Photos of the Year – 2023 (5)

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It’s arguably too late for this, but I’ve still got two posts prepared that highlight some of my favorite photos from 2023. I figured I might as well post them before it gets any later. This is the second-to-last one and features images from the Nebraska panhandle.

I think this is narrow-leaved musineon (Musineon tenuifolium). It seemed to be thriving without much soil fertility at Courthouse and Jail Rocks near Bridgeport, Nebraska.
Cliff swallows gathering mud for nest construction.
Prairie buckbean, aka prairie golden-pea, golden banner, yellow pea, prairie bean, and false lupine. And probably others. (Thermopsis rhombifolia)
A smoky sunset behind a windmill in far northwestern Nebraska
Sunrise and tree skeleton. Fort Robinson State Park.
Fort Robinson State Park.
The view from a high butte at Fort Robinson State Park.
Gumbo-lily (Oenothera caespitosa) on a high ridge at Fort Robinson State Park.
Distant morning rain in the Nebraska Sandhills – Cherry County, Nebraska.
Fog, dew, and spider.
Fog, dew, and another spider.
Twelve-spotted skimmer (Libellula pulchella) in dew in a Sandhills wet meadow.
Painted milkvetch (Astragalus ceramicus) on a hilltop in the Nebraska Sandhills.
Botanist Gerry Steinauer photographing the same patch of painted milkvetch.
Fog and windmill near a Sandhills wetland.
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About Chris Helzer

Chris Helzer is the Director of Science for The Nature Conservancy in Nebraska. His main role is to evaluate and capture lessons from the Conservancy’s land management and restoration work and then share those lessons with other landowners – both private and public. In addition, Chris works to raise awareness about the importance of prairies and their conservation through his writing, photography, and presentations to various groups. Chris is also the author of "The Ecology and Management of Prairies in the Central United States", published by the University of Iowa Press. He lives in Aurora, Nebraska with his wife Kim and their children.

12 thoughts on “Photos of the Year – 2023 (5)”

  2. You have really outdone yourself with this gallery of photos. Hard to say which is my favorite but probably the painted milkvetch, which I had never heard of. Thanks!

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  3. Painted Milkvetch what a cool plant, I have seen it many times at Crescent Lake. The other pictures are exceptional, thanks for sharing

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  8. Terrific. Love the sand hills, the spiders (yes, spiders!), the milk vetch is new to me and wonderfully weird. Keep on posting; as one commenter above said, very welcome in winter,

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  10. I love all the photos! Nature provides so many interesting and beautiful photography subjects if we just slow down and look at them!!

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