Well, it’s February, 2024 – the perfect time to share the last of my posts containing my favorite photos from 2023. Other blogs share those kinds of photos series at the end of a year, or – at the latest – a few days into the next. I, however, eschew convention, and will share ‘best of’ photos whenever I feel like it.
Also, I’ve been really busy.
Eastern box turtle. Osage Hills State Park, Oklahoma.
Most of my photography takes place in Nebraska. That’s largely due to the fact that I live here. Of course, it’s also a worthwhile place to photograph, with incredible diversity and beauty, though you’d never guess that by the way it’s often portrayed by non-Nebraskans. Yes, there’s a lot of corn here, too, and they even named the most popular football team the ‘cornhuskers,’ but that doesn’t mean it’s all we have.
Anyway, here’s the point. All the photos in today’s post were taken OUTSIDE Nebraska. I had lots of opportunities to travel last year – many while following my ultramarathoning wife around for training runs and races. Sometimes light and opportunity lined up well enough for me to do some photography on those trips. Here are some of my favorite 2023 photos from those excursions.
A miner bee (Anthophora abrupta) on spider milkweed (Asclepias viridis) at Osage Hills State Park. Thanks to Mike Arduser for identifying the bee for me. I figured out the milkweed on my own.Yucca (Yucca glauca) and sunrise at the Loess Hills Wildlife Management Area in western Iowa.Yellow flax blossom (Linum rigidum?) at the Loess Hills Wildlife Management AreaSpider (Larinia borealis) and prey. Loess Hills Wildlife Management AreaGreen milkweed (Asclepias viridiflora). Loess Hills Wildlife Management AreaYucca (Yucca glauca) and sunrise at the Loess Hills Wildlife Management area in western Iowa.Coreopsis flowers at the White Rock Conservancy in Iowa.Reconstructed prairie full of pale purple coneflower (Echinacea pallida) and white wild indigo (Baptisia alba) during a North American Prairie Conference Field trip to land owned and restored by Jon Judson.Butterfly milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa) and pale purple coneflower (Echinacea pallida) during a North American Prairie Conference Field trip to land owned and restored by Jon Judson.Common checkered skipper (butterfly) at Wilson Lake, KansasMayfly at Wilson Lake, KansasColumbine and other wildflowers in the Flat Tops Wilderness in ColoradoWildflowers (Arnica sp?) in the Flat Tops Wilderness in ColoradoWildflowers growing out of a rocky cliff in the Flat Tops Wilderness in ColoradoOak trees and rocks near Lake Murray in OklahomaA wheel bug at Konza Prairie Biological Station in the Flint Hills of KansasHiking trail at Konza Prairie Biological Station in the Flint Hills of Kansas
I would love to see these beauties in person. Unfortunately, at 78 I don’t get around too well anymore. Your photos and the beauty they show me mean a lot. Thanks VERY much.
The photos are always so much better on your website than on the email announcing your latest post. Beautiful photos, but in a way it’s hard to relate to photos with colors of spring and summer greens and when we’re still locked in brown and gray and winter green.
I’ve hiked the trails at Konza, but it was in March so a much different look than your photos indicate. Although a bit nippy with wind, it was an enjoyable and worthwhile hike. Your photos are so nice.
The Prairie Ecologist 
The most beautiful photos yet from last year.
I would love to see these beauties in person. Unfortunately, at 78 I don’t get around too well anymore. Your photos and the beauty they show me mean a lot. Thanks VERY much.
The photos are always so much better on your website than on the email announcing your latest post. Beautiful photos, but in a way it’s hard to relate to photos with colors of spring and summer greens and when we’re still locked in brown and gray and winter green.
I’ve hiked the trails at Konza, but it was in March so a much different look than your photos indicate. Although a bit nippy with wind, it was an enjoyable and worthwhile hike. Your photos are so nice.
Lovely as usual. Thank you!