The following are excerpts from the Winter 2015 edition of Innsbrook property owners Kathleen Kremer and Richard McFall’s newsletter on Living in Harmony with Nature & Wildlife at Innsbrook.

The Lakes are Alive with the Sounds of Singing

For those fortunate enough to have property on one of Innsbrook’s many lakes, a special winter treat is singing lakes! On frigid nights or warming days, the contraction and expansion of lake ice can create a symphony of sounds. The lakes will pop, moan, twang, strum, rumble and bellow in such great volume it can be heard even through closed windows. The icy surface acts like the head of a drum or a cymbal with sounds often traveling the length of the lake.

Comet Lovejoy Spotted Above IBK

Several of us enjoyed spotting Comet Lovejoy from Innsbrook this January as it raced alongside the length of the constellation Orion, rising in the east. Our skies at Innsbrook are still dark enough to see these faint celestial visitors with the naked eye. Thanks to all those who turn their outdoor lights off when absent from Innsbrook to reduce light pollution and energy usage.

Photo taken in Jefferson City, Mo. by the Central Missouri Astronomical Association

Thoughts on Rescuing Wildlife

Over the years it has broken our hearts to see distressed or dead wildlife along the roads inside and outside of Innsbrook, whether due to natural or manmade causes. Avoiding accidents with wildlife is one of the best reasons to drive slowly on roads in or out of Innsbrook.

Favorite Innsbrook Naturescapes

Do you often feel that the word “landscape” does just not do justice to what we experience at Innsbrook? There are so many special, many times hidden, places within Innsbrook where the scenery, sky, sounds, smells and nature are so aligned that time seems to stand still. We are lucky that there are many talented photographers and artists within the Innsbrook community to help us capture these special places. We will be writing about a few of our favorite Innsbrook naturescapes that we find often while hiking or biking, and inviting your contributions as well. Send us a note or a photo to share. Relating to the sounds of nature, the NPR program “On Being” recently featured a segment on the “Last Quiet Places” that you can listen to online. It reminded me how fortunate we are most of the time at Innsbrook to only hear the sounds of nature.

Photo by Colleen Mitchell

Events This Weekend
If you see this post in time, you can participate in a couple exciting events this weekend.

Winter Hike on Valentine’s Day for Nature Lovers:
All are welcomed for a winter hike and cold weather photo safari along one of Innsbrook’s many trails at 2 p.m. on Valentine’s Day, Saturday, February 14. We will meet at Farmhouse Circle Drive for a hike along the Farmhouse Trail and creek. There will be Valentine awards for the best looking (probably the coldest) and the worst looking (likely the warmest) winter outdoor apparel and footwear!

2) Great Backyard Bird Count
This annual Audubon-sponsored event encourages bird watchers from across the country to identify and count the birds they see in their yards or at their feeders. This creates a real-time map of bird populations. Just count your feathered visitors for as little as 15 minutes (or as long as you want!) on one or more days of the event and report your sightings online at www.birdcount.org. This year, the count window is from February 13 through February 16. For more details and bird identification help, go to http://birds.audubon.org/great-backyard-bird-count. A great resource to keep at your Innsbrook property is “The Birds of Missouri Field Guide” by Stan Tekiela, which groups birds by color for ease of use. Send us your tally and we’ll start compiling an Innsbrook winter bird sighting list.

Photo by Gary Barton

Closing Nature Quote

“Come forth into the light of things, let nature be your teacher,” William Wordsworth (long regarded as the “Poet of Nature.”)

Feel free to send us your wildlife sightings, discussion questions and topics for future issues or meetings by emailing rwmcfall@earthlink.net.

-Innsbrook property owners Richard McFall and Kathleen Kremer