Monthly Archives: October 2011

Ernie Miller Nature Center

Ernie Miller Nature Center

Some of you have heard me talk about a very special place, Ernie Miller Nature Center.  It’s 116 acres of nature almost completely surrounded by civilization.  It has a stream, a number of nature trails and some prairie to explore as well as an interesting array of animals inside the main building.

The very talented and dedicated staff of Park Naturalists and Park Police provide an outstanding variety of interpretive programs for all ages throughout the year. The programs cover historical events, nature, conservation and are educational and always fun. The staff often dresses in costumes of the time period of the story to enhance the experience.

Often, animal ambassadors are used to  emphasize nature and conservation concepts. The animal ambassadors include: insects, frogs, snakes, turtles, fish, mammals and birds of prey.

I have been very fortunate to be included in some of what they do, especially storytelling.  Below, is an image of me as Farmer McGregor from Peter Rabbit.  Of course, I was telling my side of the story!  This Saturday evening for Haunted Kansas, I will be dressed as a frontiersman telling the story by a campfire of Josiah Wilbarger, the only known person to survive being scalped by Comanches.

Farmer McGregor

I’ve also been allowed to work with the raptors.  I’m sometimes referred to as the “Owl Man” because I’m often seen working with the owls and giving impromptu presentations about them.

The Owl Man

Up top, you’ll notice a new gallery which include images of animals and scenes that you’ll see at the nature center.  I hope you enjoy them and will come out to see us.

Oh by the way, on the evenings of October 28th and 29th, we’ll be doing an “Owl Prowl.”  It’s by reservation only.  I don’t know if there are still spots available but if you’re interested, call Cindy at: 913-826-2800 to reserve a your spot.

See ya next time!  Thanks for coming!

I Have Galleries!

As you can see, I now have Galleries in the black bar below the image of the Tetons. Hover your cursor over the word Gallery.  You’ll see the three sub-galleries. Just click on one of them and that gallery will load. They are slide shows that change images about every 5 seconds. You can click on the small images on the left to bring up that image sooner.  I’m sure you’ll figure it out.  You’ll have to click on the back arrow to get back to the previous page to view the blog or other galleries.

Some of you have seen some of these images but none of you have seen all of them.  I hope you enjoy them.  Let me know what you think!

Thanks for coming!

Bill

Something New on Saturday

I’ve always wanted to attend a Native American
Pow Wow or Festival. Well, I had a chance on Saturday to go to the KC Indian Art Market and Cultural Festival at the Line Creek Community Center.  It was wonderful!

They had many tables set up in a large tent where people from different tribes offered for sale a variety of beautifully hand crafted art, jewelry and other Native American goods.

Below is an image of Mr. Dennis Rogers. Mr. Rogers is a world famous Navajo dancer and storyteller.  He started the program with a beautiful prayer and Blessing.

Mr. Dennis Rogers

Mr. Dennis Rogers

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

He told stories both verbally and through his magnificent dancing. He had the audience captivated.  Below are some of his dance moves. I especially liked his hoop dancing.

Telling a story through dancing

Captivating the audiance

Hoop Dance (I believe this depicts Mother Earth)

Next we enjoyed the mellow and magnificent sounds of the flute played by Mr. Terry Lee Whetstone.  WOW!  You really had to be there.  Words just do not describe how truly beautiful it was.  He played quite a number of different types of flutes some made from horns of animals.

Mr. Terry Lee Whetstone

Making a magical sound from the horn of an animal!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mr Terry Lee Whetstone....The profile of a Master!

We were also entertained by the Haskell Intertribal Cultural Club. They were dressed in their tribal dress and attire. They were all different and very colorful.  Each person told us about the significance of their attire. Unfortunately, I was not fast enough to get each person’s permission to post their pictures here. However, I did get the permission from the person dancing below. I believe his name is Waylon.

One of the Haskell Intertribal Cultural Club Dancers

Of course there had to be a dedicated storyteller. Meet Christine Freeman. She was telling stories most of the day in the tipi that is at the beginning of this post.

She is a wonderful storyteller and connected with not only the children but with the adults as well.  I felt a special connection with her myself. She wanted to be sure that I always had a bit of Mother Earth with me for many nice reasons. Too many to mention here.  She gave me a beautiful red stone made of glass.  We all know that glass comes from sand……and…..sand is part of Mother Earth.  I will carry it with me.  Thank you Christine!

Everyone was very friendly and the stories all had important lessons about life and nature. What a great way to spend the day.

Well, I guess that you can tell from this long post that I had a great time. If you’ve never gone to one of these events, you should put it on your “Bucket List” to go to at least one. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

I hope you’ve enjoyed the images and my rambling.  Please come back and stay tuned!

Bill