Tall Tales from Kansas

It was a Cat Stevens Morning Has Broken start to the day at the Baker wetlands today. I went to see if there were any unusual birds waiting for me there. This is the time of year when migrating birds move through the midwest. Isn’t that a wondrous thing to even think about?

I heard killdeer and saw red-winged blackbirds. There were also some geese flying overhead. I did not spot any white pelicans. I will have to head to Clinton lake soon and see if there are any of them hanging around, taking a rest along their journey.

The sun was hitting the grasses, the breeze was nice, there was a hint of highway noise in the background but I ignored it. My attention was called to other things.

Things like a wooly worm, an abandoned snake skin, a couple of solo monarchs, and a dragonfly or two.

There was a leaf hanging in the middle of the trail, suspended there with the the aid of the long tail from a spiderweb. I do not know if the leaf hit it on the way down, or if it deliberately used it to ease the descent.

The filtered sunlight on the fallen leaves on the trails is just so beautiful. No words can describe it. It’s one of those external cues that trigger a cascade of memory and feelings that together make up an entirely unique experience for each viewer.

The leaves are starting to turn but small flowers continue to bloom.

Today I saw some large shallow pools for the birds, but compared to 5-6 years ago, it is much drier at the wetlands.

I was delighted to catch one great egret stepping carefully along.

This was a most excellent start to a long weekend.

Now I am off to dig an old Cat Stevens CD out of who knows where… Dottie if you are reading this do you remember how much Gracie Villanueva loved it when we sang Morning Has Broken at mass in Panama? I can see her as clear as day right this second.