Kaw Valley Almanac

Hoary puccoon is a sunny, yellow flower found on area prairies, emerging amongst last year’s still mostly dormant grasses to capture the light, bloom and go to seed before the warm season grasses shade out the ground.

Here is a rue anemone, one slightly pink due to genetic variation. Rue anemone has as many as 7 petals and lightly lobed leaves, while false rue anemone have only 5 petals and more deeply lobed leaves.

Verbena is an early spring wildflower that has begun to bloom, and this giant swallowtail honed right in on it.

Redbuds have begun to open a little early in northeast Kansas, as evidenced by these flowers poking out the ends of the clusters of red buds, ready to unfurl its pea-like flowers, even before all of last year’s seed pods have fallen.

Redbuds have begun to open a little early in northeast Kansas, as evidenced by these flowers poking out the ends of the clusters of red buds, ready to unfurl its pea-like flowers, even before all of last year’s seed pods have fallen.

Look to the south after dark to see some of the best constellations of the year, with Orion sliding west from the south, Taurus and the Pleiades leading the way and bright Jupiter in the west.

This is a good time of year to look for heron nests, which are located in giant, white-barked sycamores along creekbeds in valleys across much of the eastern half of the state.

Kansas is blessed with some of the best sunsets and sunrises, so hang out and enjoy the minute-by-minute changes that take place in our not-cloudy-all-day skies this week — you won’t regret it!

Slender mountain mint seedheads, like beebalm seedheads, keep their aroma long after they have dried up. Smash them between your fingers and thumb and you’ll get a burst of minty essence that is surprisingly strong.

Crocuses are blooming, as are the other early spring ornamental snowdrops.

The Loess Bluffs National Wildlife Refuge folks estimate that with the melting ice and recent rains, there are nearly 400,000 snow geese there right now.

This is a wonderful time of year to take walks in area prairies and take photos of abstract patterns of tousled grasses and dried flowers.

This turkey will get warmer if cloudier weather this week, and perchance the opportunity to find more bugs and scraps to eat as the crusty snow softens and melts away in the predicted rain.

This downy woodpecker has been doing double duty: pecking on the rail to inform other woodpeckers that he has intentions to make this area his territory, in addition to snatching a sunflower seed now and then.

If you look carefully, there are rabbit tracks to the right of the coyote tracks. It’s likely the coyote was “reading the tracks” left by the rabbit, following in hopes of a meal.