Walking through the Woods with my eyes up watching the crowns of
the trees, I love seeing the beautiful spring green of the expanding
leaves. Over the weekend, I noticed that the pecan and walnut trees were some of the last to flush their leaves. Box elders, elms, bur oaks, viburnums, cottonwoods, plums, mulberry, red bud were all in the early bunch. Sugarberries, green ash, were later. Pecan and Walnut were two of the latest. I still haven't seen any leaves on the exotic invasive Mimosa. I wonder why pecan and walnut are often late. Do they invest in less freeze tolerant tissues, like maybe compound leaves?
Near the East Pond by the large pecan at the bend in the trail, the first yellow tiger swallowtail flitted by me, floating in the under story. Earlier I've seen several/ many of the goatweed leafwing (one of our two common earliest butterflies), many red admirals on the Elaeagnus autumn olive, some painted ladies, a few viceroys (looking rather worn).
Last couple of days ran into Jenna, Sonia, Ellen at the NW corner, looking for edibles.
Spring time need to find and cut new threatening exotics like amur honeysuckle, Ailanthus tree of heaven, Nandina heavenly bamboo, and Celastrus oriental bittersweet vines. Yesterday went to reduce the patch of bittersweet. Going to be a long task. Small area less than 50 feet x 50 feet there are hundreds of spring sprouts with new leaves. Each must be carefully sorted out, cut and treated. I gave up after >50 as day was closing. I think I may need to use strategy of waiting for larger bittersweet vines to climb up over a meter tall, then cut and treat those, hoping to eliminate the entire plant. Cutting scores of 2-4 inch tall sprigs, each 2 mm in diameter and partially hidden in fallen leaves or under native vegetation, requires long periods of kneeling or sitting. With ticks starting to move in the Woods, that may not be a great idea.
Tuesday, April 16, 2019
Sunday, April 14, 2019
Aquatic Woods, day after big rain
Saturday it rained from mid morning to late night. 2.5 inches.
Today, Sunday, I went to see the Woods. Glorious. Clear skies, fresh sunlight playing in the upper branches of all the trees with their new leaves flushing.
I entered the SW Gate with my rubber boots, and walked up to see the water. It now extends to the first big cut bur oak logs.
I walked the southern boundary to the outflow and cleared blockage up from the culvert and several places along the watercourse.
The new clear water everywhere was mostly shallow less than 2 feet deep. I watched dozens of dytiscid diving beetles exploring the expanded habitat looking for prey, mosquito larvae or other protein. There were very young tadpoles (maybe from bullfrogs?) able to feed as herbivores on the refreshed mats of aquatic alga,, or as predators upon mosquito larvae. By the western end of the watercourse I found the black squiggly mosquito larvae, that would be become adult mosquitoes in a week or less. But there were also minnows (Gambusia). My guess is that they spent the winter in the NW pond and when the fresh rains led the pond to overflow and spread aquatic habitat over much of the rest of the southern woods, the minnows ventured out. They may be / should be a good help against the mosquitoes until the water gets too shallow.
I had seen cranefly adults - like giant mosquitoes for a few weeks, but they had been waiting for a day like this. They were now common and numerous.
The water depth of the two ponds: NW Pond 2.59 feet and East Pond 2.84 feet.
The NW pond had two large old slider turtles sunning on a log on the far side. The East pond had one red-eared slider sunning itself on a floating log.
Today, Sunday, I went to see the Woods. Glorious. Clear skies, fresh sunlight playing in the upper branches of all the trees with their new leaves flushing.
I entered the SW Gate with my rubber boots, and walked up to see the water. It now extends to the first big cut bur oak logs.
I walked the southern boundary to the outflow and cleared blockage up from the culvert and several places along the watercourse.
The new clear water everywhere was mostly shallow less than 2 feet deep. I watched dozens of dytiscid diving beetles exploring the expanded habitat looking for prey, mosquito larvae or other protein. There were very young tadpoles (maybe from bullfrogs?) able to feed as herbivores on the refreshed mats of aquatic alga,, or as predators upon mosquito larvae. By the western end of the watercourse I found the black squiggly mosquito larvae, that would be become adult mosquitoes in a week or less. But there were also minnows (Gambusia). My guess is that they spent the winter in the NW pond and when the fresh rains led the pond to overflow and spread aquatic habitat over much of the rest of the southern woods, the minnows ventured out. They may be / should be a good help against the mosquitoes until the water gets too shallow.
I had seen cranefly adults - like giant mosquitoes for a few weeks, but they had been waiting for a day like this. They were now common and numerous.
The water depth of the two ponds: NW Pond 2.59 feet and East Pond 2.84 feet.
The NW pond had two large old slider turtles sunning on a log on the far side. The East pond had one red-eared slider sunning itself on a floating log.
Saturday, April 13, 2019
April in the Woods
A rainy cool day, close to 2 inches of slow, all-day 40-50 F rain. Will it slow or speed the changes of this past fortnight? The first week of April the forest floor of Oliver's Woods turned green. The Symphoricarpos deerbrush produced its leaves. The Galium bedstraw and Stellaria chickweed exploded in rapid growth accompanied with patches of abundant violets. I wonder how it is that a plant can grow that rapidly.
By the 10th of April, the ground was closed.. covered in green. White-tailed deer have gone. Have not seen them since March. Now there is food everywhere for them and no hunting season. Harsh winter storms are gone. They do not need the shelter of the woods or the food. I met Tim and we discussed morels in the Woods. He pointed out first box turtle of the year a few feet from me. It did not move for our entire 30 minute conversation. I mentioned that box turtles could outlive either of us.. could be 100.. and never leave a home range greater than a couple of classrooms.
