We conducted our first prescribed burn of the Spring this week.  It was very small – about an acre or so – surrounded by gravel roads.  The first burn after a long winter is always a little rocky; everyone’s a little out of practice, the crew isn’t yet used to burning with each other, and equipment hasn’t been fully tested…  So it was nice to start small, though the low humidity and warm day made it plenty exciting, even within a small, safe unit.

After the smoke cleared and everyone headed out, I stuck around and poked around in the ashes a little.  I found a patch of prickly pear cactus scorched by the fire, and liked the patterns of color and texture, so I grabbed my camera.

Prickly pear cactus after a prairie fire. Fire doesn’t seem to kill the plants, but does set them back for a while.  The Nature Conservancy’s Platte River Prairies, Nebraska.

I was mesmerized by the colors and patterns in the scorched cacti.

I photographed scorched cacti for an embarrassingly long time.  Then, since my knees were already black with soot, I wandered around a little more and photographed a few other interesting post-burn scenes.  I’m a little eccentric that way.  Here are some of the other images from the day – enjoy your weekend!

Tall dropseed (Sporobolus compositus) on ashes.

Common mullein (Verbascum thapsus) leaves, fuzzy and partially blackened by fire.

Partially burned seed pods of fourpoint evening primrose (Oenothera rhombipetala).

The remains of a milkweed pod (Asclepias syriaca).