Flowers. Waking in the morning to the sunlight hitting their pretty petals. The smell of their aroma in the early evening hours. Maybe it’s because here in North Dakota we simply have relatively fewer days to appreciate them, and that after the long winter’s left us they seem particularly lovely, reminding us in their very quiet way that life sustains and renews. Whatever the case, it’s hard not to love a beautiful prairie flower.
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Daisies & Purple
Spring Blossoms
Some of the images are from my own back yard – Daisies & Purple and Spring Blossoms are two of them. Short story… I’m a terrible gardener. In my own defense, I don’t have a lot of time to spend with them – weeding, pruning and such takes time. So, I came up with (what I feel is) a brilliant plan – I’ll plant wildlfowers indigenous to North Dakota and they should grow! To a degree, that works. Once you think of it though, it kind of grows on you. Why not grow what is natural to the region? If it was good for mother nature, why not. These two were printed as 11×14s and hang next to each other in a cozy little sitting area.
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Purples
Midsummer Wildflowers
Blanket Flower
Some of the others came from a wildflower prairie planted several years ago by Rosalee Anderson of Hillsboro, in partnership with the Hillsbor Parks Dept. Rosalee approached me several months ago, after learning of this project. She didn’t want me to forget her lovely prairie – so I promised I’d stop in to check it out. I stopped one evening on my way home from visting mom and actually didn’t think the lighting was right. After shooting my usual dozens of images I headed for home not expecting much. Gotta tell you that I was more than pleasantly surprised by what I’d benn able to capture that evening! They’re some of my favorites – and from what I heard from the folks at the Medical Center, they rank with their favorites as well. So – Rosalee – thanks for stopping me! Midsummer was printed as a 16×20 with Purples and Blanket Flower as 11×14.
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Glory Days
This image was found a few miles from our place out in Cummings. I was out and about, scouting spots. It was early evening and when I came by this old place – and old and abandoned farm house with old and equally abandoned farm equipment. The purples of the Russian Thistle caught my eye. It was just so pretty set against the rusts of the worn equipment behind them. I’m sure no farmer in his right mind would find this attractive (thistle isn’t relished around here), but nonetheless, I liked it. The title became Glory Days just because it seemed appropriate for both yesterday and today. This was printed as a 16×20 and hangs by itself near the others.
