The Prairie Ecologist

Essays, photos, and discussion about prairie ecology, restoration, and management

Photo of the Week – May 16, 2013

Posted on May 16, 2013 by Chris Helzer

We spent two days in the southeast corner of Nebraska this week, pulling garlic mustard at our Rulo Bluffs Preserve. It was the second trip in as many weeks, and there was still plenty to do the second time around. The preserve is less than 450 acres in size, but feels much bigger when we’re hiking up and down the steep bluffs.

A may apple flower hides beneath the canopy of its own leaves. The Nature Conservancy’s Rulo Bluffs Preserve, Nebraska.

There were still some spring wildflowers in bloom at the Preserve, including the mayapples (Poldophyllum peltatum) shown above. It was good to see them – they were motivation for slogging up the hill to the next patch of garlic mustard…

Photo of the Week – May 9, 2013

Posted on May 9, 2013 by Chris Helzer

A red-sided garter snake (Thamnophis sirtalis). The Nature Conservancy’s Platte River Prairies, Nebraska. Click on this or other photos for a larger, sharper image.

I ran across this beautiful garter snake in our Platte River Prairies yesterday. Interestingly, it was almost exactly a year ago that I photographed a mating ball of red-sided garter snakes just a 1/2 mile from where I found this one. This one may have been looking for love too, but I interrupted it just long enough to get a few photos.

I know snakes evoke strong emotions from many people – and not necessarily in a positive way. It’s too bad, because if you can stand to look at them up close, they are really beautiful creatures. I love to study the patterns of scales, especially on the head. The scales look as if they might have been put together by a master stone mason.