Photo of the Week – January 5, 2018

Three brief items today:

First, if you’re from here in Nebraska, you might be interested in a free photo workshop I’m leading next Saturday (Jan 13) from 9:30 am to 2 pm.  The workshop is designed for people who don’t have a lot of photography experience and want to learn how to better use whatever camera they have (from a phone to a digital SLR camera).  You can see more information about the workshop here.

Second, thanks to everyone who played the Plant Game this week.  The names I made up were Eggs-and-toast, Starry Flipwick, and Jasper Penny.  I won the first two (at least one real plant name got more votes than my fake one) but over half of you figured out that Jasper Penny isn’t a real plant.  The mystery photo was Pyrrhopappus grandiflorus (Tuberuos false dandelion).  I actually posted the same photo back in May 2016.  It is common in the southern U.S. but only known from one location in Nebraska.

Third, here is this week’s photo.  I went to a nearby frozen wetland yesterday, looking for photo opportunities.  I wasn’t finding much of interest until I started looking at the edges of where snow had melted away from protruding plants.  There, I found some interesting patterns among the ice crystals, often with dark shadows beneath them.  This was my favorite shot of the day.  I think I see Bambi the fawn (left side, facing to the right).  What do you see?

What do you see in this image of melting snow?

Photo of the Week – August 11, 2017

If you’ve followed this blog for any length of time, you’ve probably noticed that I take a lot of photos of insects, especially on flowers.  For some reason, my eyes just gravitate toward flowers in search of little invertebrates.  Over the last couple weeks, though, I’ve made a concerted effort to take at least a few photos of few flowers that didn’t have insects.  As it turns out, flowers are kinda pretty all on their own.

Here are a few.

Illinois tickclover (Desmodium illinoensis). Lincoln Creek Prairie, Aurora, Nebraska.

Entire-leaved rosinweed (Silphium integrifolium). The Nature Conservancy’s Platte River Prairies, Nebraska.

Velvety gaura (Gaura parviflora). The Nature Conservancy’s Platte River Prairies, Nebraska.

Roundheaded bushclover (Lespedeza capitata). Lincoln Creek Prairie, Aurora, Nebraska.

Rocky mountain bee plant (Cleome serrulata). The Nature Conservancy’s Platte River Prairies, Nebraska.

Prairie gentian (Eustoma grandiflorum). The Nature Conservancy’s Platte River Prairies, Nebraska.