spp.	privet	shrub	smashed and cut in ice storm; no top
47	R	Gymnocladus	dioicus	KY Coffeetree	OK
47.1	R	Sapindus	saponaria var. drummondii	soapberry	OK
48	R	Sapindus	saponaria var. drummondii	soapberry	OK
49	L	Prunus	mexicanus	plum	OK	1 m tall
50	L	xx Cercis	canadensis	redbud	DEAD; broken
50.1	R	Sapindus	saponaria var. drummondii	soapberry	OK
51	L	Ulmus	americana	elm	OK
52	R	Juglans	nigra	walnut	OK
53	L	Prunus	mexicanus	plum	OK
54	L	xx Ulmus	rubra	elm	DEAD
55	L	Morus	alba	white mulberry	OK
56	L	Gymnocladus	dioicus	KY Coffeetree	OK	BIG
57	L	Ulmus	americana	elm	dying, no live crown, only a few live branches at base.
58	R	Ulmus	americana	elm
58		250 m post TL3
59	R	Celtis	laevigata	hackberry
60	R	Ulmus	americana	elm	OK
61	R	Juglans	nigra	walnut	DEAD
62	L	Ulmus	americana	elm	OK	longer ways north by bend in trail
63	L	Quercus	macrocarpa	bur oak	OK
64	L	Quercus	macrocarpa	bur oak
65	R	Ulmus	rubra	elm		not healthy
65		300 m post TL2			Cross trail to W side @ 100 m post
66	L	Juglans	nigra	walnut	DEAD	20' W
66.1	L	Sideroxylon	lanuginosum			50' NW of #66 on cross trail
67	R	Cercis	canadensis	redbud
68	R	Acer	negundo	boxelder
69	L	Quercus	macrocarpa	bur oak		bent over
69.1	R	Morus	rubra	mulberry, red
70	L	Elaeagnus	angustifolia	Russian olive	shrub
71	L	Ligustrum	spp.	privet	shrub
72	R	Gymnocladus	dioicus	KY Coffeetree	OK
73	L	Gymnocladus	dioicus	KY Coffeetree	OK
73.1	L	Sapindus	saponaria var. drummondii	soapberry
74	R	xx Ulmus	americana	elm	DEAD
75	R	Cercis	canadensis	redbud	dead-ish; w/ stump sprouts 2'
76	L	Juglans	nigra	walnut	OK
77	L	Celtis	laevigata	hackberry	OK
78	R	Cercis	canadensis	redbud	live top; thin, unhealthy crown
79	R	Quercus	palustris	Pin Oak
80	L	Cercis	canadensis	redbud
81	L	Gymnocladus	dioicus	KY Coffeetree	OK
82	L	Juglans	nigra	walnut	OK
83	L	Cercis	canadensis	redbud
84	L	Gymnocladus	dioicus	KY Coffeetree
85	L	Juglans	nigra	walnut	DEAD
85		350 m post TL1		GOPHER BURROWS
86	R	Cercis	canadensis	redbud	OK
87	L	Celtis	laevigata	hackberry	OK
88	R	Quercus	palustris	Pin Oak	OK
89	L	Carya	texana	black hickory	OK
89.1	L	Carya	illinoinensis	pecan	OK
90	R	Cercis	canadensis	redbud	DEAD
91	R	Juniperus	virginiana	eastern redcedar	OK
		large healthy walnut here if needed
92	L	Celtis	laevigata	hackberry	OK
93	R	Cercis	canadensis	redbud	OK
94	R	Celtis	laevigata	hackberry	OK	cluster of 4-5 stems
95	R	Pyrus		pear	OK	25' NE
96	R	Pyrus	calleryana	Bradford pear	OK	1 m tall, near gate
TOTALS		NUMBERED PLANTS BEING MONITORED
	4	Acer	negundo		boxelder
	1	Albizia			mimosa
	2	Callicarpa	americana		beautyberry (shrub)
	8	Carya	illinoinensis		pecan
	5	Carya	texana		black hickory
	9	Celtis	laevigata/ laevigatum		sugarberry/ hackberry
	8	Cercis	canadensis		redbud
	3	Cornus	drummondii		roughleaf dogwood
	6	Diospyros	virginiana		persimmon
		Elaeagnus	angustifolia		Russian olive (shrub)
	3	Fraxinus	pennsylvanica		green ash
	8	Gymnocladus	dioicus		Kentucky coffee tree
	7	Juglans	nigra		walnut
	1	Juniperus	virginiana		juniper
	2	Ligustrum	spp.		privet (shrub)
	5	Morus	alba		mulberry
	3	Morus	rubra		mulberry
	3	Populus	deltoides		cottonwood
	7	Prunus	mexicanus		plum
	1	Pyrus	sp.		pear
	3	Pyrus	calleryana		Bradford pear
	7	Quercus	macrocarpa		bur oak
	2	Quercus	marilandica		blackjack oak
	6	Quercus	palustris		pin oak
	1	Quercus	stellata		post oak
	4	Robinia	pseudoacacia		black locust
	9	Sapindus	saponaria		soapberry
	5	Sideroxylon	lanuginosa		chittamwood/ bumelia
	11	Ulmus	americana		American elm
	5	Ulmus	rubra		slippery elm
	1	Viburnum	rufidulum		rusty blackhaw
	~140	Live trees May 2016 ~ 29 spp.

