Sometimes I forget exactly what it is I have to be thankful for, what I appreciate in my life. Sometimes I forget what an extraordinary experience it is to live on this earth, even just an ordinary life.
I do not live in an area that is considered dramatic or spectacular, though the Flint Hills are quietly beautiful in their final dying gasp as the last of the tall grass prairie. To quote a prairie aficionado, Willa Cather, "Anybody can love the mountains. It takes a soul to love the prairie."
Enjoy these few photos of the hundreds I have taken over the 25 years I have lived in my quiet little corner of Earth. They were mostly taken within a couple of miles or less from my front door.
Peace on Earth and Good Will to (some) men. From the old lady, the supreme beings, and the goddamn German Shepherds of Spiritcreek.
Early summer when everything is green and it is easy to believe in a heaven.
A genuine waterfall.
When every single thing you see on the prairie is green, a splash of color is exciting!
No one knows why these are called Missouri Primroses. Unfortunate, indeed, but one of my favorite wild flowers. I do not see them at roadside now in the spring - I assume from the herbicides dumped and sprayed, another act of killing the prairie.
The Lesser Supreme Being, Wally, when he was younger - before he became the old white horse he is now.
It would not be Kansas without the remnants of the stone fences. This was taken a few miles from home.
Wild swans I happened upon a while ago, just up the road. They are so large that they made the pond appear small.
The summer shade over Snokomo Creek
I do not know the secret of taking a photo of distance. This is an expanse of Wabaunsee County where you can see for likely 20 miles, at least. If heaven is this simply beautiful - assuming I end up there - I will be happy, and count myself as blessed.
No photo montage of Kansas can be complete without the State Art Forms - bullet holes, barbed wire and horse shoes.
Snow has to be very, very deep to cover the tall grass. Luckily for me, I have not had to endure a winter when the snow is deeper than the grass is tall.
Upland Plover, also known as a large sandpiper.
I cannot tell what birds these are but who cares? They were so cute together on these twigs.
A typical Kansas sunset.
The main gate to my little pasture the morning after the ice storm.
My new house was not yet built but this is a typical Kansas sunrise.
The wild strawberries that grow on the top of the little hill where the barn is. Even after the horses' hooves have chopped up the soil and churned the mud all winter, these little plants grow every spring. I see them every single day but in 25 years I have yet to harvest a single wild strawberry. Other strawberry lovers get to them first.
Sometimes fall is a spectacle of brilliance in the Flint Hills!
This is the pond that I secretly call the sacred pond. It is on the corner from my house. Coming home from work day after day after, I welcomed the beautiful sight of this little pool of water reflecting the general splendor of the Kansas sunsets. For many years there was a heron who lived in this pond. I assume the fish and frogs kept it there. A terrible draught caused the pond to dry entirely up and since then there has been no heron.
Permian Sea fossils found in the gravel of my little creek and a very large feather - all gifts.
The russet color of the big blue stem gives the prairie life even in the dead of winter.
More color from the prairie plants and grasses.
The sacred pond frozen in winter. My house is tucked down in the creek, out of sight, at the far right end of the trees.
Kansas, Cattle and Thunderstorms.
When it rains hard. This is draining into the deep ravine next to my drive.
It would not be Kansas without a rainbow!
A sight that I never though I would see in Kansas in my lifetime, but this was taken less than a mile from my house!
You did not think I would forget to include sunflowers!
Good prairie management includes spring burning.
The Supreme Being, Ginger, the beautiful little red Quarter Horse, a bossy mare. I love her so!
In the spring, the redbuds light up my front door.
The sweetest dog, my Mattie. She sits like this, so proper!
The brattiest German Shepherd I have ever had in my life! She can be sweet but she assumes she is the supreme being around here. Neither Ginger nor I agree.
The beginning of the end of the prairies, the symbol of the destruction of the bison and the old buffalo hunters' way of life. It is a deadly device that ushered in a new world view, one of dominion, individual ownership, and subjugation of the natural world. I count myself lucky to be here for the finale.
