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.
Buffalo Pawing Moon: June
The Osage, like many of the eastern horticultural tribes who inhabited the woodland/prairie transition zone from Minnesota to Texas, planted extensive gardens in the spring, then left the children and grandparents to tend them while most of the tribe went west to hunt bison. This is reflected in the name of the summer moons, which chronicle the behavior of the primary protein source for these tribes.
The parade of prairie flowers that began in May continues in earnest in June, with each week unfolding a new flavor of colors as wave after wave of wildflowers compete for the sunlight with the growing warm season prairie grasses. June also sees berries ripening, ranging from mulberries and blackberries to wild raspberries, gooseberries and currants.
Mammals are busy raising young, and some birds are starting second litters as the wheat ripens in the fields. Corn grows noticeably on a daily basis this month, and soybeans go from green rows in dark fields to a carpet of green. The summer solstice arrives on June 21st and the entire landscape seems to be alive with life as a result of the energy-filled longest days of the year. Nights are shorter, but full in its own way with the sounds of night life and the beautiful summer constellations in the sky, this year made all the more beautiful with Venus, Jupiter, Mars and Saturn gracing our evening/nighttimes.
With a friend, we finally got to Squaw Creek. The sight of a lifetime. The ranger reported there was near a half-million snow geese on Friday. A small line of Trumpeter Swans flew across as we walked, trumpeting. Well worth the drive up from Lawrence.
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Thanks for sharing your experience; it really is a wondrous place. They update the bird counts weekly and post them on their facebook page https://www.facebook.com/squawcreeknwr and they can also be found on their website: http://www.fws.gov/uploadedFiles/Squaw_Creek_Waterfowl_Count_02182016.pdf They do not count many bird species like pelicans or cormorants, but it gives you a pretty good idea what’s going on and it’s not very far away for a day trip.
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