Caterpillar on false gromwell. Griffith Prairie - north of Aurora, Nebraska.
This fall, I was honored to be the banquet speaker at the first annual conference of the Nebraska Natural Legacy Project (Nebraska’s state wildlife action plan). For the event, I presented a slide show that I hoped would showcase the diversity and beauty in Nebraska’s natural landscapes. During the last several weeks, I’ve had several requests from people to make the slide show available on-line.
Well, I’ve done that, but I rearranged the show a little and separated it into five separate short videos that are each about 3 minutes long. If you’re interested, you can view each of them by clicking on the links below. They can also be accessed from the home page of this blog, either by clicking on “Photos” at the top of the page or by following the links under “Pages” on the right side of the page.
I hope you enjoy them.
The Prairie Ecologist 
Chris,
Nicely done! A good way to start the day.
David
Chris,
Thank you for posting these. You have captured many of the elements of the prairie that I so appreciate it for, and quite beautifully so! Do you make any of your photos available as reprints?
Grace
Thanks Grace. I don’t typically sell prints because of the hassle of it all. Doesn’t mean I wouldn’t, but it might be expensive. I’d recommend Michael Forsberg for prints – great photos and he does it for a business…
Beautiful set of images, with several that I thought deserved special comment. But to keep it short, just two things:
– Tragopogon with the sun behind it – Stunning and seemingly unearthly!
– The landscapes really make me look forward to visiting up there, next summer. (I’m a wimp, so not in winter, thank you.)
Thanks James. The Tragopogon is actually false dandelion (Don’t remember the latin off the top of my head). And I’m looking forward to having you here. Though I can’t promise you’ll see ALL the landscapes!
I worried about using that name, but still a great image.
Pyrrhopappus?
Nothocalais cuspidata. Just looked it up. A nice little flower. Yeah, I like the shot too. There’s another image of twin seedheads from the same species in that plant slide show. A great photo op species.
hey chris I think I recognize the wolf spider. all was nicely done. bob
Thanks Bob. Yep, I think you’ve seen it before!
Chris, The pictures are wonderful. What species of Carex do you show in bloom? The only criticism I have is your winter pictures do not contain
a shot portraying the fierceness of a Nebraska blizzard. Your readers should know Nebraska blizzards where feared for their ability to arrive without warning. Many settlers perished from being caught by a blizzard too far from shelter. Sadly this was a fate of a number of children travelling to school.
Mr. Trager should consider traveling in winter. This is the only time of year a naturalist is not too busy. When I lived in New York I hiked up mountains almost exclusively in Winter. During the summer I was too engrossed in botanizing other areas. There is something about the crispness of the winter air and the frost right before dawn that makes one feel alive. The depth of the feeling is just as strong as is felt from viewing the uncountable stars in the clear night air of winter.
James
James, it’s Carex heliophila.
I’ll let you handle the prairie blizzard photos! I’ll stay inside with my family…
Great photos! David Laskin is the author of “The Children’s Blizzard.” A book about the blizzard of 1888. Mix of facts and stories. Fascinating read.
I’m currently a state geologist in Maryland where I have spent most of my short 25 years. However, a special place will always be in my heart for the great state of Nebraska, where I spent 4 years growing up near the Platte River. Nebraska has such unique natural beauty that is wholly underrated at times! In order to grasp the vastness of the plains, one just has to experience it… but these images sure come close! Thank you for sharing such spectacular photos..
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