We woke in Kansas’s gorgeous Lovewell State Park this morning and were again treated to sightings of the abundant birds here. We identified two of the species we were ogling yesterday; Franklin’s gulls that don’t look anything like the gulls we see in the west and nighthawks. The nighthawks look like really large swallows and exhibit the same aerobatics and 20-G turns. They make short work of flying insects.
We needed diesel after our long drive yesterday and, since we get no internet in this part of Kansas, our Gas Buddy app just gives crazed information when it gives any. We quizzed a beautiful female game warden we encountered on today’s drive and she indicated the closest place to get diesel was in Superior which is the closest town but in Nebraska. We headed that way and noted that the first thing we saw in Superior was a stump that looks like it is giving passing motorists the finger. However, the rest of the town was a nice little burg with some beautiful historical houses.
On the way back to our park, in addition to a big flock of wild turkeys, we came across some trees that look like a cross between and orange tree and an apple tree but they produce inedible fruit that resembles a green orange with warts. We quizzed our neighbor about this flora and found it is called a hedge apple and, while not to be eaten, the fruit makes a good pesticide and the wood makes durable, long-lasting fence posts. The same neighbor had gone her nearby home this morning and when she returned this afternoon she brought us a box of colorful, beautiful veggies from her garden. Her garden efforts certainly are more effective than any gardening I have ever done except maybe growing pot.
We took a few pictures to share. See them by clicking the asterisk *