As the waning days of summer come near to a close, the promise of autumn looms large over the tallgrass prairie of southwest Missouri. The crickets have upped their chirping as cooler temperatures prevail and the prairie is awash with late-summer- and autumn-blooming wildflowers. After I got off work, yesterday, my husband and I decided to hike Drover's Trail at Prairie State Park. Here are a few of the things that we witnessed along the way:
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| Blue Sage |
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Native Thistle
(My favorite wildflower.💗) |
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| A Bumble Bee Pollinating Native Thistle |
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| Bur Marigold With Goldenrod Beyond |
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Of course, John and I had to pause
for a selfie along the way! 😆 |
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| Bur Marigold Along Trail's Edge |
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| Prairie Aster |
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| Showy Goldenrod |
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| Tall Goldenrod |
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A Buffalo Wallow Full of Water
It had been a while since we had seen one of these with water in it. Watering-holes are few and far between on the prairie. When it's dry, smaller animals, such as coyote, fox, deer, and bobcat, as well as other animals (birds, reptiles, and, even, insects), sometimes, have to travel long distances to obtain water. These buffalo wallows can be found all over the prairie and, during rainy seasons, provide water sources to smaller wildlife without them having to travel long distances to find a creek, pond, or some other source. |
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| Pollen-Producing Yellow Stamens On Indian Grass |
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| Rough Blazing-Star Against a Backdrop of Sumac |
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Brown Mushrooms Growing Along The Edge
of a Bison Chip in the Middle of the Trail |
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| Goldenrod, Bur Marigold, and Tall Grasses |
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| Can you spot the photo-bomber in this picture? |
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A Lone Bull Out On The Prairie
Shortly after I took this picture (which I didn't realize he was in, until after we got home), I told John that I saw one of these shaggy, brown-backed beasts up ahead moving east. It was a lone bull and I assumed that he was following the service road (and would follow it) to the fence where Drover's and Sandstone meet, then turn to join the rest of the herd which we had already spotted down that way, so I wasn't too concerned. |
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Cropped From the Previous Photo
The next time I caught sight of the beast, I realized that he was coming down the same trail that we were on and that he was coming towards us. By that time, he was close...only a turn of the trail ahead of us. It was too late to retreat back down the trail, so I grabbed John by the hand and said, "Let's go this way!" Off-trail we went and, let me tell you, we did some high-stepping! We didn't run (NEVER RUN IF YOU ENCOUNTER A BISON ON THE TRAILS), but we did retreat as quickly as we could to put as much distance between us and the bull as we could before he acknowledged our presence. We were still only about 25 to 30 yards away from him, when he stopped and turned his massive head to stare at us. We briefly met his gaze, then continued our retreat. Every once in a while we would look back to see that he was still watching us. On the fourth turn of my head, I saw that he had turned off-trail in the opposite direction and was headed towards the rest of the herd. He stopped briefly, once more, to turn and look at us, then trotted off. At that point, John and I turned to head back to the trail. Hooking into a deer trail, we followed it until it eventually crossed the main trail, setting us back on course. We finished our hike without further incident and came home with only minor cuts and scratches from our encounter with blackberries off-trail and NO TICKS, for which we were very thankful! 😄 All in all it was a great hike with the beauty of God's magnificent creation all around us and even a little adventure thrown in! |
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| The Road Home |
Until next time...
~Rebecca
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2 comments:
Loved reading about your hiking adventure as well as all the photos of those wildflowers.
Thanks, Jean! If you get a chance, come back down this fall and we'll go take a fall-color tour together! Blessings for a great week ahead! :)
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