Ark Valley News - The View from Sunflower Gardens

The View from Sunflower Gardens
By Marilyn Bentley
Last Updated: May 14, 2015

Kansas animals in zoos, habitats

Among the dear hearts and gentle people who live here are those grandparents with graduating grandchildren. Congratulations to grads!

We like our Monday and Thursday coffee chats here, potluck dinners, card games, Bible study, doing jigsaw puzzles and all the different music concerts here.

Verse of the week (Psalms 86:11): "Teach me thy way, O Lord, and I will walk in thy truth."

Hope you had a nice day on Mother's Day with family.

Folks here are outdoors more with warmer temperatures. We like to walk around the north building or sit and chat with neighbors here, and watch birds.

Long before Kansas became a state, visitors to the region were amazed at the large number of wildlife on the prairies. Zebulon Pike said it in his journal of 1806: How many buffalo, elk, deer, and antelope there were on the plains.

Visitors today can see the many species in zoos and habitat areas. Also prairie wetlands attract hundreds of migrating birds. We are proud of our eagles and herons, finches, the meadowlarks, and hawks and other native birds.

We have areas of Kansas that are still wild. The Marais des Cygnes, or marsh of the swans, gives an opportunity to eager bird watchers.

Many lake areas also give chances to fishermen to be along the banks to vacation. Fishing is great at Tuttle Lake.

Did you know? Kansas has many quaint bed and breakfast homes for travelers of the beaten path. These are found at Wellington, Wilson, Smolan, Salina, Medicine Lodge, Concordia, Lindsborg and at Nickerson.

Council Grove has a pioneer heritage. It was once a stop on the Santa Fe Trail — the first Kansas superhighway of trade and commerce.

We had pony express stations near Hanover and Marysville. Cottonwood Falls has the 1873 Chase County Courthouse — still in use — one of the oldest in the U.S.A.

There are many reasons we love the land of Kansas. Its beauty of land, farms, the ranches, plane builders, oil wells, the Flint Hills, malls, the vineyards, the wheat fields, the variety of churches, schools, colleges, the sports teams, the oil, the quilters in prairie towns, small-town celebrations, the food, the historic places and climate, historic events, Kansas Indians and Kansas kids.

Remember to keep our troops in your prayers and their families.

"There is no place like home." So true of life in Kansas.

There is a variety in music and theater, and of entertainment. We appreciate the variety of news on TV channels.

In the Midwest, we like the bluegrass music, and also the symphony, and the hymns sung in churches and at sing-along gatherings.

Children of Kansas learn to play piano, guitar, marching band instruments as well as sing school songs, and they try dances of their heritage in folk dance, as well as many cultural dances as well as foxtrot.

We have a mix of people from Native Americans, Scandinavians, Germans, Russians, Asians, Spanish, blacks as well as the American mix.

"Be kind, anyway." Mother Teresa.