Thursday, September 15, 2022

A Tallgrass Prairie Morning

It was a beautiful morning on the tallgrass prairie this morning. The sun was just coming up as I was leaving for work. I left super early and took the long way around. Here are some of the sights that I enjoyed along the way...

Morning Sunrise Over Our Little Town

Sunshine Breaking Forth Over Tallgrass Prairie

Morning Sun and Tall Grasses
(Big Bluestem)

Roadside Wildflowers and Tall Grasses
Bur Marigold and Big Bluestem
(Bidens aristosa and Andropogon gerardii)

Bur Marigold
(a.k.a Tickseed Sunflower or Beggar's Tick)

White-tailed Doe

A Nursing Doe

It was a beautiful morning to be sure! What are late summer mornings like where you're at?

Until next time...
~Rebecca

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Monday, September 5, 2022

A Little Fog on the Prairie

It was a little foggy Saturday morning. I took these photos on my way into work and, as you can see, it got less foggy the further I went.

Twin Bucks

The Herd

A Lone Bull Amidst Sumac

Stepping Out Into the Open

Tallgrass Priarie

Sunshine in the Midst of Fog

Gossamer Threads Strung with Pearls of Dew 

Until next time...
~Rebecca

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A Late Arrival

 

Thursday, September 1, 2022

A Late Arrival

Most bison calves arrive at Prairie State Park by late spring, but, occasionally, one comes along much later. 


This little one arrived just a few days ago in late August.


I don't know if it's a boy or girl, yet, but it sure is a cutie!


Bison calves weigh between 30 to 70 pounds at birth and are a pumpkin-orange in color for the first few months. 


Calves are protected, not only by the mother, but by the whole herd.


My co-workers and I call baby bison "pumpkins", but I recently heard another friend describe them as "pennies on the prairie." I kind of like that, too! 

I hope your September is off to a great start!

Until next time...
~Rebecca

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Tuesday, June 7, 2022

Remington, Russell, or Me?

The Bison Trail, 1908, Charles M. Russell

I have had the pleasure of viewing many original works of western art by artists such as Frederic Remington and Charles Russell at the Buffalo Bill Museum in Cody, Wyoming, but wow! Last night, I felt like I was IN one of those paintings! What an amazing evening on the tallgrass prairie of southwest Missouri!









By the way...they're all me (except for the top one, of course) and they're all photos.

Until next time...
~Rebecca


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Exploring Homestead Hill and Beyond

Sunday, March 27, 2022

Exploring Homestead Hill and Beyond

Homestead Hill...that's what we call it, because that's what it used to be...someone's homestead. 



All that remains of that homestead now is a row of bright, yellow daffodils that, more than likely, lined the drive or a walkway that lead up to the house. 



I've visited this spot a couple of times recently, but never went beyond the break of the hill. Today I ventured further. 



From the top of the hill I could see a smattering of old bones...big bones...bleached white from the sun. Upon closer inspection the bones revealed the remains of, not one, but, two different bison. 



The two sets of bones were several yards away from each other and both had been there a very long time. One set of bones was much larger than the other. One set, most likely, came from a
bull bison; the other from a cow or, perhaps, a juvenile animal that had not quite reached maturity. 



This jawbone was found some distance away. It was probably dragged there by a coyote long ago.

As I made my way toward the creek I thought about Homestead Hill. Who had lived here? And how long ago? What were the people like that lived there? I imagined a fresh-faced, young farm wife planting those lovely daffodils. 



I could almost see her, years later, standing in the doorway of her farmhouse, smiling at their sunshiny-faces...thankful to see them after a particularly long, cold, and snowy prairie winter. 

As I neared the ridge above the creek I thought of my Grandma Viola. When I was a kid she and Grandpa lived on place very much like this surrounded by pastureland. She and I would often walk the pasture and make our way down to the creek just like I was doing today...only their creek was much deeper and wider than this one.



At the ridge's edge a deep ravine led down to the creek. It was much too steep for me to try to make it down. I continued on. 

Along the way I passed this animal den. I have no idea what might live in it, but it was the largest den I've seen on the prairie.



Another thing I noticed along the way were these rocks. They were completely covered in lichen. Lichen indicates that the air quality here is very good!


Lichen Close-Up

Soon I came to a flatter, more gentler slope that led down to the creek. It was, obviously, a favorite crossing for the bison. Hundreds of hoof prints were left behind in the well- and, obviously, often traveled-ruts. 



The creek wasn't wide here, but it was pretty.



After exploring a bit around the creek crossing, I made my way back to the ridge and followed a deer trail that ran parallel to the creek for a while.



Soon, I turned and started making my way back to the place I started from. 



It was fun exploring another never-seen-by-me area and I look forward to doing it again soon!

Until next time...
~Rebecca

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Sunday, March 13, 2022

Prescribed Burn - March 3, 2022

Scenes From A Recent Prescribed Burn
@ Prairie State Park
Mindenmines, Missouri









Until next time...
Rebecca

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Monday, February 21, 2022

Saturday On the Tallgrass Prairie - February 19, 2022

Saturday was a beautiful day in southwest Missouri! The sun fairly gleamed as it's light spilled out over the frozen prairie landscape.

The creek sang merrily as it made its way across the low-water bridge, moving along to bigger things downstream.

There was evidence of beavers hard at work along it's edges. The following two photographs were actually taken the Monday before...


I had bison on the way in to work Saturday morning and bison on the way home that night. I even had bison in the middle between opening and closing!

There were bison on the west side of the park on my way in to work that morning...

"Betcha can't see me now!"

...bison came past the nature center around 10:30 a.m...


Looking Through the Diorama and Out the East 
Window of the Nature Center

...and, then, I saw bison on the south end of the park on my way home...


It was great!!! It's been twenty-six years since first discovering the bison at Prairie State Park, going on eight years of working with them, and I never ever get tired of seeing them!

Until next time...
~Rebecca

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