Kate read that Canistosta has a farmer’s market on Tuesdays from 5pm to 7 pm. We left a little early with plans to stop by the dam and get to Canistosta at 5pm.

We checked the dam for the Belted Kingfisher, but it was not there. The hurt pelican was floating out in the lake. We are not sure if it went out itself or a ranger encouraged it to leave the beach. With nothing to see at the dam, we proceeded on to Canistosta.

In Canistosta, we drove down all six blocks of Main Street and back, and there was no farmer’s market to be found. It was back to school night, so it might have been cancelled for this Tuesday. At this point, Kate revealed that the listing the farmer’s market was from 2021. Well, at least we tried. Kate filled her car with gas, so it was not a total loss.

Oddly, we had been talking about doves earlier in the day. The campground is full of Mourning Doves. You can hardly walk 100 yards without a pair of them flying away screaming in Cute Coo-ing Dovey Terror. In Custer State Park, we had the invasive Eurasian Collared Doves the same way. We had not seen the invasive doves since Custer State Park or 7th Ranch Campground. As we were leaving town, John pointed out a dove with a collar. Kate did not see the collar, but we pulled over. Kate pulled out the Merlin App, and John pulled out the camera. We both confirmed that the Eurasian Collared Doves are indeed in eastern South Dakota.

Yeah, it is a lot of dove pictures with the doves not doing anything. If you do not scare them, they just kind of sit there. No swooping. No pecking. No fishing. No attacking small children. Just an occasional coo or hoot. Cute, but boring.

In the pictures, you can see the collar going three quarters of the way around the neck and leaving the throat open. Since they are quite boring, John took thirty or forty pictures (to make sure at least one was in focus), and we went back home.

When we got home, an odd crested bird landed on a dead tree behind the trailer. We thought it might be a female Cedar Waxwing, but males and females look almost identical. It sat up there for about five minutes looking back and forth. Due to the heat shimmer, bird size, and distance, the pictures are not very detailed.