Tall grass prairie

Prairie dock (Silphium terebinthinaceum). Easily the tallest composite that blooms on the tall grass prairie, with stalks up to 10 ft tall. In winter the large basal leaves take on a fa ...

nobody@smugmug.com (arctangent) — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 12:11:02 -0700

arctangent
Prairie dock (Silphium terebinthinaceum). Easily the tallest composite that blooms on the tall grass prairie, with stalks up to 10 ft tall. In winter the large basal leaves take on a fa ...

Typical "buttons" of prairie dock seedheads forming high in the air. Prairie dock is related to Compass Plant and Cup Plant, but has distinctive unmistakable leaves. The flowers themselv ...

nobody@smugmug.com (arctangent) — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 12:10:34 -0700

arctangent
Typical "buttons" of prairie dock seedheads forming high in the air. Prairie dock is related to Compass Plant and Cup Plant, but has distinctive unmistakable leaves. The flowers themselv ...

Prairie dock closeup. Not all the blooms are 10 feet in the air, fortunately for the poor photographer!

nobody@smugmug.com (arctangent) — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 12:10:11 -0700

arctangent
Prairie dock closeup. Not all the blooms are 10 feet in the air, fortunately for the poor photographer!

Hello, sunshine. A bloom of prairie dock just beginning to develop the sexual organs of the flower center.

nobody@smugmug.com (arctangent) — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 12:09:41 -0700

arctangent
Hello, sunshine. A bloom of prairie dock just beginning to develop the sexual organs of the flower center.

Prairie dock turned to face the sun.

nobody@smugmug.com (arctangent) — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 12:09:06 -0700

arctangent
Prairie dock turned to face the sun.

Prairie dock bloom with backlighting.

nobody@smugmug.com (arctangent) — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 12:08:45 -0700

arctangent
Prairie dock bloom with backlighting.

Leaf, prairie dock, from last year. The huge basal leaves typically curl when they dry, exposing what once was the under side as the upper side, with its characteristic speckled or polka-do ...

nobody@smugmug.com (arctangent) — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 12:08:21 -0700

arctangent
Leaf, prairie dock, from last year. The huge basal leaves typically curl when they dry, exposing what once was the under side as the upper side, with its characteristic speckled or polka-do ...

Prairie grasses. Tall grass prairie, Secor Park, Toledo, OH August 24, 2009

nobody@smugmug.com (arctangent) — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 08:02:15 -0700

arctangent
Prairie grasses. Tall grass prairie, Secor Park, Toledo, OH August 24, 2009

Delicate strength of tall grasses on the prairie.

nobody@smugmug.com (arctangent) — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 08:02:08 -0700

arctangent
Delicate strength of tall grasses on the prairie.

An unidentified sunflower of the prairie. The blooms were on relatively short stalks (1-3 ft), the stems were smooth and dark, and the leaves were narrow and serrated. (Identifying sunfl ...

nobody@smugmug.com (arctangent) — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 08:01:56 -0700

arctangent
An unidentified sunflower of the prairie. The blooms were on relatively short stalks (1-3 ft), the stems were smooth and dark, and the leaves were narrow and serrated. (Identifying sunfl ...

Purple-headed sneezeweed (Helenium nudiflorum) Note the hairy undersides of the tri-scalloped petals (visible in the largest sizes).

nobody@smugmug.com (arctangent) — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 07:35:40 -0700

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Purple-headed sneezeweed (Helenium nudiflorum) Note the hairy undersides of the tri-scalloped petals (visible in the largest sizes).

Tall grass on the prairie. I think this is big bluestem. Not 100% sure.

nobody@smugmug.com (arctangent) — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 14:24:39 -0700

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Tall grass on the prairie. I think this is big bluestem. Not 100% sure.

Detail of tall grass in bloom. (If you can identify which of the prairie grasses this is, I'd appreciate the input. I thought, possibly, Indian grass.)

nobody@smugmug.com (arctangent) — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 14:24:32 -0700

arctangent
Detail of tall grass in bloom. (If you can identify which of the prairie grasses this is, I'd appreciate the input. I thought, possibly, Indian grass.)

Tall grasses in bloom.

nobody@smugmug.com (arctangent) — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 14:24:22 -0700

arctangent
Tall grasses in bloom.

Coneflower on the tall grass prairie. This might be a gray headed coneflower, or yellow coneflower, but I'm not sure.

nobody@smugmug.com (arctangent) — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 20:30:17 -0700

arctangent
Coneflower on the tall grass prairie. This might be a gray headed coneflower, or yellow coneflower, but I'm not sure.

Coexistence...two seasons' worth of prairie grasses.

nobody@smugmug.com (arctangent) — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 06:08:49 -0700

arctangent
Coexistence...two seasons' worth of prairie grasses.

Following curves. The light and shadows seem to follow the curves in the snow, into and out of the sky tracks, just as the tracks follow the curve of the path.

nobody@smugmug.com (arctangent) — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 10:30:55 -0800

arctangent
Following curves. The light and shadows seem to follow the curves in the snow, into and out of the sky tracks, just as the tracks follow the curve of the path.

I think it was the shadows of the grass on the snow that distinguished this view from other similar ones, for me.

nobody@smugmug.com (arctangent) — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 10:03:21 -0800

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I think it was the shadows of the grass on the snow that distinguished this view from other similar ones, for me.

