Does any animal evoke a stronger sense of prairie than the plains bison?
Bison at The Nature Conservancy’s Niobrara Valley Preserve in the sandhills of north-central Nebraska. Click on the image for a larger, sharper view.
On this Thanksgiving, I am grateful for many things. Among those is the opportunity to take my kids to see bison on large tracts of native prairie. I hope they’ll do the same with their own kids someday.
Happy Thanksgiving.
Forests are not the only habitats that have beautiful leaves in autumn. Here are two photos of a common prairie plant, wild bergamot (aka beebalm or Monarda fistulosa). Both photos were taken yesterday in a small restored prairie.
Colorful leaves of wild bergamot in a restored prairie at The Leadership Center in Aurora, Nebraska.
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More leaves, different plant, same prairie.
As is usually the case, you have to look a little closer to see the beauty in a prairie as compared to forests or other “show off” habitat types. It’s not a lot of work, though, and is usually worth the effort!
The Prairie Ecologist 