Pheasant under glass.....well, not yet anyway!

This pheasant was raised at a game farm near our home in Kansas. See the little blinder stapled to his nose? When they are babies, they put those on, so keep them from killing one another. Well, the day I visited this particular pheasant and a few hundred of his friends, they were the "chosen ones" to be crated up, as you see here, and taken elsewhere to be placed in a field eventually, and given a sporting chance for a hunt. So....Pheasant under glass??? - maybe!!

Shoo bird!

Driving the pheasants from one end of the outdoor pen to the other...and then into the barn!

Don't upset the pheasants!

As the owner of the pheasant farm and his help drove the birds to one end of the pen, from time to time, they would get a bit excited, this was one of those times. Feathers and dirt flying like crazy, squaking and wings flopping...what a site to see and quite the sound to hear as well!

Catching pheasants for the hunt

This young man is in the barn at the pheasant farm near us. He is assisting the owner by helping catch pheasants that will then be packed in crates and taken out for a hunt.

Pheasant awaiting sunrise

This female pheasant awaits the sunrise at a local game farm.

In this particular enclosure were some of the younger birds. I did not get up there in the spring to take pictures like I wanted to so I did not get to see any babies this year, maybe next spring!

A distant look over the Konza Prairie

See the post below for more information on the Konza Prairie. This view shows the vast grasslands that makeup this beautiful section of the Flint Hills.

The Konza Prairie

The Konza Prairie is an 8600 acre preserve of natural grasses and other vegetation that is managed by Kansas State University. My son David and I went there recently for their "Open House". We learned that "Konza" is simply another way of saying "Kansa" which were the native Americans the State was named for.

We also learned that the Konza is burned at varying intervals, some fields every year, some every 5 or even 20 years to monitor growth and learn about watersheds.

Some of their fields are grazed by Bison, many are not. They study that too.

All of this for the sake of ranchers and farmers. The research done at this Biological station is shared with those learning to manage lands, crops, animals and protect water sources. It was a beautiful day on the prairie. I do plan to go back, and although most of the Konza is closed to people most of the time, there is a hiking trail that is managed there as well. The header on this page is also from the Konza Prairie.

"Maverick" Sunflower?

Kansas is known for Sunflowers...not just because it is such a pretty crop, but also because they grow wild here. The wild ones are much smaller and have darker centers. This one popped up along with his more tame cousins!

The color in this photo is because of the more gentle EARLY morning light. See the caption on the photo preceding this one.

What time do sunflowers wake up???

OK, those of you that know me, will not doubt the craziness of my attempts at the "perfect photo". Jim Richardson with National Geographic told me to take pictures, then take more pictures, and then take more pictures....then delete the ones you don't like, then delete some more. So that is what I do!

Earlier this week, my friend Dee Dee told me I needed to see this field of Sunflowers and take some pictures. I told her I had been past it but all their little heads were facing West already as it was night. So I had this bright idea to get up VERY early Saturday....go out there and take a picture every few minutes and track their movements toward the sun.

I WAS TOO LATE!!!

I am sure I could hear them laughing as I climbed out of the van, chuckling at the lateness of my arrival. They were all proudly facing the rising sun, so I pulled out my camera and went to work!

"Rock Town"

This is Rock Town, it is a spot alongside Wilson Lake that we hiked to. The formation I am standing beneath are about 40 feet tall....I am in front of it.

The weather was wonderful.

A view from our cabin

We took a 4 day weekend recently and this was the view from our cabin, high atop a hill near Wilson Lake. It was gorgeous. We hiked 3 miles (in and out) to a pretty spot by the lake too. I was sure I could not make it...my husband said "Michelle, don't argue for your limitations", well I argued anyway, but I made it. Kansas has been wonderful this summer....after the tornadoes that is!

A rose by any other name.....

This LOOKS like a rose, and maybe it is, but I came upon it in a hay field here in Kansas. It was tiny, and NOT thorny. It sure was pretty!

Two Rainbows, Twice the Money?

You can barely see the second rainbow forming above this bright one. I did not know it would be so hard to photograph a rainbow. This was a very bright one, but I had to take my "stops" down to get it to reflect what it looked like in real life. It was really much better than this.

Looking for a pot of gold to pay for a gallon of gas

I have never seen such an illuminated, bright rainbow as I saw last night! I took photo after photo on different settings to try and find just the right one that would render exactly what we were seeing with human eyes. This one came close.

Baby owl at night!! Hooooo! Spoooky!

I stuck around long enough to take this picture of one of the baby owls at night....I love this effect with his eyes!!

The Triplets all together!

I told my friend DeeDee I may name the mother owl after her....because they both had triplets!

(actually the mama owl had a fourth, I found it dead at the Town Square several weeks ago.)

