Wonderful

Pasque Flowers (Pulsatilla patens) on a private remnant

Photograph © Bruce A. Morrison

(click on image for a larger view) 

 

90 degrees this afternoon here at Prairie Hill Farm...and its not April Fools!  Or maybe it is...the weather's getting a good laugh anyway. 

 

I finally got out onto some private remnants here in SE O'Brien County about 3-4 days back and was pleasantly surprised to find some more Pasque Flowers - right where they should be!  The ground is native pature that's been grazed for many years, but the hilsides are steep and I suspected, last year when I was first given permission to walk there, that the slopes looked like they should have some pasques...they were there.  Wonderful!

 

The Wild Plums are also out now...this is 25 days earlier than last year.  What else is new - everything is a month ahead of itself! Why I even just finished "mowing" the fire breaks a half hour ago on our own native pasture here and that's no April Fools either!  Never had to do that in April before.

 

We did get our north pasture burned in March...we're leavig the south pasture and the ditches alone this year though...giving the invertebrates and "us" a rest there.

 

The only thing that I messed up on is my seeding.  The weather just became so warm so fast that my planned late winter seeding never happened.  I suppose I'll try it as soon as a "sure thing" for rain is on the horizon - we've really missed out on precipitation and are listed as being in a "severe" drought here in this corner of the state right now.

 

 (click on image for a larger view)

 

Next on our agenda is hauling our "From the Tallgrass" exhibit down to the Witter Gallery in Storm Lake for the Thursday night opening and artists reception (5:30-7p.m.), the exhibit will be there through April 26th if you can't wander down next Thursday. 

 

Hope to get to see more "wonderful" things this spring - hope you do too!  

 

See ya on the tallgrass!

 

Mid (to late?) Summer at Prairie Hill Farm

Big Bluestem in flower at the Prairie Hill Farm Prairie

(still image taken from "Mid Summer at Prairie Hill Farm" video)

image © Bruce A. Morrison

 

This is a repost from the studio blog today, but this really fits the Tallgrass Journal blog much better I think! 

 

Its really past what I'd consider "mid" summer here on the prairie now, but there is about a month of summer left to enjoy yet!  We had one nasty storm just two days ago and were very fortunate that we only lost a couple trees and gained a mess in the landscape with shredded leaves and plants...didn't do the gardens any good either.

I don't think the small prairie here will look too great the rest of the summer but think that "close-up" you may not be too disappointed.  I decided to put together an 8 minute video (long for me) of the prairie here before the storm (some footage the day before), much of which was compiled "mid" summer. 

(If you get this blog via e-mail subscription, you may not see the embedded video and will have to follow the link to view.)

I'm hoping to make this video part of the "From the Tallgrass" exhibit at Arts on Grand - at the Artist's Reception tonight!  One last plug!  :)  5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. - hope to see you there!  The exhibit runs through September 25th so if you can't make the reception, you'll have nearly the "rest of the summer" to make it!

You can go online and view "Mid Summer at Prairie Hill Farm" here - (the HD version is much more fun to watch on you tube any way!)...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0uZrZ8g1Wzg 

Hope to see you on the Tallgrass!!!

From the Tallgrass - the First Exhibition

Big Bluestem (Andropogon gerardii) at the Prairie Hill Farm Prairie

Photograph © Bruce A. Morrison

How's the prairie where you are right now?!  The native pasture here is transitioning from mid summer to late.  The goldenrods are just beginning to tinge with blossoming, the False Boneset is in bloom, the asters are showing signs of awakening, the warm season grasses are either all in bloom or just finishing that stage.  

 

The season is progressing!  I sure hate to see things move this fast; wouldn't it be great to put the brakes on for a bit?!!  One thing I really appreciate this time of year is the insects and their music.  The Katydids are really making the afternoon and evenings seem alive!  The Robber Flies are out now again, making their raids through the grasses.  This is a banner grasshopper year here so hope the Robber Flies concentrate there some.  I've been hoping to video tape Monarchs depositing their eggs on the milkweed here...I haven't succeeded yet but have witnessed the "deed"...they're just too quick about it!  I'll get lucky one of these days.

 

"From the Tallgrass", an exhibit of paintings, drawings and photography of the Tallgrass Prairie opens on Tuesday, August 16th next week!  I'm both excited and nervous but I think that comes from spending all your time in the tallgrass and not enough around other homo sapiens!  OK, thats a bit tongue-in-cheek, but it has been a long time since I went solo in an exhibit.  Most of the last few weeks has been completely devoted to framing, re-framing, and all the other things that figure into something like this...there is so much more to it than meets the eye.

The prairie is the subject matter of course, and the prairie has been going great guns this summer - very hard to keep up!!!  I think once we get the show hung in a few days, I need to step back onto the prairie and see what I've been missing these past weeks!!!

The Exhibit "From the Tallgrass" runs through September 25th.  There will be an artist's reception on August 25th from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.  The exhibit is at Arts on Grand in Spencer, Iowa.  You can always give them a call, should you have any questions, at (712) 262-4307; they're open Tuesday through Saturday!

Hope to get to see and talk with you at the reception on the 25th (last Thursday in August)!  If not, please try and get over to Arts on Grand to see the show!