Soffietti-Boccia Vacation Rentals

09/24/2026

Interesting read….

09/23/2026

09/23/2026

Hunters! Looking for a great place to stay in Southeast Kansas during hunting season? Look no further!
Click on the evolve links below to see our properties! (You can also book us through other rental sites such as Airbnb.com and vrbo.com!)

Rental Option #1:

https://evolve.com/vacation-rentals/us/ks/west-mineral/489068?queryID=8ffc78f84e43fb63b217ef95683504d7

*Rental Option #2:

https://evolve.com/vacation-rentals/us/ks/west-mineral/488327?queryID=8ffc78f84e43fb63b217ef95683504d7

*Note: This location has a deer cleaning station and freezer available!

09/23/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/19PfZZLzFx/?mibextid=wwXIfr&direct_share_include_copy=1&fb_entity_type=newsfeed

We can be found on all booking sites:
Evolve.com, Airbnb.com,
and Vrbo.com!!!

Rental Option #1:
https://evolve.com/vacation-rentals/us/ks/west-mineral/489068?queryID=8ffc78f84e43fb63b217ef95683504d7

*Rental Option #2:
https://evolve.com/vacation-rentals/us/ks/west-mineral/488327?queryID=8ffc78f84e43fb63b217ef95683504d7

09/23/2026

People call blue jays loud. Bossy. Feeder bullies.

They're also some of the most important tree planters in North America.

In fall, blue jays collect acorns and carry them away, sometimes several at once in a pouch in their throat. They fly them off to bury them, often a mile or more from the parent tree.

One classic study in Virginia estimated that individual blue jays cached around 4,500 acorns in a single fall.

They come back for many of them in winter. But not all.

The acorns they don't recover are already planted: buried at the right depth, often in open ground, far from the shade and competition of the parent tree. Exactly the conditions an oak seedling needs.

Oaks can't move. Their acorns are too heavy for the wind. Without animals carrying them, oak forests would spread very slowly. Researchers think blue jays played a major role in how quickly oaks spread north as the glaciers retreated after the last ice age.

And oaks are the most valuable trees in North America for wildlife, supporting hundreds of species of caterpillars that feed nesting birds.

How to help:
Plant a native oak. It's the single best tree for wildlife in most of the US.
Leave acorns on the ground, or keep a pile for jays, squirrels, deer, and turkeys.
Add peanuts in the shell or whole corn to a platform feeder. Jays love them.

That loud blue bird at your feeder?

It's been planting forests for thousands of years.

09/23/2026

"stay too long and freeze."

It's one of the most persistent myths in backyard birding. And it's wrong.

Hummingbird migration is triggered by day length and instinct, not by food. When the time comes, they leave. A full feeder won't keep a healthy bird from migrating any more than a full fridge keeps you from going on vacation.

What your feeder actually does in fall: it fuels the journey.

Many ruby-throated hummingbirds cross the Gulf of Mexico in a single nonstop flight of about 500 miles. To survive it, a bird weighing about 3 grams can nearly double its body weight in fat in the days before it leaves.

And the birds at your feeder in late September usually aren't "your" summer birds. They're migrants from farther north, passing through and refueling on the way.

What to do:
Keep feeders up until at least two weeks after you see your last hummingbird.
Keep the recipe the same: 1 part white sugar to 4 parts water. No dye.
Change the nectar every few days and clean the feeder each time.
In the Gulf states and the Southeast, keep one up all winter. Western species (like rufous hummingbirds) increasingly winter there, and a feeder can help them.

Leave it up. They'll leave when they're ready.