Sea of grass #2

nobody@smugmug.com (arctangent) — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 09:39:43 -0800

arctangent
Sea of grass #2

Tattered, snow and ice-capped leaf on the prairie.

nobody@smugmug.com (arctangent) — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 09:21:38 -0800

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Tattered, snow and ice-capped leaf on the prairie.

Snow inscription #2 You can see how the action of the wind, blowing the blades of grass, has created "holes" around the stems of each grass blade.

nobody@smugmug.com (arctangent) — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 08:17:45 -0800

arctangent
Snow inscription #2 You can see how the action of the wind, blowing the blades of grass, has created "holes" around the stems of each grass blade.

Abstract with grass and snow.

nobody@smugmug.com (arctangent) — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 07:57:06 -0800

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Abstract with grass and snow.

Prairie wildflower in winter

nobody@smugmug.com (arctangent) — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 08:41:12 -0800

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Prairie wildflower in winter

Detail...prairie grasses #1

nobody@smugmug.com (arctangent) — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 09:14:15 -0800

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Detail...prairie grasses #1

Seeminly delicate, but extremely tough, in reality. Prairie grasses impervious to winter weather.

nobody@smugmug.com (arctangent) — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 08:39:11 -0800

arctangent
Seeminly delicate, but extremely tough, in reality. Prairie grasses impervious to winter weather.

Detail...prairie grasses #3

nobody@smugmug.com (arctangent) — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 07:45:24 -0800

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Detail...prairie grasses #3

One of many such views...as you walk the trail through the prairie at Secor Park.

nobody@smugmug.com (arctangent) — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 07:17:42 -0800

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One of many such views...as you walk the trail through the prairie at Secor Park.

Tattered leaf of a prairie wildflower.

nobody@smugmug.com (arctangent) — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 06:45:24 -0800

arctangent
Tattered leaf of a prairie wildflower.

Snow bonnet...giant leaf of a prairie wildflower. I'll have to go back next summer to try to identify this flower. I can't remember ever seeing such a strange spotted coloration on a lea ...

nobody@smugmug.com (arctangent) — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 06:22:53 -0800

arctangent
Snow bonnet...giant leaf of a prairie wildflower. I'll have to go back next summer to try to identify this flower. I can't remember ever seeing such a strange spotted coloration on a lea ...

Polka-dot underleaf of a prairie wildflower. This is the color version of the same leaf shown earlier in B/W.

nobody@smugmug.com (arctangent) — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 05:58:47 -0800

arctangent
Polka-dot underleaf of a prairie wildflower. This is the color version of the same leaf shown earlier in B/W.

Goldenrod in winter.

nobody@smugmug.com (arctangent) — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 05:39:13 -0800

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Goldenrod in winter.

Goldenrod's fuzzy phase. Hard to believe, but these bloomheads aren't backlit. There may have been indirect backlighting in the form of light reflected from the underlying snow, but it w ...

nobody@smugmug.com (arctangent) — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 05:21:38 -0800

arctangent
Goldenrod's fuzzy phase. Hard to believe, but these bloomheads aren't backlit. There may have been indirect backlighting in the form of light reflected from the underlying snow, but it w ...

Prairie flower (unidentified) with a snow cap.

nobody@smugmug.com (arctangent) — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 05:00:45 -0800

arctangent
Prairie flower (unidentified) with a snow cap.

Detail...prairie grasses #4

nobody@smugmug.com (arctangent) — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 20:05:31 -0800

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Detail...prairie grasses #4

Color zones. The separation of the scene before me into distinct color zones was what caught my eye. I'm afraid the photo is a poor version of the actual sight. What you are seeing (b ...

nobody@smugmug.com (arctangent) — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 19:44:22 -0800

arctangent
Color zones. The separation of the scene before me into distinct color zones was what caught my eye. I'm afraid the photo is a poor version of the actual sight. What you are seeing (b ...

Hidden possibilities. Tall grass prairie in winter.

nobody@smugmug.com (arctangent) — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 19:21:38 -0800

arctangent
Hidden possibilities. Tall grass prairie in winter.

Grasses, stems, leaves. Prairie restoration at Secor Park, Toledo, Ohio

nobody@smugmug.com (arctangent) — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 13:21:00 -0800

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Grasses, stems, leaves. Prairie restoration at Secor Park, Toledo, Ohio

Leaf of prairie dock...in winter, obviously. The leaves of this plant were on the order of 6 inches across. Mostly they were curled up, exposing their polka-dot undersides.

nobody@smugmug.com (arctangent) — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 13:02:09 -0800

arctangent
Leaf of prairie dock...in winter, obviously. The leaves of this plant were on the order of 6 inches across. Mostly they were curled up, exposing their polka-dot undersides.

Grasses in December. Restored tall grass prairie at Secor Park, Toledo, Ohio.

nobody@smugmug.com (arctangent) — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 11:35:50 -0800

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Grasses in December. Restored tall grass prairie at Secor Park, Toledo, Ohio.

Winter Sky #3 Midday sun, mid-December, shining through thin clouds, and silhouetting dried stems of prairie wildflowers. Those are distant trees near the bottom of the picture, to give ...

nobody@smugmug.com (arctangent) — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 21:25:09 -0800

arctangent
Winter Sky #3 Midday sun, mid-December, shining through thin clouds, and silhouetting dried stems of prairie wildflowers. Those are distant trees near the bottom of the picture, to give ...

Lace Cap. A cap of snow for a dried Queen Anne's Lace flower head.

nobody@smugmug.com (arctangent) — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 14:31:03 -0800

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Lace Cap. A cap of snow for a dried Queen Anne's Lace flower head.