Before you get too settled into spring, I wanted to put up a few shots taken from in and around the prairie this winter. Cloaked in quiet and snow, it’s an oddly reflective time to be out there. Something about the white horizons, or maybe the way pronghorns move through the snow as if it’s their theatre (which it is) in comparison to my plodding and trompling across the winter landscape, awkwardly, in heavy boots, falling through drifts trying to keep my chin and camera above water…
Here in Bozeman Sebastian and I are digging into final preparations before our departure in June. It’s all coggins tests, throwing out backs while shoeing horses, pouring over maps, somewhat frantic emailing, and no shortage of coffee. But spring, it seems, has finally decided to come, with the first prairie buttercups (Rananculus rhomboideus) spotted last week. Here’s to a good spring.
Wheat field under snow in North Eastern Wyoming
Near South Park, CO
A swath of cured grasses near South Park, CO
A Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) in flight along the Niobrara River in Nebraska
Near South Park, CO
Hundreds of thousands Sandhill Cranes (Grus canadensis) rise from their roosting grounds along the Platte River in Kearney, Nebraska at Sunrise
Bison (Bison bison) in Yellowstone National Park
Full moon rises near a herd of grazing elk near South Park, CO
A Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) backlit by evening sun near the Black Hills of SD
Near Florissant, CO
Two Trumpeter Swans (Cygnus buccinator) near Valentine, Nebraska
Bison (Bison bison) in a snowy field near Florissant, CO
Canada Geese (Branta canadensis) flying over Butte, MT
Winter Plains in Northeastern WY
Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) taking flight near Newcastle, WY
Three young bulls in Yellowstone National Park
Bison (Bison bison) in Yellowstone National Park
Winter Plains in Northeastern WY
Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) flying along the Niobrara River
Pronghorn Antelope (Antilocapra americana) in Yellowstone National Park
Hawk snack (Hawk snack)
Bison (Bison bison) near the Badlands National Park in SD
Bison (Bison bison) near Badlands National Park in SD
A herd of Elk (Cervus canadensis) grazing in Fort Niobrara Wildlife Refuge
Rough Legged Hawk (Buteo lagopus) near the Black Hills of SD
Sandhill Cranes (Grus canadensis)
Sandhill Crane (Grus canadensis)
Niobrara River, Nebraska
Sandhill Cranes (Grus canadensis)
Sandhill Crane (Grus canadensis)
Prairie in Northern Nebraska
Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) in Northern Nebraska
A herd of elk ((Cervus canadensis) grazing under a rising moon near South Park, CO
Rediscovering the Great American Prairie 