Watery Wednesday--Pied Bill Grebe

A trip out to Branched Oak Lake State Recreation Area this afternoon yielded only one photo.

Pied-billed Grebe


Grebes are rarely seen on land as their legs are set far back on their body which causes them to walk poorly. However, this leg location is perfect for swimming underwater to catch prey.

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That's My World!--Filley Stone Barn

Filley’s Stone Barn

Filley's stone barn -- best known feature of the area -- was built, in part, because of the need for employment during the terrible grasshopper plague and drought that struck in the early 1870s. The project kept many settlers from losing their land. Built into a hillside, the lower level had stalls for 60 animals. The three-inch plank that covered the main floor was caulked with oakum (made from hemp) and covered with melted pitch to be water-tight for 30 additional stalls. The loft held 100 tons of hay. Completed in late November, a stone inscribed "Built By Elijah Filley - AD 1874" was set above the west door, and a grand barn dance was attended by everyone in the community.

The barn, placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977, was described as the largest limestone structure presently known, and one of the most magnificent barns in the state. The cost of restoration through grants and by the Gage County Historical Society was many times the original cost of the building. It is now available for numerous activities and hopefully will stand as a land mark for another 100 years or so.

Once in awhile you encounter an informational site and you wonder why you never found it before. Such is the site that the information about Filley’s Stone Barn is quoted from. The site isNebraska…Our Towns. It has, among other things, historical information about six hundred cities and towns in Nebraska.

Boy am I going to bore everyone to tears now! giggle

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Common Crane in Nebraska

Last night there was a post on the Nebraska Hotline that a Common Crane had been seen in Nebraska again this year. The Common Crane is not considered to be a North American bird. It breeds in wetlands of northern parts of Europe and Asia.

Photos of this years Common Crane can be seen here

My posts from last year are here and here

A photo of last year's Common Crane was on Birdchick's blog

Today's Flowers--Hyacinth

A year ago this weekend, I was home recuperating from a surgery performed the previous Friday. By Tuesday, I was back in the hospital, and on Wednesday enduring yet another surgery. As a result, last year I missed all the spring flowers, and many other things. So, to say I’m enjoying getting out and seeing the spring flowers this year is a mild understatement.

Flowers from Friday

A Hyacinth bud


Just starting to bloom


In full bloom


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Watery Wednesday--Brown Pelicans

While I was in Texas in February I enjoyed watching the Brown Pelicans. They are coastal birds, so we don’t see them in Nebraska. The difference in how American white pelicans and Brown pelicans forage and feed particularly interested me. American white pelicans feed by swimming, usually in a group , dipping their pouched bill for fish.

The Brown pelican forages by plunge-diving from heights up to 65 feet or 20m. The Brown pelicans I observed perched on piers or rock formations. Quoting from the Sibley Guide to Bird Life & Behavior

When diving, a Brown Pelican first brings its legs in against its body and retracts its head, then slowly extends the neck and angles the wings backward. The head remains stable during these maneuvers, so that the bird can sight prey along the length of its bill.

On contact with the water, the pelican draws back its wings and opens its bill, centering the prey between its jaws. Its pouch distends rapidly to an enormous size, capable of holding about 21 pints (10 liters), or about 17 ½ pounds (8 kg) of water, and closes around the fish.

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That's My World!--Here & There

I was feeling very uninspired about a post for That’s My World! as I looked through pictures this morning. So I’m posting some photos of things that tickled my fancy when I saw them. In most cases they evoked a giggle, or a "huh?" as in the last photo.

First up are these water towers in Pratt, Kansas

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These bales of hay were taken somewhere in northern Oklahoma. If I recall correctly the sign next to them advertised someone selling hay.

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This sign was on the road into Salt Plains NWR in northern Oklahoma

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I saw this sign in several Oklahoma State Parks

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Today's Flowers

Tulips taken on Friday

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Same tulips today

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Same Magnolia bud as last week

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Camera Critters--Thirteen-Lined Ground Squirrel

Awhile back I paid a visit to the used book store and among several other books that I came home with was the Kenn Kaufmann book on Mammals. I've had a lot of fun going through it and finding out interesting factoids.

I took this picture of a thirteen-lined ground squirrel a couple of weeks ago.


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There are 21 species of ground squirrels in the United States, with most of them are in the central and western regions of the U.S. The thirteen-lined are found in the central part of the U.S. and originally were a resident of short grass prairies. They have adapted and are now also found in places where the grass is mowed such as parks, golf courses, etc. They construct burrow systems where they will store food to feed on during bad weather. They hibernate from fall to spring.

I took this photo a couple of years ago and it's always been kind of a favorite


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Watery Wednesday--Tri-County Canal

The Tri-County Canal in central Nebraska

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Dam emptying the Tri-County Canal into Johnson Lake

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The Tri-County Canal is maintained and operated by the Central Nebraska Public Power and Irrigation District

The Central Nebraska Public Power and Irrigation District is a political subdivision of the State of Nebraska organized under public power and irrigation district laws of Nebraska passed in 1933. Central was created to enable the people of south-central Nebraska to develop the state's irrigation and electric power potential.

Central delivers irrigation water to more than 113,000 acres on the south side of the Platte River between North Platte and Minden and also provides supplemental water from Lake McConaughy (Central's main storage reservoir) to irrigation projects serving more than 110,000 acres along the North Platte and Platte Rivers.

Central generates electricity for Nebraska's homes, farms and industry at four hydroplants, one at Kingsley Dam and three on Central's Supply Canal.

Recreation is another benefit of Central's hydro-irrigation project. Nebraskans and visiting vacationers enjoy the excellent fishing, boating, swimming, camping and other recreational opportunities provided by Lake McConaughy, Lake Ogallala, Johnson Lake and many other small lakes along the Supply Canal.

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That's My World!--Gothenburg Pony Express Station

While in central Nebraska last week I paid a visit to the Pony Express Station in Gothenburg.

According to the plaque on the building it was originally built in 1854 on the Oregon Trail four miles east of Fort McPherson and was used as a fur trading post and ranch house. From 1860 to 1861 it was used as a Pony Express Station. From 1862 to 1931 it was used as an Overland Trail Stage Station, dwelling, bunk house, and storage house on the Upper ‘96’ Ranch. In 1931 the building was donated by Mrs. C. A. Williams to the city of Gothenburg. It was moved from its original site and restored in Ehmen Park by the Gothenburg Post 64, American Legion.

It is dedicated to all the Pioneers who passed this way to win and hold the West.


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