Sunday Quote

Crawford County September Sunrise

"One of the greatest necessities in America is to discover creative solitude. "
Carl Sandburg

Broom weed

Crawford County Broom weed

Summers looking a little thin here is SE Kansas. She sent a last "so long its been good to know ya" this week of hot, humid days. But the mornings are cooling off and seem to hint at fall looking over her shoulder.

Wordless Wednesday

Chase County

Sunday Quote

Early Morning Walk Prairie State Park Southwest Missouri.

"Not all is doom and gloom. We are beginning to understand the natural world and are gaining a reverence for life - all life." Roger Troy Peterson

Deer Sky

Wordless Wednesday

Chase County

Red

Crawford County

Green

We've had quite a bit of rain this month already, everything is deep green for September. My students and I are studying the "Ecology of Our Backyards". Im all for understanding Ecosystems around the globe such as the Amazon Rain Forest, but lately Ive ben thinking a bit more locally. After reading "Last Child in the Woods", I decided that my 8th graders needed to learn more about the natural world where they live and the impact they have here. Even though this is Kansas very few of them are rural kids, most are more urbanized, many come from impoverished homes. So far its been great, teams of students are looking into all kinds of research questions related to our topic. Teams have begun looking for things to study in our local park, the schoolgrounds, their yards, and some have ventured out and even turned over a rock or two. When they are finished I hope that they will have a little sense of what Aldo Leopold called a "Land Ethic".

Sunday Quote

"Just because some of us can read and write and do a little math, that doesn't mean we deserve to conquer the universe" Kurt Vonnegut

Stillness

Crawford County Mined Land Wildlife Area

Twenty two years ago this morning my oldest daughter was born, happy birthday.

Quilt Show

Last weekend we wound up in Pittsburg at the Little Balkans Festival and spent some time at the 20th Annual Little Balkans Quilt Show. It was incredible. Walking around the show is like being in an art museum, the only difference is they give you a plastic glove and encourage you to touch the art! According to the booklet I picked up, the purpose of The Little Balkans quilt guild is to stimulate interest in quilts, and to promote and advance the art of quilt making. There was over 150 quilts of all types and sizes. Quilts with names like "Surprise", "Kansas on my mind", "All that jazz", "Gone to the Dogs", "Abbys Crazy about KU" and "Drunkards Path" lined the walls and created a maze of quiet beauty throughout the lower level of Memorial Auditorium. These are some pictures I took, they don't convey the sense of hard work, craft, or the hours folks spent alone, in church groups, between mothers and daughters and yes even a guy or two creating these works of art.

Summer Morning

Crawford County Sunrise looking west.

Wild Horse Adoption

Wandered over to the county seat last week to see a unique program. Wild horses rounded up on National grasslands and set up for adoption. For around $120 a person could take one home. The idea is to reduce the impact of populations on the grasslands. These came from a grassland in Nevada, I didn't think grass grew in Nevada, just kidding. The horses spent around 90 days being worked with by inmates at a correctional facility near Hutchinson Kansas. Its a good program. These are not your basic pasture ponies. I stood and listened to a young girl ask questions of the federal guys, she knew horses, so did her mom. The fed was very honest in answering, "this is not a learning project, this will take work, some of these horses have a saddle on them in five months some not even after five years" Mom frowned and bit her lip, the young girl didn't loose an ounce of enthusiasm. About half of the 60 or so horses brought here were adopted.