Category Archives: Nature
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
Touching my roots
Friends, this image is the bottom of the badlands, fall foliage along the Little Missouri River. Like these trees along the river, my roots lie here and i often think of this place as home. On this site just to the right of the orange tree, my mother was raised on a ranch. Now it is a campground in the Theodore Roosevelt National Park. Where cattle and horses once grazed, the bison and elk now roam the bottoms in search of the best tasting grasses. Cottonwood trees, ash thickets and wild plum trees grow in abundance near the water. This is a little river in the fall, but is often full to the brim in the spring and sometimes the family needed to leave the river bottom to escape the floods. The river flooded last spring (2011) and reminded us that the river can still be an awesome force. til Tomorrow MJ
Trees?
Friends, I have often heard people describe North Dakota as barren and containing no trees. Well that may be true of some parts of the state, but this image shows the badlands with plenty of trees. They are evergreens, cedars and junipers, and keep the green all winter. The northern slopes are usually covered in green, while the south-facing slopes are often bare. In the autumn, the fall colors are apparent in the gullies and along the Little Missouri River. More badlands tree images tomorrow, til Tomorrow MJ
Grasslands
Friends, The badlands are known for their grasslands that provided rich grazing for cattle. The country attracted Theodore Roosevelt who invested in two cattle ranches and spent some time “cowboying” in this country. In one of his speeches, he attributed his badlands experiences as instrumental in making him the President of the United States. Others were also attracted to the badlands and the livestock industry. My grandfather raised horses, cattle, pigs, chickens and 5 children in the badlands. With a large garden, they were able to live in relative comfort. Then the depression and droughts of the 1930s made life difficult and many were forced to find other means of support. This barn and corral is a reminder of the hard times and desertion of many homesteads in the badlands. til Tomorrow MJ
Stone Tree Stump
Friends, While this tree stump looks like wood, it has turned to stone. Petrified tree stumps are found all over the badlands, and you would swear that they are made of wood. The preservation of tree structure is so realistic, you can see worm holes and cell structures. These trees were redwoods and a forest of stumps is present in the western side of Theodore Roosevelt National Park. The park roads do not pass close to this forest, but it is only a two mile hike across the flats to access a land of stumps still being eroded from the clay slopes. Like bleached bones, their white is a stark contrast to the dark green of living cedar trees. In the early days, stumps ten feet in diameter and 80 foot logs were found, a remnant of a tropical past. til Tomorrow MJ
Another Award? Thanks
Thanks, Christine for nominating my blog for the Kreativ Blogger Award, her blog can be found at dadirridreaming.wordpress.com, thanks again and keep writing your wonderful blogs.
Seven things about myself:
1) I am driven by creativity even in retirement
2) I live in a white pine woods in a house covered with cedar siding
3) I am a great problem solver as long as the problems are not mine
4) I photograph nature at least four days a week
5) I learn at least one new photo technique every week, during noon hours on the bright sunny days not suited for photography
6) I love macro photography and all the tiny things that most people overlook
7) I love researching the natural history story behind an image
So now I am supposed to nominate seven other blogs for this award: but only have time for five, here they are:
bluebirdslivinginthemeadow.blogspot.com to my lovely sister, who is very creative
http://claudeschillingphotography.wordpress.com/ to my friend in southern Wisconsin
http://ceeslifephotographyblog.wordpress.com/