Do Cottonwoods Annoy Spiders?

I wonder if orb weaver spiders have a more difficult time when cottonwoods are shedding their seed. The webs catch the cotton and either have to be cleaned up by the spider, or risk being too visible to their intended prey.

Along the Wash, I heard the rattling cry of the kingfisher again. The water churned down by the Elm Bridge from lots of something - tadpoles? I have not heard the leopard frogs in the Woods this spring, I have often heard in previous springs. 

Any hungry dragonflies can find a nice meal down in Oliver’s Woods today. The mosquitoes have returned in force. I entered the Woods by the NW Pond and picked up a cloud of arthropod friends who stayed with me for a half hour and finally convinced me to leave early. Ecologically thinking, the mosquitoes and ticks may be sort of champions and defenders of the Woods. The more of them, the less likely that humans will venture in there, or stay long.

Nice bee mimic robber fly perching on the down snag at the vibe bower. One box turtle was along the trail by the big watch tree southwest off the levee. Several red-eared sliders were basking on the floating logs in the NW pond. Along the E-W Trail more catalpa blossoms have fallen. Not very much in bloom in the Woods now; but the under story box elder and other perennials are growing fast.

Magic Turtles

Headed out to the Woods, the NW Trail, around 10, planning to clear most of the northwest trails of overgrowth. The Lonicera Japanese honeysuckle along the fence line was in full, sweet fragrant bloom. I'll have to watch to see who is pollinating.
I was met as I entered the Woods by a box turtle on the uphill slope 2m above the trail.
Trail sides were all very green with rapidly growing Cornus dogwood, Acer negundo box elder and a few others. At the NW Pond, north stepping stones, all was quiet. Nothing stirring the water. Heavy rain Friday night brought down many of the white and spotted catalpa blossoms. Cotton from the big cottonwood was floating down. The saturated ground looked to be a good germination bed. Perhaps now there will be hundreds of young cottonwoods.
Light honey brown 2-3 cm tall mushrooms are the most common. I cleared away overhanging branches and one box elder pinned across the trail by the fall of a big pecan snag. Water was flowing past Isld Crosssing but it was low enough for crossing.
On the return exit walk I was amazed to see not the one red-eared slider I hoped would be out basking, but seven of the same (or maybe eight), all sizes. One really large next to a smaller teacup size one. Where have these turtles been?
Parasitology student says they caught crayfish in the NW pond last few weeks.
By the north stepping stones to the NW Pond, there was a partial carcass.  Looked like a possum. Jaw bones and teeth were there and tail. Green bottle calliphorid flies, a couple of the big black staphylinid rove beetle Creophilus, several sepsid(?) small flies with semaphore wings were having a picnic. I saw one plump maggot scooting away. Diving beetles and young gerid at the East Pond..but on balance, few insects evident anywhere - no mosquitoes.

