Skywatch Friday

Some recent images taken in SE Kansas.

I think this is the beginning of a 'Sun Dog', a sundog is a rainbow-like spot in a cirrus cloud. Light shining through ice crystals in a cirrus cloud makes a sundog, much like light shining through raindrops makes a rainbow. "They are reddish on the side facing the sun and often have bluish-white tails stretching horizontally away from them," according to David Lynch and William Livingston in Color and Light in Nature.


"It is necessary for me to see the first point of light which begins at dawn, It is necessary to be present alone at the resurrection of Day, in the blank silence when the sun appears. In this completely neutral instant I receive from the Eastern woods, the tall oaks, the one word "Day", which is never the same. It is never spoken in any known language" Thomas Merton

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Bone Creek Hike

Bone Creek Lake
Crawford County Kansas

I went for a walk this morning out at Bone Creek Lake. The sun tried its best to peek out as I hiked along the shore. This is the warmest its been for weeks, a balmy mid forties!
Across the frozen ice near the middle of the lake a small section of open water provided sanctuary to a large group of waterfowl. Groups of Canada Geese landed and took off in noisy intervals. The iced over lake made the sounds seem so much closer. Through my binoculars I could see a small group of Snow Geese mixed in along with Mallards and other ducks. On the far side of the lake my eye caught the tell tale white head of a mature Bald Eagle perched in an enormous tree .
I decided to hike back to my truck and drive around the south side and maybe sneak down to the shore and get a closer look.
I parked up in a place where the birds couldn't see me get out and began to hike down to the water. As I arrived in to cove I was disappointed to see the tree where I had spotted the eagle was around the bend in the next cove to the east. I watched the geese who seemed a bit agitated and realized the eagle had left its perch and was cruising the open water above the geese. Too far for a photo, I stood and watched the eagle drift back over to the cove out of sight. Less than a minute later I heard a strange call coming form the cove and spied a pair of birds flying with that woodpecker like gait, ( can you have a gait when you fly?), heading my way. Pileateds! they flew right over me and landed across in a small area of oaks. They really are beautiful birds, they definitely are the closest thing to a woody the woodpecker Ive seen. They sure seemed mad about having to vacate the other cove, noisy and loud, they settled in moving almost in unison up a pair of trees. I don't see many of these very often especially in a pair. I hiked back up to the truck thinking of how I might describe their conversation to my wife when I got home.

Birds at the feeder

The suns been coming out the past few days and the melt is upon us. The birds have been busy at the feeders, here in SE KS the official feeder count starts this week.
Visitors we have had at the feeders include;
Northern Cardinals
American Goldfinches
Black-Capped Chickadees
Red- Bellied Woodpecker
Blue Jays
Red Wing Blackbirds
Tufted Titmouse
American Tree Sparrows
White-Throated Sparrows
Harris Sparrow
Dark-Eyed Juncos
Purple Finch

Now, I just need to get better at getting their photos.

"Everything has been thought of before, but the difficulty is to think of it again." Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

More Snow

I went for a walk yesterday to get out side for a while. I stood in a light almost invisible snow fall and listened to the geese over the hill in the pond. Hiking back to the house I passed this particular bluebird box, I noticed a blue tail feather sticking out. As I leaned in for a closer look a bluebird exploded out flying across the field. I apologized for making it leave the warmth of the nest. Suddenly behind me I heard some more rustling from the box and three more bluebirds also fled the house in quick succession. Now I really felt bad. I had never seen them exhibit this behavior, and found myself thinking wow, four all together keeping warm but did I get a photo, nope.
Back at the house I ran into Oscar the Mumbling Wonder Dog. I have seen him play in the snow with anything and at times seems to enjoy the cold, but he has been reluctant to come out of our warm house lately, I don't really blame him.
Charlie the Beagle on the other hand gets a scent of a deer or some other alluring odor and off he goes. But at his age and the shape hes in, hes back soon enough looking for a warm spot to curl up in front of the fire and instead settle for dreams of chasing rabbits. I don't hold it against him. I'd do the same thing with weather the way its been.

Snow wagon wheel.


"Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience". ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Snow and Cold

These first few days of the new year have been chilly to say the least.


Thought I would play around in sepia the day being as gray as it was.

Solstice Sunrise Walk My World

Yesterday morning was the winter solstice. I rose early, let the dogs out, layered up, grabbed my binoculars and camera and set off to watch the sunrise. The dogs stayed near the house as I hiked up to the south east pasture where deer spend their nights now and again. With a slight breeze out of the north and the frost crunching under my feet I knew the deer would be long gone before I arrived. The clouds painted softly across the anticipating sky. I was followed by one of our barn cats, whenever I stopped to listen she rubbed herself on my ankles. I dared not scratch her head as she gets carried away and will climb up your leg if there are no fence posts nearby. The only birds I could hear were crows in the distance.
Then on cue as the winter sun began to return other birds began to sing, first some sparrows, a cardinal, then several ducks and geese over on the pond, and of course the crows continued their celebration of crowness. The sun begins its journey back today, it will march across this tree line and by June rise in the far left of the scene. Today is my wife's mothers birthday. I know which trees it will rise over on June 21st, the summer solstice, my mothers birthday, and I know where it will rise on the morning my father passed away. Its comforting to know some things will always return.



Back at home I headed in past a sign my wife painted when we first moved here. Some folks greet the sun with a prayer or a song. I really like the Navajo way, I'm not real sure if I have it right I heard it once long ago:

Beauty before me
Beauty behind me
Beauty all around me
I walk in Beauty.

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Skywatch Friday

Riley County Kansas

Riley County Kansas

Pottawatomie County Kansas

Near Vinita Oklahoma
Some random skies form the past few weeks.
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