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On the heels of its opening in Chicago, Don Corrigan will bring his humorous presentation, “STORY OF ODDVERTISING,” to Blumenhof Winery in Dutzow at 5:30 p.m., Nov. 23. The audience at the free show is invited to the Winery Tasting Room to “Sip, Snicker and Sound-Off!”

The Sound-Off Session will have attendees nominate the most annoying TV ads that they put up with this year. For discussion: Why are there so many goofy ads on TV? Why is the time given to ads expanding? Who are the creative geniuses behind Oddvertising?

Don has studied and taught media at universities for 40 years. He espouses media theories of Wally Armbruster, creator of top Budweiser and toilet bowl ads; Marshall McLuhan, the guru of hot & cool media; and Mike Johnston, the ad creative who coined this term: “ODDVERTISING.”

Don also will discuss his media books, which examine, in part, how squirrels, roadkill, and flatulence are used in ODDVERTISING. Sound-off night participants can enter a drawing to win the infamous Christmas Flatulence Basket. The basket winner will be announced at Blumenhof’s Christkindl Market on Nov. 30.

Not all “ODDVERTISING” is bad. As a fan of Wine Country and author of The Washington Missourian’s “Off The Vine” column, Corrigan is interested in audience ideas on how to promote wine country in unique ways. No charge for this event, but purchase of wine and books is encouraged!

(left to right) Kirkwood Mayor, Liz Gibbons, WGNSS President Bill Duncan and Kirkwood Parks Board Chairperson, Ellen Edman stand beside the new J. Earl Comfort display. Photo by Richard Thoma.

by Don Corrigan

Saturday, Nov. 2, was a fine, sunny day to dedicate the new J. Earl Comfort Bird Sanctuary display in Kirkwood. A well-known St. Louis area birder, Comfort was a conservationist, educator and writer of bad bird puns.
No one ducked the issue of Comfort’s wayward wit, such as his contention that gulls may not be such gullible birds. The dignitaries at the dedication on the banks of Sugar Creek in Kirkwood Park, chose instead to focus on other aspects of his life.

Bill Duncan, volunteer extraordinaire of the Webster Groves Nature Study Society, outlined the work of Comfort as a WGNSS writer who contributed 461 articles to its Nature Notes publication.

Ellen Edman, Kirkwood Parks Board Chair, was among those wowed by Comfort’s birding in Kirkwood Park during the period he lived in Kirkwood from the 1950s until his death in 1977. He was born and raised in central Illinois, then moved to Webster Groves, then Kirkwood.

Kirkwood Mayor Liz Gibbons talked about the importance of community participation to protect wild areas within the Kirkwood Park system. She also mentioned that bird populations have been declining and the need to insure bird-friendly habitats.

Naturalists of all kinds attend the dedication of the new J. Earl Comfort Bird Sanctuary display dedication Photo by Richard Thoma.

At the park event, Richard Thoma, longtime WGNSS board member and author of its 100th anniversary history, said he was most impressed that a young birder – not yet in her teens – was already able to use the Comfort exhibit for avian identification purposes.

“Of particular note for me, a young girl was the first to use the J. Earl Comfort Display to identify two birds in the bird sanctuary,” said Thoma. “The two birds that Francesca Bennett-Hartmann identified were the Carolina Chickadee and the Downy Woodpecker.

“And WGNSS birding expert David Becher, also at our dedication, verified that Francesca was correct,” added Thoma. “I’m so pleased that Francesca’s mother said that we could include Francesca’s name for a future article for WGNSS Nature Notes and in our local newspaper.”

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MDC is exhibiting the 2024 Missouri Junior Duck Stamp Contest entries during November at Powder Valley Nature Center. Seen here is the Missouri Best of Show entry, Wood Duck by Vivian Bashar, a senior at Nixa High School.

The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) is exhibiting the 2024 Missouri Junior Duck Stamp Contest winning art entries during the month of November at Powder Valley Conservation Nature Center.

The exhibit includes the contest’s Missouri Best of Show winning artwork of a Wood Duck by Vivian Bashar, a senior at Nixa High School.   Bashar also finished 11th in the National Junior Duck Stamp Competition out of 56 entries submitted from the 50 States and the U.S. Territories.

The contest categories are divided into four groups based on grade level, K-3rd, 4th-6th, 7th-9th, and 10th-12th.  Bashar received a $500 reward as Best of Show winner, while all category first place winners received a $50 gift card donated by Bass Pro Shops.  The exhibit showcases all winning entries in each category.  Each individual winner gets a ribbon, certificate, and educational materials.

