Category Archives: Badlands
Prickly, pear blooms
Friends, the badlands are not barren wilderness, but are an arid climate and so cactus are numerous. Not the tree-like cactus of the desert southwest, but small prickly pear that hug the ground and don’t have a warning bell when you step into them and get a boot full of thorns. The top image shows the bright yellow blooms and the bottom image shows the bloom from the side, in the bottom right hand corner of the bottom image, you can see their formidable thorns. These plants often bloom in June and you have no trouble finding them. They are everywhere!!, til Tomorrow MJ
Paint Brush-Castilleja
Friends, another wildflower, the Indian Paintbrush. This plant grows both in the badlands and here in Wisconsin on the sandy barrens. Over 200 species of Castilleja are found in many diverse environments. Another plant that concentrates selenium and can at the same time, be a nutrient and toxic depending on the amount ingested. A groups shot above and a close-up portrait below. With this flower, the photographer almost needs to subtract saturation from the image to make it realistic. This is one of my favorite wildflowers. til Tomorrow MJ
Butte Candle
Friends, This wildflower is called a butte candle and it grows right out of the scoria rocks that you can see in the background. This plant has several stems as seen above, and below image shows the whole plant orientation.
Typically many of the plants that grow in scoria are capable of concentrating selenium within their tissues. Selenium is a mixed bag as it is a required nutrient for some animals and at the same time, toxic in large doses. Selenium concentrations have been responsible for bird and fish poisoning. While its effect on cattle is well known, the effect on grazing wildlife is not well studied. The tiny hairs on this plant probably repel the grazers in the badlands and these plants are not abundant. Are the badlands wildlife safe from selenium? A research question. til Tomorrow MJ
Wildflowers-Miniatures
Friends, these tiny blooms (Globe Mallow) are often overlooked because they are very tiny and sit very close to the ground in the North Dakota badlands. To get this macro shot, one needs to lie on the ground with your nose very close to the blooms. The camera was fitted with a 90 mm macro lens. I did a little post-processing work to give it a fine art look, you know what that is, background dark and out of focus. 🙂 I love the bright orange colors and the blooms in all stages of opening, from the closed buds with their fine hair coverings to the full bloom. The insects must also like them as evidenced by the pollen spilled onto the petals. til Tomorrow MJ
Deciduous Trees
Friends, I know it is spring, but I was blogging about the badlands trees, and of course, fall is the time of year when you notice the deciduous trees in the badlands because of the lovely fall colors. Lots of Cottonwood trees along the Little Missouri River, are bright yellow with the Ash, Elm and Box Elder lending their special hues from the smaller gullies. The above image is a typical grove showing the diversity of colors present in the fall. The bottom image are the cottonwoods along the river. til Tomorrow MJ
Easter Lily-Badlands Style
Friends, This is the Sego Lily that blooms in the Badlands in late June. The solitary plants grow among the grasses on tall stalks and are best viewed in the early morning after a over-night rainstorm. The raindrops and early light accentuate the colors and provide diffuse light for good wildflower photography. We had watched the sunrise at Scoria Point and on our way back to camp, found these lovely blooms. During this season when we are all looking at Easter Lilies, I thought I would show you my Lily in the Badlands. So Happy Easter! til Tomorrow MJ
My Passion-Finding Pincushions
Friends, this is the wild flower of the pincushion cactus that blooms in June in the Badlands. They tend to grow in small groups that are few and far between. The plant is a small ball-shaped cactus and is often raised as a houseplant. But when discovered in the wild, you will marvel at their wonderful color. I love their color and filled the frame with a macro lens. When face to flower, I had to be careful not to get a prickly in the nose. I especially like the backlighting in this image, seems to bring out the smaller spikes in the middle of the bloom. You can better appreciate my macro techniques if you view the time-lapse of this cactus blooming on youtube, the link is http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jKj6aUdImc Below is a view of the bloom from overhead where you can see the cactus spines in the lower right hand corner of the image, enjoy. til Tomorrow MJ
Weekly Photo Challenge:Journey
Friends, this was a journey across the river near sunset and into evening. She was bawling for her calf who meandered across the Little Missouri a few feet ahead of her, She is a mature Bison cow and her splashing in the river got my attention. I was photographing the sunset in the opposite direction and heard her behind me, I did not test her patience and made my way back to the vehicle. When it comes to the Bison, I always give them the right of way, living to photograph another day. til Tomorrow MJ
Scoria Lily
Friends, this lovely bloom is often overlooked because it doesn’t bloom until evening and thru the night, then closes in the morning. Locally it is called the Scoria Lily and does grow straight out of the red rocks (scoria) on a spiny, prickly plant. The plant often has several blooms but is not really a lily. The technical name is Mentzelia Decapetalia and indeed the bloom has ten white petals. In this season of Lilies I thought I would share some Lilies of the Badlands, but saving the best for Easter morning. til Tomorrow MJ
What the trees hide
Friends,The dense tree cover serve to hide the wildlife in the badlands. This male elk is venturing into a clearing after raking his antlers on the brush, scraping the velvet off and polishing his antlers for the fall breeding wars. I know he is in the middle of the image but i wished to emphasize the surrounding trees and the small clearing. The male mule deer (below) is peeking from behind a tree. His antlers are still growing and covered with “velvet” , but his curiosity is over whelming. By setting the deer and elk in the middle of the frame, the emphasis is on the surrounding trees. An experiment in composition. til Tomorrow MJ
MJ Springett 