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
What’s up with the comet this week?
It’s still up there, visible with binoculars pretty much due west, most visible between 8 and 8:30pm. There is a small tail visible, and while it’s slowly fading, it’s staying up a little longer each night so the sky is darker. It’s not quite bright enough to be seen with the naked eye, but take a 2 or 3 second digital camera photo and it’ll pick it up. Visit http://www.spaceweather.com for more detailed viewing directions.
I’ve noticed the redwing blackbirds and grackles are back and my yaupon holly has budded out.