Yesterday evening at 5 I entered the SW Gate to take a late walk along the south boundary trail.
The pooled water covering much of the rest of the SW Woods left the southern boundary mostly dry and I was able to skirt around the few wet areas. At the junction with the west dune trail I headed north, crossed over the dune and came to the standing pools of deeper water filling the main southwest trail. There was a cool light wind from the west north west and I stood there to see if I could smell the water filling the Woods. I've been thinking about the landscape of smells and sounds recently and thinking about how vertebrates encounter this. I try to pay attention to how sound changes as I pass by a barrier, a thick copse of trees, a building or wall on campus; and how that sound is different from sound across an open Woods or open lawn. It is not just a reduction in sound from a barrier, but a change in tone, pitch and other qualities. The sort of complex changes one would expect to see as a wave passes the edge of a barrier. I think there is much to be learned there.. and probably is something that wild animals, white-tailed deer, cottontail rabbits, raccoons etc already use.
In a similar vein I am paying more attention to the spatial arrangement of smells. But this may be better for a later post. I pay attention to the wake of smells from passing people, diesel vehicles, plumes vented outdoors from fryers in food kitchens and restaurants. Sometimes these smells are area wide and general. Sometimes they are spatially discrete and I imagine an almost visual border or boundary of the smell. I think wildlife deal with olfactory landscapes, too. A light changeable wind will produce a very different olfactory landscape than a steady breeze.
Wednesday 30 December I walked into the Woods via the NE Gate Tree Loop at 2:30. I was interested to see how many trees had come down in the 2-3 day wind, rain and ice storm that followed Christmas Day. Almost all of the trees had fallen SE from the NW storm winds. There were old elms killed by Ophiostoma and sugarberry snags broken off at meters above the ground. There were dead branches and long tilted or partly fallen snags that had settled lower. Might be interesting to record the direction of fall of most of the large snags in the Woods and see if there is a pattern. It would be even more interesting to try to detect cohorts of fallen trees and see if they shared a common direction of fall within a cohort.
On both the big cottonwood fallen across the SE-South central connector trail, and the big willows near Heather's South Boundary power cable, there are fresh oyster mushrooms. I enjoyed a bite of a fresh mushroom from the cottonwood. I thought the mushrooms growing from the willow might not be a good idea because of all the runoff flood and waste water around there.
Since the storm came through, the Woods have been quiet. No flocks of robins busy foraging or bathing down by the stream, no hawks flying overhead, no rabbits dashing away. There have been white-tailed deer each time. There were five there on the 31st, east of the second largest cottonwood. I stopped to sing to them and they watched me for a while, then returned to browsing on Symphoricarpos coralberry shrubs.
Back to the water: the western wash is filled and flowing slowly. Water is flowing out gently through the old beaver dam draining the SW Woods. The SW corner of the Woods is a bit like an estuary. Flood water rushes in there, flowing uphill when substantial rains fall quickly. The floods push soil litter, fallen leaves, sticks, even heavier logs westward and deposit the flotsam in concentrated rafts. They leave bare patches along some of the way. Where the flood water remains it should kill, eliminate or radically alter the micro-arthropod community; drown it or force it to relocate to high ground meters away. The East Pond has been above 2.5 feet in depth. Yesterday it was at 2.26 feet. The NW pond has been over 2.5 feet up to 2.6. Both ponds are staying full but I do not see signs of life colonizing the ponds. It might be interesting to watch and see how phytoplanton, zooplankton and aquatic invertebrates re-colonize the ponds.
Friday, January 1, 2016
Thursday, December 24, 2015
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.
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.
Sunday, December 20, 2015
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.
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.
Friday, November 27, 2015
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.
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.
Sunday, November 22, 2015
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.
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.
Saturday, November 21, 2015
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.
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.
Sunday, November 15, 2015
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.
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.
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