Ken Lassman has been keeping this almanac for over a decade, He invites you to share your observations and photos in the comments section. You can find his book Wild Douglas County at The Raven Bookstore and The Community Mercantile in Lawrence.
Kaw Valley Almanac is now being posted at the Merc!
May: Little Flower Killer Moon
This month is so called by the Osage Indians of the area for the transition from the short statured flowers of April to the taller flowers that keep up with the growing prairie grasses. The shorter pre-vernal flowers like prairie violets, star-eyed grass, buttercups and lousewort on the prairie finish up and go to seed, being replaced by taller flowers such as yarrow, daisy fleabane and larkspur. In the woodland, the "killing" is even more dramatic, as early spring beauties, dutchman's breeches, cutleaf toothwort, rue anemone and the like finish up and pretty much disappear under the closed canopy of tree leaves and thick shrubbery, with virtually no woodland flowers replacing them until mid-late summer composites make their way back into the woods.
This year, it is comforting to be reminded that we can still have cooler, wetter, later springs instead of increasingly earlier, hotter ones like the previous several. Climate change increases the oceanic and atmospheric temperature, which can result in more extreme weather including more snow and flooding, more droughts and heat waves, and there is evidence that the shrinking arctic ice cap can make those colder extremes even more pronounced despite continued increases in global-wide temperatures. More moisture means more severe weather in our region, so stay tuned....
Want your wildlife observations, pictures, links posted here? Send them to seasonsandcycles@yahoo.com
Ken,
Do check with Sarah Hill Nelson about how the low flow on the Kaw is effecting the power plant in the north powerhouse. She gave a tour Saturday to Lawrence Modern and we all saw 3 of the 4 turbines running. Part of the low flow is because the feeding tributaries have been frozen. Now that they are thawing, the flow is up.
Carey,
The report I received from others who made it to the open house was that while 3 of the turbines were turning they were not generating any electricity because the water volume was not enough to generate. But I will check with Sarah to confirm this–thanks!
Yes; the three turbines were rotating to keep them lubricated so that when the water level rises high enough to actually start generating, they’ll be ready.