Skywatch Friday

A recent sunrise here in South East Kansas
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Shoal Creek in Feburary

Just south of Galena Kansas is a small park built in the 1930s during hard times by the Civillain Conservation Corp. It features a wonderful nature center, and an inviting trail that winds along Shoal creek. One warm afternoon my wife and I could hear it calling and decided to answer. We left behind the chores, and the cabin fever of February set out on a hike along the creek. These photos are from that walk.

Light and Seeds along the bank.

Shoal creek in February, looking east

Ice Rooster

There was a multitude of rocks, fresh water and mussel shells in the low creek bed, lending themselves to moments of quiet focus searching for fossils, arrow heads and many "ohh look at this one rocks". Maybe we are just easily amused, then again, maybe not, I find more mystery and beauty in a fossil than most folks. Reality shows? Oscar fashions? I think Id rather be out here on a day like this.

Leaf and Rocks in Creek

Light playing in the grass.

I love this Sycamore hanging on with a stubborn determination to not give up the bank.

Rain to Recreation

Recently I traveled out to Lake Lenexa in North East Kansas. Its a brand new lake that puts an interesting green approach to dealing with run off from rain in suburban Kansas City. Its called "Rain to Recreation". Lake Lenexa covers nearly 35 acres within 240 acres of parkland that includes preserved woods and stream ways. There are native grass plots being established, as well as waterfowl habitat that already had attracted geese and ducks on the cold morning we explored. The dam and spillway facility features three wetlands, trails, docks and a boat ramp, picnic areas, boardwalks and access to water’s edge for fishing.

According to the web site dedicated to the lake design and construction:

"Storm water runoff has traditionally been handled on a localized, piecemeal basis with the goal of minimizing localized flooding and erosion by moving the water down stream in as expeditious yet benign manner as possible. This approach has resulted in many concerns, ranging from localized "parcel level" problems of erosion and minor overflows to major regional flooding issues. This approach has resulted in large public expenditures, property damage, and even loss of life.

When rain water falls to the earth in a natural setting it typically hits "green surfaces" called non-impervious such as grass or other vegetative ground cover. In developed areas, it falls on green surfaces but also on hard surface (impervious) such as parking lots, rooftops, driveways and sidewalks. When it hits a "green surface" much of the water is absorbed into the ground. When water hits and then runs off hard or impervious surfaces, it picks up contaminants such as oils, grease and tire particles and then under the current approach is piped to nearby streams."

"Rejecting the common perceptions of storm water and runoff, Lake Lenexa successfully demonstrates the Rain to Recreation approach, transforming storm water from a potential nuisance as damaging runoff into an environmental and community asset. This progressive thinking delivered a four-way success at Lake Lenexa: flood control, improved water quality, natural stream preservation, storm water management and recreation and education opportunities."
The trails here in Lenexa are interconnected for miles and miles. We stopped at one park with a lake and watched a bald eagle. There are parks nearby that have plenty of wildlife, actually the white tail deer population has become so large that they have become an local issue that has folks at both ends arguing what to do. A friend I was here with explained that estimates were in the 1-2 hundred deer per square mile in this park alone.
Deer in fire break near power poles.

I have taken a break from posting lately, needed to recharge the batteries, get projects finished at home and on the job, tried to figure out the computer that crashed at home, learned how to use a new turkey call, and spent time with family. I have a new group of students this semester, a very challenging group, I enjoy teaching them but most nights I am brain-dead. Ah but spring is right around the bend and I can almost feel it, and the cardinals outside at the feeder have moments when they seem to agree and sing an early spring song.

Snow Days MY World Tuesday

With the ice and snow we had last week we did spend more time inside by the fire, catching up with a few books and new seed catalogs. Schools were closed, and plans canceled.
The quiet flurries that filtered down created a few quiet, peaceful but extremely cold afternoons.



The snow and ice melted this past weekend, the sun came out cardinals began to sing creating a false sense of spring being around the corner, which it is not.
To visit other places check here

Flooded Timber and Ice

"When one tugs at a single thing in nature; he finds it attached to the rest of the world."
John Muir

Watery Wednesday

Two photos from a walk along Cow Creek last week.
for more Watery Wednesdays photos click here.

My World; Along the Neosho River

Saturday was too beautiful a day to stay at home, I packed some drinks, my binoculars and my camera and headed over to Neosho County to visit the waterfowl management area located there. The area sits on the broad, flat flood plain below the junction of Flat Rock Creek and the Neosho River, it is a man-made marsh that covers 3,246 acres. Ive been here in the past and seen thousands of ducks and many eagles. Today the pools that I could access were frozen from the recent cold spell, most of the flocks of ducks were off in the distance in the open water. I watched a male northern harrier glide over a flooded field of corn stalks searching for a meal. It was quiet midday and besides the hawk I had seen a pair of cardinals and a chickadee in all my walking. So I decided to head back down where the river skirts the area.
I hiked through the fallen leaves under the oaks, sycamores, and hackberries until I reached the banks of the river. I waited and listened. Almost instantly the trees were alive with Robins. I stood there quietly amazed at how many were here in flocks in almost every tree, on the ground and along the river bank feeding. I had seen the occasional robin lately but they have become rare at our place as most have moved on for the winter.
I stood smiling watching for a good twenty minutes and was treated to a few other sights, a Pileated woodpecker landed on a tree across the river and began methodically searching for food. Its is a beautiful bird. The woodpecker would hammer away slowly and then cock its head back in two or three angles to inspect the bark the way a someone who works in wood or paints works. A red headed woodpecker worked the other side of the river along with a flicker.
The robins stayed and fed and sang. Some landed in trees above me. I had come here today looking for ducks and eagles and instead found robins and woodpeckers and a sense of peace that's hard to describe.

I came across this quote by Thomas Merton yesterday and it sums up the day for me.

"When we are alone on a starlit night, when by chance we see the migrating birds in autumn descending on the junipers to rest and eat; when we see children in a moment when they are really children, when we know love in our hearts; or when, like the Japanese poet, Basho we hear an old frog land in a quiet pond with a solitary splash - at such times the awakening, the turning inside out of values, the newness, the emptiness and the purity of vision that make themselves evident, all these provide a glimpse of the cosmic dance." Thomas Merton

My World is a sharing of places from around the world to see more visit here.