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?
Without encouraging them with string and stuff, mourning doves are nesting again on our front porch. We have seen hatchlings make it to fledglings and also failure. We try to use the back door for our coming and going, but the nest is nearly under your nose if you come onto the front porch. Out of cat reach, at least. I haven’t peeked lately, but there is at least one egg.
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So, we’re about two or three weeks early, no? Esp. with vegetation . . .
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Kinda depends anymore. For instance, looking at the first redbuds opening, this year it was around March 25, which is 2 weeks earlier than last year, 3 weeks earlier than 2013, but behind 2012, the year of the drought, when redbuds were blooming by the 21st of May. My sense in 2007 when I wrote Wild Douglas County was that the first week of April was the “normal” time for redbuds to open, so by that we are ahead a little more than a week, with plenty of room for “climate weirding” to mix it up a bit….
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I think this is useful information to keep track of. Glad you are doing some of it. Memory doesn’t serve as well as it might.
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