The view from the roadside across a section of prairie I pass on the way to town. It rained hard a couple hours after I took this photo. If you look along the horizon, you can see the heavy gray of the storm moving in from the southwest.

Tickseed sunflower (Bidens aritosa) This daisy-like flower appears in late August and blooms well into the fall. I suppose they can grow about anywhere, but I see them mostly in the lower ends of pastures and prairies where the soils tend to be a bit more moist. I saw great sweeps of tickseed yellow in
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Wild bergamot aka horsemint, bee balm Monarda fistulosa I didn’t see so much of it during the drought the last two years, but a wet spring seems to have rejuvenated the prairie flowers. I’ve found a few small patches on my land, and several large patches down the road at the edge of a cornfield
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Pretty colors, huh? I climbed to the top platform of the big deer stand in the back pasture last weekend for a better view of the fall foliage at sunset. I think the view was worth the effort.

The prairie chickens returned to their booming grounds just before sunset a few days ago. My daughter and I watched them for nearly an hour as they made their way across a wheat field and then began their display. One stayed a bit away from the others, keeping watch perhaps for the return of the
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This morning I got up early and drove to the Taberville Prairie conservation area to watch the prairie chickens. Turns out, the current booming grounds are on private property across the road from this lovely piece of prairie. I saw six Greater Prairie Chickens (Tympanuchus cupido pinnatus). I even got one photo with a streak
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I drive along a section of the Wah’Kon-Tah Prairie going to and from town. This evening, I pulled onto a side road and shot photos across the rolling hills of the Johnson tract, a 320-acre portion added in 1992. The Wah’ Kon-Tah Prairie is located northeast of El Dorado Springs, Missouri, in St. Clair and
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The same photo with the lighting adjusted. Photo by LauraP