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.
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?
Deer Hiding Moon: September
The local Osage tribes called it “Deer Hiding Moon,” a time when bucks in this area are very reclusive while they finish growing antlers for the upcoming mating season. Even though they are hard to find, it is worth trying to spot a buck through binoculars this time of year to witness the softness of their antlers before they scrape off the felt to prepare for mating season.
September is the month of the autumnal equinox, mirroring March as the time of greatest daily change in the length of the day and the fastest movement of the point of sunset and sunrise on the horizon. Because of this, the word “equinox,” or equal day and night is somewhat of a misnomer because of the rapid daily changes that happen more quickly than any other time of year. Gardener/naturalist Sara Stein calls the fall the great planting time for nature. The seeds developed by the summer rains are themselves raining directly down on to the ground or coming into contact indirectly through the intestines of animals who have consumed their fruity coatings, giving them a ride and then depositing them along with some rich fertilizer for spring. Now is also the perfect time to visit some CRP native grass plantings or ungrazed native prairie to see how it is really taller than you are and how easy it would be to get lost in it.
Seeing the huge diamond of the square of Pegasus constellation rising in the east is a sure sign of fall and one of my favorite things about this time of year. The crisp, clear autumn weather is perfect for finding the northern corner of Pegasus where the constellation of Andromeda is located and seeing if you can see the Andromeda galaxy with your naked eye. The light from the Andromeda galaxy is the oldest light your eye can see without a telescope, having left the millions of stars in that galaxy over 2.2 million years ago.
I gasped when I read of this mistake. So very sad. Will send healing its way.
LikeLike
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?
LikeLike
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.
LikeLike
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.
LikeLike