Category Archives: Daily Happenings

Northern Lights a Comet and Big Boy

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October was an amazing month in Kansas. It started October 10th with the northern lights making for a beautiful night sky. It wasn’t as visible as the photos show, adjusting the setting on my iPhone really made the lights shine. Just looking at it, the sky had an eerie reddish tint. So beautiful.

October 15 gave us a once in a lifetime view of the Comet Tsuchinshan-Atlas. Last seen in the Stone Age (how do they know that?), it will be visible again in about 80,000 years. I don’t think I will be seeing it again.

Union Pacific Big Boy 4014 also made a stop in Salina, KS. This is the third time in recent years that it has stopped here. Built 1941-1944, weighing 1,200,000 lbs it was made to haul freight over the mountains in Utah and Wyoming.

Summer Days

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It has seemed like a long hot summer, but then again it doesn’t seem possible that school will be starting in just over a week. We were able to get out early on the hot days and get our usual walks in. As always we head up to the Ottawa County lake.

The eagles nested up in the east end of the lake and I saw one eaglet.

A small pod of pelicans have returned.

Buttonbush that is native to this area

A quick day trip to Cheyenne Bottoms out at Great Bend, KS. It’s been so hot and dry that the ponds were mostly dry. Will have to return when there’s water and the waterfowl are migrating. We then went into town to the Veterans Park. One of the two beautiful graceful swans that the City of Great Bend purchased to discourage the geese from the pond (as I was told by a local)

Didn’t work

Gorgeous Kansas sunrise

Morning Walk

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Wylie and I have been on many morning walks, today’s walk was one of the best.

Foggy start to the day.

This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118:24

Everyone is waking up! I have an app that records all the bird sounds. Some that we heard are: Nuthatch, cardinal, blue eye vireo, indigo bunting, bobwhite quail, red-bellied woodpecker, meadowlark, Harris sparrow. My bird app didn’t register the coyotes howling!

What a beautiful start to the day! Have a wonderful day.

Favorite Time Of Day

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I can’t think of any better way to start the day, than to be outside before alot of people are even up.

Sunrise over the wheat field with the elevator in the background waiting for the harvest.

A moring walk with a bit of fog.

Turtles have hatched.

Little fawn and last years little ones.

Canada geese and goslings

 

Dominator 3

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If you see this in your area, you should be concerned!  Luckily for us it was just passing through.

Reed Timmer, a meterologist, has built a series of vehicles for storm chasing.  The heavily modified Ford F-350, at a cost of $750,000, is built to withstand EF5 tornado winds of up to 200 mph. Click here  to read more about the Dominator 3

Dominator 3

Wylie could be their mascot.  Run Toto run!

 

Night Sky

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The good think about having a little furry companion is that you get to be outside many nights.  I love seeing the stars, planets, moon and occasional “what’s that”.

Photos were taken two consective nights in early October.  The SpaceX Starlink satellite “train”,  provides global high-speed internet.  When first launched the satellites are all in a close orbit and then become spread apart.  Eventially there is to be 42,000 satellites orbiting in our night sky.

I love how Orion is in this picture.  I only had my iphone and a pup in one arm, just pointing in the general direction of the satellites.  I was so happy and surprised that i was able to get a photo of them!

Warm Winter Day

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It was a beautiful winter day at the Kanoplis Lake.  I always like to go this time of the year to see the eagles in their nest.  This pair has been coming to this spot for years.  The park closes the trails around their nest.

Temperatures were in the 50’s today, but we’ve had some really cold weather with wind chills in the -10!  Parts of the lake are frozen over.

Wylie, the rock climber, we didn’t make it to the top!

Beautiful sky

So thankful for the nice winter day.  It’s going to change tomorrow and get cold again with only a slight chance of moisture.