Birds, Biscuits, Big Problems and the Best coffeeshop concert

 

This first day of September, my friend Elaine and I went to Hesston Dyck Arboretum to take a class on the migration of birds.  We learned that the night before 13,000 birds flew over Kansas on their migratory path.

On August 22, they said 659,700 did so!!  I guess they use Doppler weather satellite. computer modeling and specialized acoustic tools to determine this.

Most migrate at night, but hawks migrate during the day as warm air thermals help conserve energy in flight.  Flapping takes a lot of energy; gliding is easier.  And they also can see prey.  The night flyers find the air calmer and they can eat bugs while in flight.  They also can hide from big birds that are predators.  Over time, they say there has been a 30% decrease in birds because there are fewer insects due to spraying.

Our grandddaughter in Chicago is an RA at her college.  This week they had an unfortunate accident.  A sprinkler malfunctioned in one of the rooms on her floor, dumping water everywhere!  The fire department wouldn't let the facilities turn off the water until the building was cleared (since the alarm was going off) so it continued to pour into the room and spilled out into the surrounding rooms.  The room it started in had 5" of standing water!  So much damaged belongings, technology and books.  Below, you can see the water seaping out of the building.

Our son and daughter-in-law who live in Arkansas told us that the University of Arkansas also had a huge water issue.  "A massive overnight water leak at the University of Arkansas forced the immediate evacuation of Reid Hall, an all-girls freshman dormitory. While initial rumors inflated the numbers, the hall actually houses 450 freshmen - not 800. The flooding began around 11:30 PM on Thursday, August 20, 2026, when a water valve burst in an eighth-floor bathroom. Witnesses reported that a toilet had been flushing continuously before the valve ruptured, sending water cascading down multiple floors and reaching ankle-depth within minutes."  They had to scramble to find alternative housing until the problem was fixed.

On Thursday we went to Wichita to take our car in to get a new windshield that was cracked from trips we've been on these past months.  We drove 2 cars down so we could go to a doctor appointment and go shopping.  We tried out a new restaurant called "The Big Biscuit" for brunch.

They have a biscuit called the Bonut.  It is a biscuit dipped in french toast batter and fried and coated with powdered sugar.  Definitely not healthy!  But one has to try something new at least once!

On Friday evening, Allen and I went to 201 Main coffee house in Whitewater.

There was a concert by Katie and Jonna who are from Louisiana.  They played Cajun music.

Jonna could play so many different instruments!  It was fun to hear how talented they both were!

Friends Ed and Chris own this coffee shop and Katie's dad was a friend of Ed's from military days. 

One song was played to honour Ed and Chris' son, TJ.  I don't know that there was a dry eye as they got up to do a slow dance to the music.

Evan, who was our son's class-mate, did the mixing and sound.

Many "old" friends were there that we hadn't seen for some time.  Did they look at us and think "Man, they sure have aged."  We all are getting up there in years.

Evan joined in on the jam session.

I went on a bird walk this Saturday morning. The sun was just coming up as we gathered for the walk. It was so informative!  Usually the monthly bird walk lasts about an hour, but this morning, we all had lots of questions and Jean, who teaches biology at the college enjoyed telling us lots about bird behaviour and about the plants along the path.  It was delightful!  And lasted 2 hours!

We heard the gutteral cry of baby cardinals, and there was a red-tailed hawk in the tree watching us.  We saw several Mississippi kites.  They'll be migrating south in the next week or so.

We heard the sound of several upset robins.  We couldn't find what they were upset at, but sometimes it is  an owl.  We found a feather of a great horned owl.  Jean told us that you can't take a feather like this home.  Evidently, you wouldn't be able to prove that you didn't kill the owl to get the feather, and it is illegal to do so.

Red bellied woodpecker

A "kettle" of turkey vultures.  Over 30 in all.

If I were a bird, I'd migrate north.  This weather here is just too HOT and hotter down south!