The Kaw !

I stole a ride from my mother to Manhattan, KS. The dog had an appt. with the vet school. I was hoping to finally see the Konza Prairie- the entrance was closed and I called the number on the gate. They were burning the park- nobody was allowed in until after clean up in the evening. I asked if they needed any volunteers- it was worth a try. A shrike/mockingbird lookin thing decorated a stretch of barbed wire a few yards from a female cardinal.
My mother dropped me off at a boat ramp on the Kansas River under the 177 bridge before her appointment.

The air felt warm- nice anyways. The shadows and low spots on the bank and in the woods above the river were crusted with frost and ice. The river was a bit more wild than the Kaw I knew and loved- islands and sandbars. Some sparrows and a house finch skipped through the brush near the parkinglot.
I paced the sandbar- beer cans and bottles, the remains of a fire.. some shotshells. I went through a few streams of coarse rubble- Found shards of fossilized bones, some petrified wood?, agate and quarts. A found a large, river-polished point of smokey quartz - its dark and MAGICAL!

Time flew by and before I knew it my mother had returned. We walked the rest of the sandbar. She found a large, newer rib and some clam shells. I found a few large leg bones.
We ventured over a creek and then about 1/3 mile downstream along the bank. Found a second sandbar. This one hosted more trash, some large, odd tracks- She thinks they belong to a beaver- I had no clue!?
A large crawdad was cruisin' the shallows- I snatched him up- he returned the favor and gave me a nice pinch. I set em' in a pool and took some photos.

The bank was smotherd in horsetail ferns- they always make a good subject.