Photo of the Week – October 25, 2018

Posted on by
7

As a photographer, I tend to gravitate toward small subjects, even when I should probably be paying attention to what else is happening around me.  I spent the first couple days of this week at our Niobrara Valley Preserve, helping with the annual roundup of our west bison herd.  I was up close and personal with more than 400 bison, surrounded by a sweeping landscape of prairie and river.  As a result, here are some close-up photos of leaves I found during a break in the action.  

Bur oak leaves near the corral.

This isn’t the first time I’ve come back from a bison roundup, only to share photos of leaves.  In fact, it’s been almost exactly two years since I last did it.  To be fair, I have also posted lots of photos of bison and bison roundups, and you can use the handy search function on this blog page if you’d like to see those.  Today, though, you get to look at leaves.  Or not – there’s plenty of other things you can look at on the internet.  Go ahead, I won’t mind.

More bur oak leaves.

Anyone still here?  Ok.  For those of you who didn’t wander off to look at kittens or John Travolta memes, here are some more leaf photos.  During some down time, I wandered toward a nearby stream.  I first stopped to photograph oak leaves tenuously hanging onto branches (a few dropped every time a gentle breeze came up).  Then, I made my way down to the water and got my knees wet along the edge of the stream as I photographed leaves in or near the water.

A bur oak leaf in wet sand…
Some of the most interesting photos came from leaves just barely submerged under the clear water.
This cottonwood leaf had clearly been in the water recently, probably after one of the recent rains we’ve had.
A pair of underwater cottonwood leaves.
Half of a hackberry leaf.
I think this is my favorite of the bunch.  These willow leaves seemed perfectly situated in the shallow rippling water.

Ok, I actually did take some photos of bison, the people working with them, an elk that wandered nearby, and a few other things.  Maybe I’ll post some of those sometime, but people and bison all kinda look alike, don’t they?  Leaves on the other hand…!

A New Prairie Ad Campaign?

Posted on by
40

Nebraska announced its new tourism slogan last week (“Honestly, it’s not for everyone”), which is a self-deprecating approach many people appreciate and many others don’t. Personally, I like it.  If it works, it’ll be a win for humor and gentle self-mockery.  If it doesn’t, it’ll be a win for those of us who don’t want a lot more people crawling around here anyway.  I mean, what if some of them decide they want to MOVE here?  Good grief.

The new Nebraska slogan made me think that prairies probably need a better advertising campaign too.  If you ask most people to envision beautiful natural areas, they’re likely going to think about forests,  mountains, oceans, etc.  Prairies are going to be pretty far down that list, if not absent altogether.  As a result of this, we prairie advocates often feel a little insecure and defensive when trying to explain why prairies might be worth some consideration.

I tried to come up with a promotional approach that captured all of that angst and emotion in one neat little package.  For better or worse, here’s my proposed new slogan for prairies:

Prairies: Forests without all the pesky trees.

My slogan, of course, builds upon the famous saying, “Can’t see the forest for all the pesky trees.”  It’s a profound and thought-provoking saying, though it doesn’t go far enough.  It should really say, “Can’t see a dang thing for all the pesky trees.”

I suppose if you grew up in forests, you’d get used to not seeing sunsets, approaching storms, horizons, or anything else more than a stone’s throw away.  Maybe forest people develop a sense of direction that doesn’t rely on seeing the sun?  They probably take a lot of Vitamin D supplements too.

To those of us in prairie country, forests can feel incredibly confining, and claustrophobic.  There must be some advantages of hanging out where you can’t see past the next tree.  I just can’t think what they might be.

ANYWAY…here are a few examples of the kinds of advertisements we could distribute with my proposed new slogan…









I recognize that this slogan might not appeal to everyone.  On the other hand, I’m providing it for no cost, which is a lot cheaper than Nebraska’s new slogan.  If you don’t like it, you’re free to ignore it.  If you do like it, you’re free to steal it and use it yourself.  Or just share either this post, or individual images from it, with people you think might find it appealing.  Maybe don’t send it to any foresters…

(Regular readers of this blog will recognize that this post is written with tongue-firmly-in-cheek, but for the rest of you (especially my forester friends), please be assured I’m not a tree hater.  I’m actually a big fan of trees; just not when they’re in my prairies.  I even enjoy walking through forests – for brief periods – especially when there’s a clear trail to follow so I don’t get lost…)