During the last couple of weeks, the weather and prairies have both made full transitions to autumn. I’ve been able to grab a little time here and there to snap some portraits of the fall prairie. I hope you enjoy them.
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Canada wild rye (Elymus canadensis) stands out against a backdrop of gold and green prairie.
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A jumping spider peers at me from the stem of a beggarstick flower in a restored wetland.
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Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta) – long since done flowering – is still an attractive flower in the autumn prairie.
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Stiff goldenrod (Solidago rigida) contributes strongly to the cacophany of yellow flowers in autumn prairies.
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Heath aster (Aster ericoides) is super-abundant this year in some of our prairies, and many pollinators – including this fly – appear to appreciate it.
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False boneset (Brickellia eupatorioides) is one of the deepest rooted plants in the prairie, which allowed it to flower and produce abundant seed even in this very dry year.
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The Prairie Ecologist 
Great photos as always. I need to make a trip to your prairie so you can teach me Asters 101 — I can’t tell mine apart! I’ve tried counting petals but it’s been no help!
Asters are not a strong point for me either. I even use the outdated latin names! Fortunately, we only have 4 species in our Platte River Prairies. I can tell two of them apart easily and just lump the other two into the same species!
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