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?
I love this info-thank you! What is the difference on the moon chart between a full moon and 100% illumination? Thanks, Marsha Buhler
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Great question! It made me look at the ephemeris, which includes a minute-by-minute description of the moon’s illumination. I use the Carte du Ciel/Sky Chart open source software for my data, and recommend its wonderful night sky software program that is also included in their free download. At any rate, the moment of Full Moon occurs when the moon is exactly opposite the sun in the sky (and if the alignment is perfect, we get a total lunar eclipse), which was at 9:51am, daylight savings time on Halloween. Of course that moment occurred while the moon was invisible from Kansas as it hadn’t yet risen. The typical way the Full Moon is described, however, is not just for that millisecond that it is exactly 180 degrees opposite from the sun, rather it is expanded because for all practical purposes, someone cannot see shadows beginning to form on the edge of the Full moon for a while, even through a telescope, because it is very subtle. The ephemeris says that it takes approximately 19 hours past that exact point of Full Moon before it shifts from 100% illumination to 99% illumination. This means that the moon looked 100% illuminated as late as 3:48am on Sunday, Nov. 1, so they marked that day 100% illuminated even though the exact moment of Full moon was on Halloween. There! Probably way more information than you expected and if you have any more questions, feel free to ask away! Ken Lassman
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