Tag Archives: snow

Photos of the Week – March 25, 2025

Posted on by
2

Last week, a thundersnow storm dropped five inches of snow here in central Nebraska, and prolonged windy conditions knocked power out for much of our area. The weather seems to be fighting both itself and us.

Yesterday, though, was a very pleasant day. I took a midday break from work and made a quick stop at our family prairie to make sure everything was ok. It was. Since there were some diffuse clouds making good light for close-up photography, I wandered around a little to see if I could find any reason to exercise my macro lens. I quickly found a cute little millipede near a badger dig but it didn’t feel like sticking around for photos.

Midge on melting snow

Next, I wandered over the the melting remnants of a big snow drift. I laid down in the wet grass near the edge and perused the snow for any movement. There was more happening than you might expect.

Some of the last remnants of last week’s big storm.
Stiff goldenrod and melting snow.

First, I found a few sprigs of prairie plants sticking out of the snow and played with them. Once I was tuned in, though, I started seeing movement and found quite a few little insects. Twenty minutes later, with wet elbows and knees, I got up and headed back to work. Here are some of the insects I found on the snow:

A little frit fly
Another tiny fly
A delphacid planthopper
The same midge as seen above
Leafhopper
Beetle
Barklouse. I was proud of myself for recognizing this one!

Why were all these insects hanging out on the snow? The air temperature was in the mid-50’s (Fahrenheit), so it’s not surprising they were active, but why hang out on a big pile of ice crystals instead of somewhere warmer? Were they looking for something? Taking advantage of the sun exposure, even though it made their feet cold? I don’t know.

Even though they were all smaller than a grain of rice, the insects stood out because of their movement on a white background. That was convenient for me, of course, but also seems like a vulnerability to any predators hanging around. I don’t have to understand it, I can just be grateful to see all those little friends, and for the chance to start warming up for the coming field season full of insects and many other small wonders.

I haven’t seen any wildflowers yet, but we’re getting close to that time. Maybe just one or two more snowstorms first? Happy spring, everyone.

Photos of the Week – February 24, 2025

Posted on by
6

Well, the temperatures have swung back up and our snow is rapidly melting. I only managed a couple brief photography jaunts during the cold snap/snow, but they were enjoyable. Below is my favorite photo from this most recent snow.

Partially melted/refrozen snow crystals at Gjerloff Prairie.

Last week, I was honored to be a guest speaker at the Illinois Association of Conservation Districts Conference at Starved Rock State Park. It was great to catch up with some old friends and meet more. I was really impressed with the energy of the group and with the creativity and thoughtfulness being applied to conservation challenges.

On the first morning of the conference, we took a quick hike up a couple canyons in the park. We got to admire both water-carved sandstone formations and frozen waterfalls. The bigger of the frozen falls, unfortunately, had broken off, but was still impressive. A smaller version in the next canyon, though, was still intact and made for some fun photography.

Field trip at Starved Rock State Park
Frozen waterfall!
Frozen waterfall!
Ice and embedded leaves near the waterfall.
Fun ice patterns.

We got back to Nebraska Friday night – just in time for me to get out for a Saturday morning photography hike before temperatures rose and started to melt all the snow. I got up early enough Saturday that I was at Gjerloff Prairie before sunrise. I had the place to myself, and only a cross country skier the previous day had made tracks through the new snow before I arrived. (Well, not counting the birds, deer, coyotes, mice, etc.)

Pre-sunrise photo of grasses and the marks they’d made in the snow during the previous breezy day.

It was a pleasant morning for a hike, despite the cold temperature (about 10 degrees F). The evidence of breezes during the two previous days were everywhere – especially in the way grasses had traced patterns in the snow – but there was only a gentle breath of wind while I walked.

The wind had moved the grasses around enough that they’d carved out circles at their bases.
Grazed grasses.
Snow crystals around a slight gap in the snow surface.

Numerous birds and mice had been out feeding and had left their tracks all over. They also left some of their food scattered about. One patch of smooth sumac had clearly been worked over by one or more mice. It/they had climbed up and torn quite a few fruits from the top of the shrubs. Quite a few were still in the snow when I arrived, looking like bright red beads. There were also a lot of big bluestem seeds scattered around where birds had clearly been foraging on grasses.

A fruit of smooth sumac, dropped by a foraging mouse.
Big bluestem seeds below where birds had been feeding.
A patch of Missouri goldenrod.
Marks made by grass leaves bouncing around in the wind during the previous day.
Mouse trails (see the tail prints?) leading from and back to a tunnel beneath the grass and snow.

By the time I finished my hike, the temperature had risen 10 degrees and there was the distinct feel of a day that was going to get much warmer (which it did). It’s still February, so maybe we’ll get another shot of snow before the winter ends? I sure hope so.