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.
July: Buffalo Mating Moon
The Osages commemorate the keystone species of the prairie, the bison, for its mating season, which used to be one of the greatest spectacles found in North America. The book The Osages has descriptions of the titanic battles between competing bulls and how they would plow up large areas of prairie sod as they pushed each other aroound. Read that and you’ll understand why the Osage clled this the Bufffalo Mating Moon.
This month is a time when many songbirds molt, or lose their colorful feathers that helped attract a mate in the spring. It is a time when many gooseberries are ripe in the woods, when warm season grasses shoot up tall and wildflowers grow taller to compete for the sun. Cicadas sing during the day, with damelflies and dragonflies eating mosquitoes while dodging the watchful eye of the bullfrog. At night, katydids begin their song while lightning bugs stitch across yards, meadows and fields.
Thunderstorms seem to lose their way, appearing, moving and disappearing almost at random this time of year, causing flash flooding at one spot while leaving nearby areas dry. A wet road at night can host steamy fog and fast jumping frogs crossing the pavement, while moonlit nights can bring out many a nocturnal animal beating the heat of the day. If the moon isn’t bright, take a look at the milky way that the summer so nicely showcases, including the constellation Sagittarius in the south, which looks like a teapot outline in the sky but holds the center of our galaxy.
I am an avid follower of the Almanac since moving back to Jefferson County 4 years ago. For the first three years I had a pair of barred owls in my woods, and every evening in the warm months they would hunt in my yard every evening, even bringing their young. This summer I have heard or seen nothing of them at all. This concerned me since when I lived in PA, we lost all the great horned owls, who moved out due to the noise of fracking. There is not that problem here. Another friend who lives 10 miles north of me has also heard no barred owls this summer. Has anyone else experienced this? Of course the owls might have simply changed territory, but seems unlikely since we are near Lake Perry and there is ample habitat, and this property has over 40 acres of woods.
LikeLike
I have not heard of any reduction of barred owl populations in eastern Kansas, rather my guess is that they seem to be increasing if anything. They do not necessarily stick around after breeding season. You might post your question to the KS Bird listserv or the Kansas Ornithological Society web site (www.ksbirds.org) or their page on facebook. Feel free to post again if you find out anything more or they return, and good luck!
LikeLike
Saw your wonderful talk on climate change at library tonight and wish to download your handout.
LikeLike
Sorry for the delay: it is available here online: https://kawvalleyalmanac.com/climate-change-online-resources/ and I keep it updated on a regular basis to make sure the links are still current, adding new resources as I run across the best new ones. If you want to download a copy, just “select” the text on that page, copy it, then paste it into a word processor of your choice and it should keep the clickable links when you do this. Or just bookmark the online link I provided at the beginning of this post and that way you can ensure that you have the latest updated links. Hope this helps!
LikeLike