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.
Frost on the Inside of Lodge Moon – January
January is a Roman reference to the god Janus, the god of gates. This god has two faces, one looking forward and the other looking back, as we do at the beginning of a new year. While this sets the tone for this season, the vivid image of frost on the inside of the lodge is equally appropriate, particularly if you notice frost on the inside of your car or house windows on a cold morning. The Osage also called this month Moon that Stands Alone, which speaks for itself if you decide to take a brisk walk in the countryside this time of year.
This is the month when you can see bald eagles flying in the Kaw Valley as well as deer and other wildlife more easily due to the lack of leaves. Listen to the rustle of wind through the drought-shortened tallgrass prairie grasses, and look for rodent trails in the thatch, which become tunnels when it snows. A dry year means that water has become a wildlife concentrator, with more species taking visibility risks to grab a drink in drought-lowered ponds, creeks and rivers that are made even more inaccessible by the presence of ice. Putting out water next to the bird feeders is more important this winter than most for this reason.
Enjoy the deep blues of the sky this time of year, whether it is duplicated in the subtle blues found in freshly fallen snow or not. While admiring the sky and looking for eagles and migratory waterfowl, keep an eye out for sun dogs and other daytime optical treats caused by the presence of ice crystals in the sky that refract and reflect the sun (and moon) light into circles, spots and other geometric forms. After dark, bundle up and enjoy the striking winter star constellations that can take your breath away especially if you know where to look with a pair of binoculars or a telescope.
Kaw Valley Almanac 
I gasped when I read of this mistake. So very sad. Will send healing its way.
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This is very disturbing news. Will there be an assessment of the damage going forward? And will there be safeguards put in place to preserve what remains?
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Regarding herbicide damage- As you probably know as an advocate of prairie fire, it is worth considering that prescribed fire could restore the plants that were killed off by herbicides at Prairie Park. If that was a relatively healthy ecosystem before the herbicides, those plants probably have seed banks stored in the soil that could be regenerated by fire.
I am a retired wildland fire manager with education and experience in fire ecology. I do not know Kansas ecosystems directly, as my entire career was spent in the mountains of the western US. However, some of the ecosystems I worked in were meadows and riparian areas. There are some commonalities to fire adapted ecosystems and individual plant species, and one of those is having mechanisms to regenerate, such as through interconnected root systems or seed banks. The challenge is that noxious weeds are opportunists, so timing of fire must be carefully considered to favor native plants.
A lot of attention has been generated in Lawrence Times without presenting this side of things. The herbicide damage has been described as “inevitable“ loss of rare plants. I don’t think permanent loss is evitable. I would encourage you to continue using your platform to educate the public and land managers about the adaptive ecology of prairies. There is hope to restore this ecosystem with the input of local experts in the field.
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Thank you Beth, for your informed input, which I will share with the circle of ecologists who have been involved. I, too am cautiously optimistic about the resilience of the dense network of living plants, fungi, insects, et al that are present and am hoping that it has developed the ability to bounce back in the coming years. The herbicide was Pasturegard, which contains triclopyr, and an unknown surfactant that helped in absorbing the auxin mimicing chemical, and how this will affect the root mat is unclear yet, as it is undoubtably interconnected. My sense is that those species most stressed will be assisted by those less affected, something that I think I may be seeing already with the local Pedicularis species. As far as burning, the city had followed the advice of their native plant consultant and had already burned the prairie earlier, which stimulated early forb growth, so will just have to see what happens since no new seeds will be growing this spring.
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