Thursday May 10th started off as a beautiful spring morning. I have an upholstery business so I began my day delivering cushions to a customer. Later that morning I walked my dog along the river levee to check on the Kansas River. After several days of rain the river has been flowing swiftly and there have been a lot of people gathering to watch it from the banks. The fast-moving water carrying debris from upriver can be mesmerizing. It is my hope that in the future Lawrence residents as well as everyone who lives in the Kaw River Valley will pay more attention to this amazing river at all times. The Kansas River is an important natural resource but the water quality in this area is poor. Friends of the Kaw is an organization that I belong to whose mission is to preserve the Kansas River for future generations. We are working to clean up the river and make it safer for fishing and swimming.

I then left the river and went to check on the two young eaglets I have been watching for the past couple of months. It has been an incredible experience to observe two adult eagles building a nest and raising their young. This is something I hope in the future will not be considered a rare observance. The fact that eagles as a breed have returned from almost extinction to breeding locally again is wonderful. It shows us that we really can correct the mistakes of the past and improve the natural world around us. Hopefully future generations of Lawrence residents will consider a healthy population of eagles flying around a clean river just the normal backdrop for their beautiful city.