Kingfisher and Rattlesnake Fern

Strong storm Friday evening brought heavy 1.1 inch rain to Norman. I packed my swing blade Saturday morning to trim some of the abundant trail side vegetation. Just in from the NE Gate, I was greeted by a box turtle on the trail by tree #14, out enjoying the damp morning. I ended up trimming all the Tree Loop and most of the northeast trails. The grasses, Symphoricarpos deerbrush, understory box elder and Elephantopus elephant's foot were really taking off. I think this was a good strategic time to trim. I hope the timing will keep the trails from becoming too overgrown.
I try to favor (not cut) the low Parthenocissus Virginia creeper. I also try to keep vegetation in place that looks like it may help prevent erosion. Luckily, this is not much of a problem in the Woods.
Clearing along the levee trail south of Island Crossing, I was delighted to spot a new fern species, Botrychium rattlesnake fern. I found this in August 2014, but had never been able to locate it again. There were three sporophytes widely spaced, 10 and 40 feet apart. I have never seen this anywhere else in the Woods. The only other fern I know there is Asplenium ebony spleenwort.
The water was quite high in the Wash.  (Could not cross Isld Crossing. Elm Bridge was OK). Standing by the ferns, I heard and saw a kingfisher zooming up along the Wash with its distinctive rattling call.
I watched a bumblebee foraging on some late Ligustrum privet blooms. Most of this bloom is finished, but there are still little patches of privet's sweet fragrance remaining in the Woods.
The East pond is filled as high as I've seen.. 2.6 ft in depth.
The Woods had a fine smell of wet soil, of humus and rapidly growing plants.

Out this Sunday morning via the NW Pond entrance. There I disturbed (twice) a young great blue heron fishing. It flew a short distance and returned. The red-eared slider was back, basking on the same log.
I brought the saw and worked to clear the trail to the East Pond of the large diameter snag that fell on a mature Viburnum and an elm.
I changed into my water boots and took the saw along the West Trail to clear an elm killed by beetles and Ophiostoma elm disease.
Continuing (splashing) south through ankle deep water,  I walked through the flooded western Woods and thought about the ecology of this becoming an intermittent wetland. Impact on earthworms, ants, spiders, other soil invertebrates, millipeds, annual herbaceous plants, forest stand composition.. all very interesting. Where will refugia for these be? What will they be? Stumps? Windthrow islands of raised soil? The higher sand dunes on the southside? How will recolonization happen, and how quickly? Again, a large population of mosquito larvae wrigglers enlivened the water but I did not see predators gerrids, dytiscids, odonates etc. Interesting opportunistic reproduction, rapid growth and feeding of wrigglers, then potential complete mortality if the shallow floodwater dries before wrigglers reach maturity.

Two Turtle Morning

Beautiful fresh morning for a walk in the Woods. I started from the NW entrance, walking in quietly to see if I could spot any large creatures playing in the enlarged flooded area of sedges and willows.
Just north of the water, right on the trail, I found the first box turtle of the year for the Woods, for me. Carpenter documented box turtles passing the winter burrowed in the deep leaf pack in the ravines just north of the water. With their 100+ year lifespan, this could have been one of the turtles Carpenter recorded.
A few more interesting insects this morning: a couple of jelly-bean-sized small wasps energetically searching margins of new leaves of annual herbs.. looking for caterpillars ? or spiders? or other; a female mosquito landing in vain hope of finding a snack, a few crane flies, one dragonfly (midst of 2 Pecan trail - none others observed).
Most of the spring flowers are bloomed out and gone now. A few Erigeron annuus (?) white and yellow fleabane daisies are newly blooming.
The NW Pond was at 2.55 ft and the East Pond was at 2.22 ft.
The wet soil along the trail looked to have been recently dug up - probably by armadillos, maybe raccoons. The soil smelled richly of humus.
The water along the wash looked to be perturbed by something larg-ish, like a crayfish snake, or turtle, or something else; but I did not see a creature, until on the way out there was a good-sized red-eared slider basking up on a raised log on the south side of the NW Pond. First pond turtle I've seen there in a year or two(?) Interesting life, to be able to just suspend and not move around for months, or longer, if conditions are not the best.
Several of the large old pecan logs are sufficiently decayed now (soft rot, falling apart) that they may be just about right for finding Hercules beetles.
With mild temperature and recent fresh spring rains, this may be the time of greatest, most rapid growth in the Woods. They are exploding with life.

