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 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?
Deer Hiding Moon: September
The local Osage tribes called it “Deer Hiding Moon,” a time when bucks in this area are very reclusive while they finish growing antlers for the upcoming mating season. Even though they are hard to find, it is worth trying to spot a buck through binoculars this time of year to witness the softness of their antlers before they scrape off the felt to prepare for mating season.
September is the month of the autumnal equinox, mirroring March as the time of greatest daily change in the length of the day and the fastest movement of the point of sunset and sunrise on the horizon. Because of this, the word “equinox,” or equal day and night is somewhat of a misnomer because of the rapid daily changes that happen more quickly than any other time of year. Gardener/naturalist Sara Stein calls the fall the great planting time for nature. The seeds developed by the summer rains are themselves raining directly down on to the ground or coming into contact indirectly through the intestines of animals who have consumed their fruity coatings, giving them a ride and then depositing them along with some rich fertilizer for spring. Now is also the perfect time to visit some CRP native grass plantings or ungrazed native prairie to see how it is really taller than you are and how easy it would be to get lost in it.
Seeing the huge diamond of the square of Pegasus constellation rising in the east is a sure sign of fall and one of my favorite things about this time of year. The crisp, clear autumn weather is perfect for finding the northern corner of Pegasus where the constellation of Andromeda is located and seeing if you can see the Andromeda galaxy with your naked eye. The light from the Andromeda galaxy is the oldest light your eye can see without a telescope, having left the millions of stars in that galaxy over 2.2 million years ago.
The window where I’m working looks out on a small fish pond. There’s a skin of ice on it, but birds find it, sit on the ice which flexes enough to seep water from the edges. My idle question is how do the birds find this pond: I assume 1) random, flying until they see something that looks like water; 2) follow the leader, seeing other birds at the water; I wonder about 3) location memory, from previous trips to this pond. I plug in a heater on occasion to allow fish ammonia to escape during long cold spells. This pond and heated bird baths would seem to be the only sources of free water, so where would the birds have gone without human assistance? (including Bowersock turbines) Do bird counts in particular locations vary significantly within a season according to the availability of water? And of course, what about when it’s all locked up in ice?
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Bert, I suspect that the local avian species know our backyards much better than we do, down to the drippy leaky gutter that is located on the south side of the house next door where the sun creates a little melted water before any other place on the block, or how the edge of your fish pond might shift slightly in the wind, creating a little open water access, etc. Water access definitely changes who is around and where birds hang out, just as does the food supply, but our feathered kin are incredibly astute in finding and accessing both things. Just think about how the nesting territories in coming weeks are going to be staked out: those birds know exactly which bush is included and which branch is contested. If we could see the landscape like a songbird, we’d be blown away.
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