First one or two mosquitoes but no great numbers. First single tick on me.. that may signal the coming of the end of my visits to the Woods until late autumn. Maybe just a few more spring walks.
I was delighted to find again the single uncommon Botrychium grape fern.. the only place in the Woods where it grows. This year just two fronds near the big cottonwood trio along the western wash. The blooms of the redbuds were beautiful but are falling and will be mostly gone or going after the all day rain of this storm. The sweet smell of the Elaeagnus autumn olive is strong in the Woods and the red admiral butterflies are drawn to the nectar. The canopy of elm and sugarberry and ash is still no more than 60% flushed but most every tree has some green showing. The pecan, ash and sugarberry are the cow's tail of the phenology. I was surprised and delighted to find one lone Ornithogalum star of Bethlehem blooming white with the wild onions west of the Elm Bridge.
I was also delighted to see that some of the identified, numbered, tagged trees on the Tree Tutorial Loop, needlessly cut last summer by the line crew - are sprouting new shoots and look like they will make a come-back despite having been wrongly cut.
I stopped and examined young honeysuckle leaves and was struck that the first (lowest) three pairs of leaves were not intact ovals, but more like indented fern leaves with 7 or so lobes per leaf. Can't remember ever really paying attention to that.
The good big craneflies in the Woods have had good wet mucky conditions and I have seen several flying.. but no abundant swarms this spring. First few strands of spider webs are coming back to the trails - not many. I stopped and watched one spider in tis web by the East Pond. It had captured and wrapped a syrphid flower fly. I checked the stalks of the 3-4 young Ailanthus Tree of Heaven invasives, but have not seen leaves this year. The patch of bittersweet I cut last year has flushed leaves and is beginning to regrow.
The most startling, striking thing in the Woods this month has been a large patch of bright traffic orange flux on an Ampelopsis grape vine southwest of the Elm Bridge. Brilliant and striking. I had forgotten but then remembered seeing it once years before. Quite something. Caused by Fusicolla merismoides. https://www.backyardnature.net/n/x/orgslime.htm
"Fusicolla merismoides (family Nectriaceae) is often considered the definitive tree slime fungus. This appears to be a large complex of many phylogenetic species. Almost every strain barcoded to date has a different sequence."
So, the fungus causing our orange slime/fungal volcanoes on Deep South grapevines apparently is actually several fungal species, see http://www.dnabarcodes2011.org/conference/program/schedule/treeslime.pdf
By the 10th of April, the ground was closed.. covered in green. White-tailed deer have gone. Have not seen them since March. Now there is food everywhere for them and no hunting season. Harsh winter storms are gone. They do not need the shelter of the woods or the food. I met Tim and we discussed morels in the Woods. He pointed out first box turtle of the year a few feet from me. It did not move for our entire 30 minute conversation. I mentioned that box turtles could outlive either of us.. could be 100.. and never leave a home range greater than a couple of classrooms.
First one or two mosquitoes but no great numbers. First single tick on me.. that may signal the coming of the end of my visits to the Woods until late autumn. Maybe just a few more spring walks.
I was delighted to find again the single uncommon Botrychium grape fern.. the only place in the Woods where it grows. This year just two fronds near the big cottonwood trio along the western wash. The blooms of the redbuds were beautiful but are falling and will be mostly gone or going after the all day rain of this storm. The sweet smell of the Elaeagnus autumn olive is strong in the Woods and the red admiral butterflies are drawn to the nectar. The canopy of elm and sugarberry and ash is still no more than 60% flushed but most every tree has some green showing. The pecan, ash and sugarberry are the cow's tail of the phenology. I was surprised and delighted to find one lone Ornithogalum star of Bethlehem blooming white with the wild onions west of the Elm Bridge.
I was also delighted to see that some of the identified, numbered, tagged trees on the Tree Tutorial Loop, needlessly cut last summer by the line crew - are sprouting new shoots and look like they will make a come-back despite having been wrongly cut.
I stopped and examined young honeysuckle leaves and was struck that the first (lowest) three pairs of leaves were not intact ovals, but more like indented fern leaves with 7 or so lobes per leaf. Can't remember ever really paying attention to that.
The good big craneflies in the Woods have had good wet mucky conditions and I have seen several flying.. but no abundant swarms this spring. First few strands of spider webs are coming back to the trails - not many. I stopped and watched one spider in tis web by the East Pond. It had captured and wrapped a syrphid flower fly. I checked the stalks of the 3-4 young Ailanthus Tree of Heaven invasives, but have not seen leaves this year. The patch of bittersweet I cut last year has flushed leaves and is beginning to regrow.
The most startling, striking thing in the Woods this month has been a large patch of bright traffic orange flux on an Ampelopsis grape vine southwest of the Elm Bridge. Brilliant and striking. I had forgotten but then remembered seeing it once years before. Quite something. Caused by Fusicolla merismoides. https://www.backyardnature.net/n/x/orgslime.htm
"Fusicolla merismoides (family Nectriaceae) is often considered the definitive tree slime fungus. This appears to be a large complex of many phylogenetic species. Almost every strain barcoded to date has a different sequence."
So, the fungus causing our orange slime/fungal volcanoes on Deep South grapevines apparently is actually several fungal species, see http://www.dnabarcodes2011.org/conference/program/schedule/treeslime.pdf
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