Spring wet Woods

After a week of wet weather with 4 inches of good rain, Thursday was our first good drying day. I went to the NW Gate at 5 to see the Woods. The Woods is rapidly becoming its annual spring jungle.
Smilax greenbrier vines' new tendrils were encroaching on the trails, as were Symphoricarpos, buckbrush and Acer negundo box elder.
I'll need to clear trails with swing blade to keep them open.
Fungi should be growing well with the rain, and I found a patch of Auricularia jew's ear jelly fungus well fleshed out and a few agarics. There should be more in a week.
Multiflora rose was out in full white bloom perfuming the Woods with a sweet smell, here and there. The East Pond and NW Pond were both well-filled. I did not see any aquatic insect predators (odonates etc) there; and did not find any mosquitoes.
One white-tailed deer ran splashing through the shallow water to the south side of the NW Pond and then stood browsing and watching me. I sang and waved to it as it browsed, then I headed back east.
The old pecan log across the East West Trail, has decayed enough now so that it is breaking up. I found a large white scarab grub in the soft rotten wood and thought it might be Dynastes, our Hercules beetle. Not many other insects.
Tapping the Lindgren beetle trap with a long stick, I disturbed a Polistes wasp (nesting, no doubt) and I quickly stepped back 30 feet or so.
I watched one bumble bee as it searched the ground beside me, as though it was looking for its nest.
All looked beautiful and in good shape in the northern Woods.

Fine Spring Afternoon in the Woods

Beautiful spring day today.
I entered the North East Gate and wandered down the track to the western arm of the Tree Loop. The persimmon leaves are just coming out on the young trees there. The Wash at Island Crossing has pools of water above and below, but no flow.
The Woods has closed in with green. The sound of the traffic on Highway 9 is now quieter, muffled by the production of tons of leafy green biomass.

I walked to the North Rim trail and found one surviving Ailanthus Tree of Heaven, and then three more smaller - all in the same location where we four had uprooted all that we could find, a couple of years ago. I flagged all four with yellow, and will follow (and eventually eliminate before it can spread.)
The Woods' trails were in good shape, no standing pools of water remained, except in the far west, along Chautauqua. The East Pond depth had declined to 1.88 ft. Tomorrow, most of the Woods will be flooded. Forecast largest rainstorm of 2016 so far. Maybe 4 inches.
Along the Pipeline at the big cottonwoods, I was happy to see a giant swallowtail Papilio cresphontes.
At Tall Stump, there were three white-tail. Looked like a yearling and two larger does.
Along the East West Trail, I ran into Joe B, OU CompSci student, out to enjoy a walk  in the Woods.
Not too many flowers. I found Sisyrinchium, blue-eyed grass in bloom. Some Lamium purpureum dead nettle, small white flowers of Valerianella corn salad (along the south boundary road) and smaller white flowers of Cryptantha(?) Lots of Cardamine, bitter cress with its exploding seed pods.
One elm down across the trail near the swampy section by Chautauqua and the southern set of stepping stones along the trail, needs clearing.
Leaving the Woods I noticed a black hickory had a ring of young brown dead leaves surrounding each group of new green leaves. Looks like the tree may have broken bud in an early warm spell and then had a freeze cold enough to kill the new leaves. I'll have to look and see if there are other trees like this. I also noticed that several junipers had fairly widespread 'burned' branch tips with the distal centimeter of needles dead. I thought maybe Gymnosporangium cedar apple rust.. but might it have been a late cold snap?

Possum and Slime Mold

At the base of an Ampelopsis fox grape there was an odd patch of red that caught my eye. From a distance, I could not make out what I was seeing. A burnt reddish orange, it looked like it could be a piece of flotsam litter washed into the Woods along the Wash. I was curious and walked over to see what it was. Up close, I saw a large 30 cm long section of the old vine covered in a thick slime mold, the color of milky tomato soup. I could not remember seeing anything quite like that. It fully enclosed the vine. It looked like it had crawled up there overnight.

It was a beautiful spring afternoon Easter Sunday. I went to the Woods via the NW Pond entrance.
The pond and surrounding area were full.. the NW Pond was 2.48 ' in depth. The East Pond was 2.06'.

In the eastern portion of the central Woods I caught sight of a slow-moving possum. It kept a suspicious watch on me and made its way to a box elder tree (#448). I watched it climb 30 feet up to a large cavity - perhaps a broken trunk or branch. The possum eyed me for another minute or two and then slowly disappeared into the cavity.

 In bloom were:
Viola, Cardamine, Galium aparine, Lamium purpureum & amplexicaule and a small white flower superficially like a small Apiaceae.

There were Morels (2) by the E Pond south shore and by the Wash. There are Ailanthus? and Lonicera maackii on the south shore of the East Pond.

