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.
Deer Mating Moon – October
The Osage called this time Deer Mating Moon to commemoratee the very noticeable ree-appearance of the bucks, who are beginning to “rut,” which they literally do with their hooves. They find a prominent place and scrape the groundcover clear of vegetation as part of their mating ritual.
Hackberry, ash, box elder and elm trees are the first to turn yellow this month, providing nice contrast to the reds of sumac, poison ivy and Virginia creeper as their green chlorophyll plays out leaving either the yellow or red chlorophylls to collect the shorter day’s sunlight. Mid-late month spells the end of the growing cycle for annuals with the first killing frosts coming then most years. Mid-month is a great time to find native prairie patches, looking for the coppery colored grasses that distinguish them from the greens of cool season grasses such as brome, fescue and, of course, wheat.
Bird migration is building all month, with seagulls that breed in Canada passing through the area, along with pelicans, geese, and various ducks. A trip to Clinton or any other area reservoir, or the Wakarusa Wetlands is almost always a rewarding outing, whether it be for the migrating fowl around sunrise or sunset, or the changing colors of fall. This is the favorite time of year for many folks who like to be outdoors–what are you waiting for?
Within the past week, we have had the best sightings ever of three very large beavers in/along Overland Park streams. We look in earnest every single morning to see ‘something’ in the water, and have only caught glimpses of beavers a few times in the past two years, so it was amazing to see two on the banks (one cleaning itself, one climbing out to cut down a small leafy plant and swim off with it) as well as one one slowly swimming along. All were bigger than I would have ever imagined, seemed serene and didn’t appear to notice us?
A wood duck still had her six babies with her this morning, there have been six for almost a month. Four baby squirrels in my tree are starting to venture down to the ground more frequently. A baby snapping turtle (shell the size of a half dollar) was in the grass near a pond yesterday. A lot of bird activity at dawn on Saturday at Heritage Park; great egret, great blue herons, teals, indigo buntings, green herons, northern kingbirds.
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Sounds like great places to visit, Debbie. Hope they are recognized as great habitat by those folks who tend the areas! Feel free to upload pictures of on this website if you like, and thanks for sharing.
Ken
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