Lake Lorraine News

03/26/2026

2 small chairs for free. Will need a chair throw due to fabric damage but fairly sturdy little chairs. Driveway pickup. Message me for address.

03/09/2026

Missing kitty from 4251 Lakeview Dr at Ridge Rd.

02/25/2026

Is this your cat? Call 636-942-4245

02/23/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1HiaVBKei4/

Happy National Wildlife Day. Most people will celebrate by sharing a photo of a lion or an elephant — an animal they've never seen in person, in a country they've never visited.

Try something different today. Count what's living at your address.

Right now, in February, within about 50 feet of your house, there are roughly 1,200 organisms you share space with. Most of them you've never seen.

Here's who's home.

In your walls, shed, woodpile and garage — 4 to 8 deer mice. Under your lawn in shallow tunnels — 2 to 4 meadow voles. In the tree canopy or attic — a squirrel or two. Rotating through your yard on a 3-mile nightly loop — an opossum. Checking your trash on a schedule it knows by heart — a raccoon. Under the deck or in the brush pile — an Eastern Cottontail. Six inches below your feet, swimming through the soil — a mole. And possibly a flying squirrel in a tree cavity you've never checked.

Visiting your yard daily — 3 to 5 chickadees burning 10 percent of their body weight every night just to stay warm. A pair of mourning doves. A downy woodpecker mining insects from bark. A nuthatch patrolling the tree trunk upside down. A Carolina wren with dozens of seeds cached in your gutter. And somewhere within 200 yards, a hawk hunting from a perch.

Buried 6 inches deep beside your foundation — a toad or two waiting for spring. Under your stone wall — a garter snake sharing a brumation den with dozens of others. In the mud at the bottom of the nearest pond — a painted turtle breathing through its skin.

In the leaf litter — more than 200 moth cocoons and butterfly chrysalises. Hundreds of overwintering beetles, spiders and ground-dwelling insects. Between your siding — a paper wasp queen, the sole survivor of last year's colony, waiting to start a new one.

And in a single tablespoon of your soil — roughly a billion bacteria, 120,000 fungi, and 25,000 algae. Below ground, mycelial networks are connecting every tree on your street right now, actively transporting nutrients even in February.

🌿 How to see more of them today:

- Check the underside of your porch light — look for moth cocoons tucked into the corners
- Flip a stone or a pot in a shaded area — you'll find beetles, spiders, or a toad pressed against the damp soil
- Look at the base of your trees for small holes in the bark — woodpecker work, or insect exit tunnels
- Check the leaf litter under your hedge — pull back a layer gently and watch what moves
- Stand outside at dusk for five minutes — count every bird that crosses your line of sight heading to roost

National Wildlife Day isn't about animals in countries you'll never visit. It's about the 1,200 organisms already living at your address that you've never counted.

Go outside today. Everyone's home. 🦉

02/19/2026

We will be hearing them soon!

You heard me before you noticed me.

That sharp “conk-la-ree!” from the wet field, pond edge, or roadside ditch isn’t background noise — it’s a territorial declaration.

I’m a Red-winged Blackbird, and I didn’t just appear. I migrated north weeks ahead of most songbirds, returning as soon as daylight length and thawing wetlands told me insects would soon follow.

Those red shoulder patches aren’t decoration.
They’re a warning.

I flash them at rivals and sing from the highest perch I can find — fence posts, reeds, signposts — announcing ownership of every patch of cattails around me. The louder and more persistent the call, the stronger the claim.

Females arrive later.
When they do, they choose the males who held territory first and held it longest.

So while gardens still look asleep and trees are bare, the breeding season has already started in the marsh.

Spring doesn’t begin with flowers.
It begins with sound.

And that sound is me.

02/19/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/1bWNz89VUZ/

You heard me before you noticed me.

That sharp “conk-la-ree!” from the wet field, pond edge, or roadside ditch isn’t background noise — it’s a territorial declaration.

I’m a Red-winged Blackbird, and I didn’t just appear. I migrated north weeks ahead of most songbirds, returning as soon as daylight length and thawing wetlands told me insects would soon follow.

Those red shoulder patches aren’t decoration.
They’re a warning.

I flash them at rivals and sing from the highest perch I can find — fence posts, reeds, signposts — announcing ownership of every patch of cattails around me. The louder and more persistent the call, the stronger the claim.

Females arrive later.
When they do, they choose the males who held territory first and held it longest.

So while gardens still look asleep and trees are bare, the breeding season has already started in the marsh.

Spring doesn’t begin with flowers.
It begins with sound.

And that sound is me.

02/10/2026

Update Found!!
Missing from lake Lorraine February 2 .
Beau, neutered male cat, old wound on front leg. No chip.
Please call 636-942-4245

12/12/2025

Update Found!
Alison on East shore has lost her dog Jack!
Friendly border Collie mix. Please call
314-766-7158
314-780-7706

12/09/2025

Dine out for a good cause!
December 20

🍞💚 Dine Out for All For Family! 💚🍞
Looking for an easy (and delicious!) way to support All For Family? Join us at Panera in Festus on December 20th between 4:00–8:00 pm!

Panera will generously donate 30% of net sales from your order — and it’s super simple to participate!
You can:
✔️ Order online using code FUND4U
✔️ Or show the fundraiser flyer (printed or on your phone) when ordering in the café

📍 1075 West Gannon Drive, Festus, MO
🗓 Friday, December 20th | 4–8 PM

Every meal helps us continue providing safe, supportive supervised visits for children and families. Thank you for helping families stay connected — one soup and sandwich at a time! 💛🥣

11/20/2025

The water is on!
Boil order until further notice!

11/19/2025

The water is out again
😭