Hunting for White Tubular Flowers

Saturday was warm and sunny (mid 70's F) in the Woods. I went on a hunt for Lonicera maackii, Amur honeysuckle. This invasive shrub has quietly launched an invasion of the eastern Woods and has a reputation of producing impenetrable thickets which out compete native vegetation. The Lonicera shrubs are between 3 and 10 feet tall. Early April is the best time to pick them out with their bright array of white, tubular, half-inch to inch long honeysuckle flowers. I cut and treated the stems of a dozen or more stem clusters. I also cut the unique trifoliate orange, and the re-sprouts from the largest Albizia mimosa. I was selective and did not cut any of the common Ligustrum privet or Elaeagnus autumn olive invasive shrubs. Another time maybe.
  Along the west facing slope of the Wash, north of the Elm Bridge, there were quite a few of the larger Lonicera in places that were steep and difficult to access.
  The same slope was the warmest location in the Woods. I saw a goatweed nymphalid butterfly, a couple of checkerspots, a couple of the common orange skippers, a couple of big bumble bees and the first tiger swallowtail of the year. The swallowtails along with monarchs and others are usually abundant on the blooming Elaeagnus.

Down along the Main Southwest trail, the route was not flooded for the first time in weeks. The ground is still soft and wet. There were clouds of mosquitoes resting on the wet soil but when I disturbed them, they only flew a foot or two up and none were biting. I think they may have all been early hatched males waiting for adult females to emerge.

This is the time in the spring when the green island of the slightly-raised sand dune stands out. Like a bathtub ring, everything a cm or two lower is subject to inundation and has little or no herbaceous greenery. This was also evident walking northeast from Heather's physiology plots towards the junction  at Tall Stump. Lots of deer tracks but I did not see deer. A few dog tracks in the soft mud. I'll have to watch for those. One tiny tick.  Frogs leaping into the ponds but I saw no sign of turtles.
The small white borage is blooming (Pl???) and leaves of Polygonum are getting going. Also blooms on Stellaria chickweed, lots of scattered Viola,  and both Lamium's amplexicaulae and purpureum.

Blown by the Wind

I went to the NE Gate before sunset to see what had happened in the Woods. I was surprised. The last 3-4 days we have had almost non-stop strong 20-30 + mph warm and cold winds, as one dry storm system after another tracked across Oklahoma.  I thought the wind would have evaporated the normal flood in the south Woods, and ended the budding population of mosquito wrigglers. But most of the previously flooded areas still have enough shallow pools to sustain mosquito survival and development.
 I found no significant new trees down. I did find a curious patch of Lamium purpureum, purple dead-nettle, flowering 3 m up off the ground, in an old gray snag.
North of the NW pond, the evening downslope wind carried the sweet smell of Elaeagnus autumn olive blooming. Heather has put out four battery powered mosquito traps (two designs) along the northern edge of the NW Pond and a couple floating traps. Interesting to see what she gets.
One large lone deer ran away up the upper terrace.
The north Woods are still filled with the sound of traffic from the highway; but green-up is picking up, with the box elder beginning to flush leaves. In two weeks, the forests' leaves will have filled in and damped the sound of the traffic, so that the heart of the Woods will be much quieter. I listened to chickadees, nuthatches and titmice scolding each other, and watched a large turkey fly heavily up to the canopy of the big bur oak, below the south end of the tree loop. I have heard no owls since I returned. I wonder if they are less active early in the spring, or if they are not in their usual haunts.

Trifoliate Orange New Tree and Aquatic Insects

Yesterday I encountered a new invasive tree in full profuse bloom west of the western wash. Beautiful 5-parted, white blossoms on a spreading crown 3 m tall; impressive sharp long green thorns. Poncirus Trifoliate orange. Never seen one in the Woods before.
I am sure flowers are feeding the native pollinators such as the Bombus bumble bee that was resting nearby. I will cut it later this spring, before it sets fruit. I also need to cut the dozen or more Lonicera maackii amur honeysuckles that are scattered through the Woods.
Interesting that invasive shrubs and vines like these and privet, autumn olive and Euonymus in the Woods all leaf out earlier than the natives, or keep some green all winter. Wonder about the ecology of this. Why natives don't compete for this early growing season. Other invasives in the Woods are similar: Liriope monkey grass, Rosa multiflora, Ailanthus tree-of-heaven, Nandina heavenly bamboo, to a lesser extent.
 Four days ago, I walked in the southern Woods with my water boots to check trails and replenish paint blazes on trees. Half the southern trails were underwater with lots of mosquito wrigglers. Saw a handful of predatory dytiscid diving beetles and there were young gerrid water striders everywhere. I think there may be quite a population of mosquitoes in a week or two. Need more gerrids, dytiscids and odonates on patrol.