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MDC guide Lauren Baker leading hikers through Emmenegger Park. Photos by Ursula Ruhl.

by Don Corrigan

With dwindling daylight and Halloween approaching, some souls take note of the “Witching Hour,” when demons and ghouls come alive in the woods . Ghosts grow more active .

A group of hikers in Emmenegger Park recently were having none of that. They climbed Bluff Creek Trail in search of the “Golden Hour,” when a dusky sunlight sends beams through the Kirkwood park’s tree canopy for optimum hobby photography.

With cellphones and digital cameras at the ready, the hikers were led by Lauren Baker, a naturalist with the Powder Valley Nature Conservation Center in Kirkwood. An introduction commenced about 5:30 p.m.

“Does everybody know about the golden hour?” asked Baker, standing just past the park’s bridge trailhead. “This is when the sun is about to go down and the light turns everything golden. There’s a special nature to this light.

“It can be very useful for taking photos, especially this time of year,” explained Baker. According to nature photography books, the soft, diffused light blurs imperfections and even adds a perfect touch of glowing tan.

Before hitting the trail on a muggy, late September evening, Baker advised assembled hikers that the trek was being shortened for hiker health. Also, there would be more stops on the trail than originally planned, so hikers could catch their second or third wind.

Witching hour or golden hour, Baker was determined that no participants would give up the ghost on this evening. A few struggling and straggling hikers did seem to appreciate the added rest stops.

“We’re going to stop here,” said Baker about a third of the way up the trail. “Notice there are a lot of insects flying around now, some that are feeding on the nectar of the fall flowers.

“Also, I want to point out the large spider web in the weeds facing the (Meramec) river,” noted Baker. “That is owned by a spider who is obviously interested in taking advantage of the insects for a dinner.”

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MDC invites the public to see a free virtual presentation by celebrated author, conservationist, and entomologist Doug Tallamy at Powder Valley Nature Center Friday, Nov 1. from 7 – 8 p.m. People can also view the program at home with a link provided by MDC.

Discover a new perspective on gardening from an expert in landscaping with native plants.  The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) is inviting the public to view a virtual presentation by celebrated author, conservationist, and entomologist Doug Tallamy at Powder Valley Nature Center Friday, Nov 1. from 7 – 8 p.m. 

The program is free, and attendees can view it on the nature center’s giant screen in its auditorium while having the chance to visit Powder Valley’s exhibits from 6 – 7 p.m.  Alternatively, people can view the presentation online anywhere on their own screens.

Tallamy will present a preview of his newest book, A Chickadee’s Guide to Gardening.  A professor in the Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology at the University of Delaware, Tallamy has written and co-authored several other books such as Bringing Nature Home, Nature’s Best Hope, and How Can I Help?  He is an advocate for home gardens and landscaping that provide habitat for native species by bridging the gap between parks and nature preserves.

“In the past we have designed our landscapes strictly for our own pleasure, with no thought to how they might impact the natural world around us,” Tallamy said.  “Such landscapes do not contribute much to local ecosystems and support little life.”

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Elephant Rocks State Park

Representatives from Missouri State Parks invite the public to provide input for Elephant Rocks State Park’s conceptual development plan update. A 30-day comment period will begin Oct. 19, with a survey available online at mostateparks.com/cdp.

This survey kickstarts the conceptual development planning process. Input regarding the park’s recreational opportunities, infrastructure and amenities will help guide the park’s future development.

For more information on conceptual development planning, please visit mostateparks.com/cdp or call Daniel Engler, planner, at 573-751-5382.

Elephant Rocks State Park is located at 7406 Highway 21 in Belleview.

For more information on state parks and historic sites, visit mostateparks.com. Missouri State Parks is a division of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.

Photo: Missouri Department of Conservation.

by Don Corrigan

The Chinese mantid, classified as a non-native exotic species, is raising the ire of those who value pollinators such as butterflies. The large mantids grasp victims with raptorial front legs and then devour the captured prey.

The alarming critters are being found in Webster-Kirkwood backyards, as well as in stretches of prairie across Missouri. These beady-eyed predators ravage butterflies and are pretty, darned scary-looking.

“They’re twice as large as the common praying mantis that we are most familiar with,” said Mark Peters. “I have killed hundreds of them. I don’t have nightmares about them, but I can see why they made horror movies about mantises in the 1950s.”

Among the mantis horror movies is the 1957 film, “The Deadly Mantis.” The story begins when a melting iceberg releases a giant prehistoric mantis. A paleontologist advises the military to kill it after it attacks scientific outposts on its way to New York.

Photo: Missouri Department of Conservation.

Peters has no qualms about killing the Chinese mantises in a stretch of prairie land where he lives that he purchased three decades ago in rural Jefferson County. He said there are no restrictions or species protections for the mantises.

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