World Water Day was this week (March 22). I don’t usually pay much attention to those kinds of holidays but I think we can all agree water is pretty important. I am very fortunate to live in a state where water is very abundant. That doesn’t keep us from squabbling about it, of course, but I think it’s easy to forget how lucky we are to have what we have.
Here is a celebration of Nebraska water.
Derr Sandpit Wetland, The Nature Conservancy’s Platte River Prairies. Nikon 11-20 wide angle lens @11mm. ISO 320, f/8, 1/250 sec.Cottonwood leaf in a stream. The Nature Conservancy’s Niobrara Valley Preserve. Nikon 105mm macro lens. ISO 500, f/16, 1/320 sec.Smith Falls on the Niobrara River. Nikon 12-28mm lens @12mm. ISO 400, f/8, 1/320 sec.Wetland in the Nebraska Sandhills. Nikon 12-28mm wide angle lens @12mm. ISO 320, f/22, 1/160 sec.Wetland rush and stream. Nikon 105mm macro lens. ISO 400, f/8, 1/500 sec.Wetland at the Helzer family prairie. Nikon 12-28 mm lens @12mm. ISO 400, f/14, 1/40 sec.Beggarsticks (Bidens sp) and duckweed (Lemna sp). The Nature Conservancy’s Platte River Prairies. Nikon 105mm macro lens. ISO 400, f/20, 1/100 sec.Daniel and Calvin kayaking the Niobrara River. Cell phone photo.Central Platte River and floodplain prairies. The Nature Conservancy’s Platte River Prairies. DJI Mavic Zoom drone.Niobrara River before sunrise. The Nature Conservancy’s Niobrara Valley Preserve. Nikon 105mm lens. ISO 250, f/6.3, 1/30 sec.
Water is always beautiful no matter how much nor how little and wherever it is observed. I grew up in the southern Arizona desert where water was ‘episodic’ and sometimes as a flash flood, HAH! In the desert plants and animals adapt to the ‘episodic’ appearances of water. In the huge coastal sand dunes of the Namibian deserts, animals and plants adapt to collect it out of the morning dewy air from the cooler coastal ocean waters. So the water comes in so many ways and forms and always fascinating.
Why does Smith Falls jut out from the rock face? I thought waterfalls cut into the rock. Is there some life form living under the falling water that causes deposition to occur?
The Prairie Ecologist 
Exquisite reminder of the life-giving spirit of water . . .
Water is always beautiful no matter how much nor how little and wherever it is observed. I grew up in the southern Arizona desert where water was ‘episodic’ and sometimes as a flash flood, HAH! In the desert plants and animals adapt to the ‘episodic’ appearances of water. In the huge coastal sand dunes of the Namibian deserts, animals and plants adapt to collect it out of the morning dewy air from the cooler coastal ocean waters. So the water comes in so many ways and forms and always fascinating.
Beautiful photos of Nebraska water. Brightened my day. Thanks!
Why does Smith Falls jut out from the rock face? I thought waterfalls cut into the rock. Is there some life form living under the falling water that causes deposition to occur?