"February Evening, Mammatus Clouds"
photograph - © Bruce A. Morrison
(click on image for a larger view)
This is a duplication of my Prairie Hill Farm (Studio) blog...even though the pasture was put to bed back many weeks ago, the prairie is ever on my mind. I hope to delve into some very pressing things in the near future, as soon as (or "if") I get ahead of studio work.
I'm
no different than the next person...I'm being tricked by the nice
little breaks in the winter weather here and getting somewhat of a case
of spring fever. Not that I want to give up my studio time yet; I still
have too much to do!
But
late in the afternoon yesterday, Georgie came over to the studio to
tell me that I'd better get my face peeled off of the monitor and look
outside! It was pretty cool and a real surprise -
mammatus clouds in mid February (see image above)! That's weird...ya cool too, but not
something you'd expect to see! She caught me just in time too because I
only had a couple minutes to get some photographs of the scene before
the light was lost to the early evening. The view is right outside the kitchen looking east.
Today
is a nice day as well, but the snow, ice and wind is supposed to pick
up tonight making tomorrow (Thursday) somewhat unpleasant again; the
birthing process for spring can be agonizingly long!
"False Gromwell and Prairie Phlox"
(Onosmodium molle and Phlox pilosa)
color pencil drawing - © Bruce A. Morrison
(click on image for a larger view)
I
have been forestalling the inevitable onslaught of spring fever by
working on spring subject matter here; the spring landscape finished
about a week and a half ago (last blog) and the small color pencil piece seen above.
Over
the past couple years or more I've been working on artwork of various
prairie forbs (wildflowers) found in our native pasture here. The "False
Gromwell and Prairie Phlox" is the latest color pencil drawing, just
finished this week. These are both fun plants - the False Gromwell is
less showy from a distance but quite a "looker" up close...the Bumble
Bees love this plant; I'd say an early summer favorite of theirs! It
has some "nicknames" like most wildflowers, one that fits it real well
is "marble seed". It has a small roundish seed that is creamy white
when matured, and is as hard as a marble. A weird charachteristic is -
after a rain, the plant can smell like a wet dog or mule! (All's normal
again once it dries out thank goodness!) You can't tell much from this
drawing, but this plant's "structure" is quite beautiful, pretty even
when not in bloom.
The
Prairie Phlox (some call it "Downy Phlox") is another native plant here
I've been doing my best to help proliferate. It is quite showy from a
distance and up close...the issue around here seems to be that the deer
and the rabbits love to eat it as soon as it starts blooming...ugh! I
do my best to dissuade them, but its not easy. Skippers seem to like
the phlox about as much as the Bumble Bees do. These are both early
summer bloomers, out before the prairie really goes crazy with color,
but once they are out - its like the gate has been swung open for the
race to begin, a fun time on the tallgrass prairie!
Think Spring, but don't be too impatient!
