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.
July: Buffalo Mating Moon
The Osages commemorate the keystone species of the prairie, the bison, for its mating season, which used to be one of the greatest spectacles found in North America. The book The Osages has descriptions of the titanic battles between competing bulls and how they would plow up large areas of prairie sod as they pushed each other aroound. Read that and you’ll understand why the Osage clled this the Bufffalo Mating Moon.
This month is a time when many songbirds molt, or lose their colorful feathers that helped attract a mate in the spring. It is a time when many gooseberries are ripe in the woods, when warm season grasses shoot up tall and wildflowers grow taller to compete for the sun. Cicadas sing during the day, with damelflies and dragonflies eating mosquitoes while dodging the watchful eye of the bullfrog. At night, katydids begin their song while lightning bugs stitch across yards, meadows and fields.
Thunderstorms seem to lose their way, appearing, moving and disappearing almost at random this time of year, causing flash flooding at one spot while leaving nearby areas dry. A wet road at night can host steamy fog and fast jumping frogs crossing the pavement, while moonlit nights can bring out many a nocturnal animal beating the heat of the day. If the moon isn’t bright, take a look at the milky way that the summer so nicely showcases, including the constellation Sagittarius in the south, which looks like a teapot outline in the sky but holds the center of our galaxy.
Kaw Valley Almanac 
The squirrel and rabbit population in our yard has finally gotten under control. The grass around the hackberry tree is dusted with tufts of fur. This spring a pair of Cooper’s hawks decided a nearby maple tree was a safe place for raising its family. The pair are very busy hunting for food for their soon-to-fledge nestlings. As my husband and I enjoy our meals on the back porch, the hawks eat, too. The sounds they make while preparing their catch on the top of the utility pole at the end of our driveway is my signal to look up. Having this chance to observe their behavior at such a close range has been a thrill. I wonder if the Cooper hawks will leave come winter, after their brood(s) have fledged. If so, I will miss them and hope they return next spring.
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There are some redtail hawks that regularly perch on a telephone pole alongside our driveway, and in addition to watching their breathtaking flights across the field when we drive by, it’s comforting to think of all of the mice, cotton rats, squirrels and rabbits that they keep in check from their vantage point.
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