Late afternoon light in December can bring beautiful warm color to prairie landscapes, turning drab brown into gold. I was lucky enough to be in one of our Platte River Prairies this week when the sun finally peeked out from behind the last bank of clouds at the end of an overcast day.
Winter prairie on the Platte River. Derr Sandpit Prairie Restoration.
We live in a beautiful world. Enjoy your holiday season!
Tuesday morning was on the chilly side. When I woke up, it was clear, calm, and minus five degrees Fahrenheit. In short, a perfect day to head out for some prairie photography!
A frosty seed head of Canada wild rye at a restored prairie on the campus of The Leadership Center - Aurora, Nebraska.
As the sun rose, I was tramping through the snow in a small restored prairie on the east side of Aurora. I shared the prairie with a small flock of tree sparrows moving around the prairie and feeding on seeds from tall wildflowers and grasses. There were also a few tracks of mice through the snow, and a great horned owl flushed from the wooded edge of the prairie as I walked in. Otherwise, it was just me and a lot of frosty prairie plants.
I didn’t set out to photograph any particular thing, but I ended up focusing mainly on frozen flowers. Below are a few of the images I came home with. (Click on any photo to see a larger, sharper version of it.)
Entire-leaf rosinweed
New England aster
Tall boneset (Eupatorium altissimum)
Common evening primrose
Annual sunflower (Helianthus annuus)
Canada wild rye
The Prairie Ecologist 