Welcome to 10 years of Ken’s book Wild Douglas County. To celebrate, he’ll be sharing special events during the coming year, and you can also buy a signed copy of the book for a celebratory price of $15 + $2 shipping (regular price: $20). Click here to purchase your copy via Paypal.
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.
Baby Bear Moon: December
The Osages were keen observers of nature, and while bears have not been in the area for a long time (one wandered into the Baldwin Woods in the 1960s), there is plenty of favorable habitat for them to have lived here side by side with humans since the retreat of the glaciers some 9 or 10,000 years ago. Cougars are more common passing through the area these days, but it’s not out of the question for some bears to be itinerant residents in Douglas County once again if we plan for green corridors connecting the Kaw River floodplain forests to the major tributary reservoirs of Clinton and Perry as well as a safe way for wildlife to migrate to and from the Baldwin Woods, our county’s largest native woodlands located north of the city of Baldwin and Douglas County Lake.
Bald eagles have returned to the area, where they have overwintered along the Kaw since time immemorial, adding the reservoirs to their winter retreat areas after they were built in the 60s and 70s. With water levels drying up many area ponds and creeks, the drought is concentrating wildlife activity along the remaining bodies of water much like a normal December concentrates wildlife along the Kaw due to the ice cover on most open water. December is also a time to look for deer antlers which are falling off as mating season winds down, and if we get snow, tracking the activities of wildlife in area woods and prairies. And if mild temperatures persist, don’t forget to enjoy some of the most beautiful constellations of the year as Orion, Andromeda, Taurus, and the Pleiades are often seen under much less comfortable conditions!
Ken, I get so much pleasure from your weekly postings. Many thanks.
Linda Evans
Salt Spring Island, BC
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Thanks, Linda! I’m glad you’re still getting a fix of “Kansas” out there in paradise. Really, each place on our wonderful planet is such a dynamic flux of patterns, life and history that the rewards are to be found for those who open their eyes to see it.
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