Baby owl closeup, sibling close by

I cropped this one so we can see the baby better.

Mr. and Mrs. Owl are proud to announce...

...Triplets!!....well, only 2 of them posed for this picture. There are 3 owls in the tree, I think these 2 did not like the 3rd. They were sitting on different limbs! ANYWAY...turns out, in the photos below, when I was sitting beneath the mama owl, that was the tree her babies were in. See the owl photos taken earlier on this blog. The mama knew I was awfully close. BUT, I wondered if they were in the next tree over. I was right by them the whole time. I plan to go back to see if I can get a better picture. Thank you to my friend "Mayor Arnie" for letting me know. (Arnie is the Mayor of a small town nearby and he also oversees the upkeep of the Town Square in our town)

The newest little light in our lives

This pretty girl is almost 8 months old. She is the reason I am known as "Gramma'chelle" . I took this photo on our living room floor, and did a vignette in photoshop!

Broughton - The little town that is no more

For 97 years people lived, and worked and played in Broughton Kansas. The creation of the Milford Reservoir saw an end to the town. All that exists now are ghostly mounds where homes once stood, a grade indicating where a train once ran, a foundation where a silo stored grain, and beautiful trees that once lined the little community on the prairie.

In 1993 the area did flood, as the government predicted it might.

The people of Broughton, those that now live in neighboring communities, gathered with a group of historians recently who spent the last 4 years researching and documenting the history of the town. They celebrated the work and dedication of the Kansas State University students and professors who so lovingly re-created a long past piece of Americana.

Remembering two Mexican immigrant children

The year was 1919, and the Castardo Family was living in Broughton Kansas. Dad was a railway worker, and living amongst the American people on the prairie in Kansas. It offered a freedom not before known for this little family. But the community would not live on forever, and the lives of 2 of the boys would come to an end here as well.

Broughton enjoyed less than 100 years of history as a community, (1869-1966) before the Government decided the area was on a major flood plain, created the Milford Reservoir, and asked the people of the community for their property. The people moved and the little town no longer existed, although it's families assimilated into other towns in the area.

What became of the Castardo family I do not know, but their 2 young boys...one, named Felipe, died at the age of 11 years and Santitos died at the age of 9 months, both within 2 months of one another. I do not know what sickness overtook them, only that they are now gone, buried in the Broughton Cemetery, high on a hill in Clay County Kansas, overlooking rolling farms, with cattle grazing close by. Their graves are marked with twin crosses, their names, birth dates and death dates. To this day, someone decorates their crosses with a ribbon each year.

She's aiming for me!

I stood watching this owl for a good long time, and she sat on the top of the Courthouse watching me. My photos here are not in order, but regardless, she lifted up, soared toward me and then lighted in a tree above me. She is really something.

Right above me!

Here, Mrs. Owl got directly above me to see if I was a danger, I guess. From here, after I sat quiet a long time....she flew directly to her babies. Maybe I earned her trust.

Mama Owl watching me!

I sat near the Town Square waiting for this female owl to show me where her babies are. She sat above me on the top of the Courthouse and then from here flew to a tree directly above me! I am pretty sure which tree her nests are in. I was awfully close to it at this location.

God's creation awakens to springtime

Last year after spring arrived, a freeze set in destroying flowers, wheat, lilacs...everything. We are hoping and praying that doesn't happen this year.

Pretty blossom, horrible smell

My kids called the trees this blossom comes from "sewer trees" because of the awful smell when they are in bloom. But I adore their beauty.

Just over that hill....

I took Katie driving today...all the country roads are "rock roads" like this one. They do not call them "gravel" roads. It was a beautiful day. Katie drives, I take pictures! What a deal!

Springtime comes to Kansas

Driving home today I saw these gorgeous flowers....spring has arrived in Kansas!

Viewing Eagles at Milford Lake

My friend Jamie, her son, my daughter and hubby all want Eagle Viewing recently. I think her photos are better than mine. I told her I wanted every picture I took to be like those in National Geographic. She reminded me I would need the National Geographic photographer's cameras....well that would be a start....but for now, I used my own little 300 mm lens for this shot. (I should have taken the UV filter off)

Peeking through the Deck

This lady cardinal landed just beyond my deck so I took the only shot I could which was between the seat backs of the deck benches. She and her mate and baby hung around quite a while, getting a picture was another story. They always showed up when I was without my camera!

Icy Beauty

I am sure you have seen a million Ice Storm photos in your life. Our entire region was crippled recently by the Ice Storm of 2007. We counted ourselves blessed when we only lost power a short time, as some folks were without for almost 2 weeks.

The Family, minus one

Our son David is in Iraq, we did not celebrate Christmas without thinking of him. Merry Christmas everyone...Peace on Earth!