One Last Stab at Winter!

"Winter at Broken Kettle Grasslands"  

oil painting - © Bruce A. Morrison

(click on image for a larger view)

3 weeks till Spring!  Can you tell I'm counting the days?!  Ha!  Well I really do not want to wish my days away so I'm not being quite that crazy - just looking forward to what the season change will bring.

But in the meantime I thought I'd work on a winter landscape that had been on my back-burner for several years; I don't do winter paintings or drawing that often and I thought what better time to get one done then before winter ends outside the studio.

The landscape is of a Nature Conservancy Preserve about and hour or so south and west of us - the Broken Kettle Preserve...an amazing place to visit if you have never been there!  This 3000 acre tallgrass prairie preserve has many native species that are usually only found west of the Missouri - extremely rare or unusual finds in Iowa.  It is the home to the largest 100% pure blood American Bison herds in Iowa as well as possibly the last place in the state with a breeding population of Prairie Rattlesnakes.  A really cool place!  Thank you to the Nature Conservancy for preserving and maintaining such a treasure!!!

Many years ago I did a quick painting of this preserve, more in an alla prima style (wet into wet) and I'll post that painting below.

"Broken Kettle Winter"  

oil painting - © Bruce A. Morrison

(click on image for a larger view)  

 

Winter is noticeably waning now with the increased length of daylight and the snow melt that we're experiencing.  I'd say this really reminded me of winters back in the 50's and 60's when I was a kid...we had some January and February thaws and many snow events...also some pretty frigid temps off and on.  But now we're hearing rumblings of early migrations building 2-3 hours south of us and did actually have a small flock of geese pass by this morning!  Oh I love this time of the year with changes taking place and something new every day!

 

"Male Red-bellied Woodpecker"  

photograph - © Bruce A. Morrison

(click on image for a larger view) 

 

The only drawback to all this is I am too easily distracted and have trouble staying on task inside at the easel!  A couple days ago was no exception with the bird traffic outside the window.  This nice Red-bellied Woodpecker thankfully sat still long enough for me to get a picture!  Looking forward to more distractions in the yard in coming weeks!

 

Enjoying the warmup, hope to see you on the Tallgrass!

A Little Early...or Too Late?

Iowa Wetland Study No.1

photograph - silver halide print - © Bruce A. Morrison

 

I'm going to celebrate Earth day a little early, although it isn't until this Sunday.  This will be its 42nd year and its now observed in 175 countries.  The thing that saddens me about our attempts to celebrate our planet is that we are truly in need of observing this day 24/7/365...did I get that right?  I mean every day we draw breath - all year long.  

 

In my life time I've seen promise...more restrictions on industrial pollution, attempts to restore habitat and set aside more for our great grandchildren.  Many success stories of bringing species back from the brink.  Other issues too numerous to go into here.  

 

But there is overwhelming opposition to these issues as well.  Cries of removing government restrictions on industry...regulations, etc.  I always try to be upbeat, even when I don't feel that way, but this is too important...its our lives...our legacy to our children's children's children!  

 

The photograph at the top of the blog was the first 4X5 large format photograph I ever took of a prairie wetland - almost 40 years ago.  Its one of many images now on exhibit at the Witter Gallery in Storm Lake, Iowa in my solo exhibit titled "From the Tallgrass".  The photograph is a sad reminder to me - its of a wetland that is "no more".  Its now covered in asphalt...it was a beautiful working ecosystem - now the ground no longer breathes there, no conversion of CO2, no cooling the summer air nor filtering runoff and pollutants.  Wetland choruses no longer sung.  Asphalt.

 

Recently there was a bill in the Iowa legislature to sell a thousand acres of Iowa public land.  The gist of this bill was to sell 1000 acres of public land that could still be farmed.  Now I don't know what the legislator(s) who put this language into the bill were thinking of using the money for that would come out of a sale of public land, but this was our land - your land , your grand kid's land.  Iowa is "the" state in this union known as "being the most changed" as far as its resources...its natural heritage.  AND someone "still" feels we've gone over the top and need to sell parts of a park, or preserve, or prairie ground to return to what it was rescued from!  You'll hear arguments of a need for more corn to feed livestock, for more income opportunity for some individual(s), for more land to give back to the state's coffers in taxes.  There's always a reason to go back, to not look forward to what our future is potentially holding for us if we only think in the "Now".  Thank goodness there were enough voices raised with this bill (mine included) that the language was dropped. 

 

So I'm starting to celebrate the official Earth Day a tad early and plan to keep celebrating, being concerned, loving and embracing this amazing rock we're circling that close star with. 

 White-throated Sparrow - male

photograph - © Bruce A. Morrison

(click on image for a larger view)

 

I'll celebrate with the little things - this morning the White-throated Sparrows returned!  They'll be around now for a few weeks before continuing on north to their breeding grounds.  I'll celebrate them and every spring migrant that pauses as they pass through.  I'll celebrate the rain we're receiving today!  I'll celebrate the old farmstead we live and work on...not as farmers but still embracing the earth with our vegetable gardens, berry crops, the native prairie pasture, the bee hives lending a hand with pollination.  I'll celebrate the Earth each day with my art work and photography...with the sounds and smells that are our natural heritage.  I'll support organizations that are working hard to preserve this natural heritage - not squander it on the profit of the moment.

In Iowa, check out and support really worthwhile organizations - with your heritage in mind; like the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation and the Nature Conservancy or any related organization in your own state or country.  And an excellent publication that shares what others are doing every day to embrace their natural heritage is Woodlands & Prairies Magazine...I highly recommend these!

Its not too early to Celebrate Earth Day.  And it is not too early to care...to "Really" care.

 

Piece by Piece

Waterman Prairie - Cherokee County

I recently photographed on a new acquisition of multiple organizations: the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation, The Iowa Nature Conservancy and the Iowa DNR.  Thankfully this could not have been done without the willingness and help from the private land owners.  

 Waterman Prairie - Cherokee County...along the

Little Sioux River valley corridor

This is an addition to the Waterman Prairie Complex that is south of us in O'Brien County - except now it includes Cherokee County!  The 60 acre parcel is only a drop in the proverbial bucket but every little niche helps the overall picture.  Waterman Prairie is in the Little Sioux Valley and this valley has been identified as the last important "interior" corridor remnant of the tallgrass prairie in Iowa.  The Nature Conservancy and the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation have been working to preserve remnants of the prairie here; an attempt to piece together a "corridor", or may be more simply put as "connecting the dots".  As more parcels are preserved, more pieces of the puzzle are once again intact.

 female Widow Skimmer (Libellula luctuosa) at the Cherokee Waterman Prairie site

I did find some very good stands of native grasses, especially June Grass...don't believe I've seen so much in one location before? Other native grasses seemed abundant here and there but the former use of this as pasture ground shows a very large presence of Brome.  But its the strategic placement of this tract and its size that is important for the fauna that is in desperate need of habitat!  The Grasshopper Sparrow for instance - I was hearing quite a few Grasshopper Sparrows here; these grassland obligates are in real need of habitat...they require large tracts and you just will not find them along roadside plantings and such.  One thing in their favor here is the surrounding private tracts are also hillside pasture.  Other grassland birds present here during my walk were Sedge Wrens, Dickcissels, Field Sparrows, and Bobolinks.

Hats off to these great organizations and private citizens that support them and who work with them for additions to our natural heritage!  Check these organizations out - they are worth your time and consideration too!

Hope to see ya on the Tallgrass!