what isn't in kansas

i was thinking about what doesn't exist in kansas, or rather what i haven't seen since i've been riding:

    let's start with the most obvious:  mountains.  there are the flint hills.  but these are hills in the sense of fort sanders, not the foothills, the foothills parkway.  no self respecting east tennessean would refer to these as hills.

    trash.  there is no trash on the side of the road.  if you see an aluminum can or plastic bottle, it's an anomaly.  i could probably count on both hands the number of cans i've seen.

    glass.  absolutely no glass on the shoulders of the road.  believe me, a biker's bane on highway shoulders is all the debris.  i watch for it all the time, i don't like getting flats.  don't know if they sell glass bottles, i've never looked.

    churches.  i don't know where they are.  i'm sure they're here.  i remember the original immigrants were a mix of catholic, lutheran and methodist, but i don't see any churches.  in east tennessee, of course, they're everywhere.  in the northern midwest, one of the most comforting sites are the steeples sticking up over the trees in the distance.  catholic and lutheran spires.  but the only things that stick up here are the grain silos.  there are graveyards, nicely kept trim, fenced, with rows of flag poles around the perimeter.  they're on the roadside, not necessarily in the town, but they have the name of the communiy and there is no church nearby.  

    political signs.  after leaving lawrence, hot spot of political activism, i have not seen a single political sign.  no red maga hats, no t-shirts, no bumper stickers, no billboards.  haven't seen a 'don't tread on me', a 'you'll never take my gun', anti-immigration slogan or a rebel flag.  i have seen several anti-abortion billboards, but i would argue that is an ethical not political stance.

    kids.  don't know where they're hiding, certainly not playing in the highway.

    moon.  it's been cloudy most nights and mornings.  last night i wanted to stay up and see the stars,  but the storm chased me into the tent.  i don't even know what phase it's in.  haven't seen it during the day, either.  i miss the moon.

    flowers.  i've seen a total of 4 flower species all week.  what's up with that?  that can't be right.

    trees, or rather forests.  yeah, there are trees.  there were more in the flint hills, of course.  now they're limited to occassional windbreaks around houses.  smaller, more twisted shapes, no groves.

    police.  i've seen one or two cars on the road.  i've seen several parked, especially around the small towns.  haven't seen any actual policemen.  budget balancing?

    farm equipment.  it must be between seasonal chores, because i've seen no large tillers, seeders, harvesters, fertilizers.  some land has been harvested not that long ago, some tilled, in some places new crops are just coming up and in others it mid-cald high.  but no equipment out working.  i have seen a couple of small tractors moving around but not working the soil.  and just one or two over the last week.  gives the sense of large, automated farms.