Yellow Blooming Prairie

Prairie at Governor Nelson State Park

Prairie in September Bloom © 2012 Bo Mackison

“The real things haven’t changed. It is still best to be honest and truthful; to make the most of what we have; to be happy with simple pleasures; and have courage when things go wrong.”  ~ Laura Ingalls Wilder

I walked in the prairie yesterday. In mid-September, the prairie is a mix of blooming flowers – mostly Late Goldenrod and Showy Goldenrod. Wild Indigo and a few stalks of Prairie Blazing Star are scattered in the yellows. Oak savannas are in the background.

Prairie Flowers at Governor Nelson State Park

Prairie Flowers, Prairie Seeds © 2012 Bo Mackison

The true way to live is to enjoy every moment as it passes, and surely it is in the everyday things around us that the beauty of life lies.”
~ Laura Ingalls Wilder

By this time of the year, many flowers have long gone to seed – Rattlesnake Master and Common Milkweed, the yellow Cone Flowers and many of the sunflower varieties.

Some of the paths wander through prairie that is waist high, but some of the taller prairie lands rise high above my head. It is an hiking experience not often found, walking on a dirt path through flower stalks that are several feet above my head.

The view is all flower and sky!

These prairies were photographed on the Morning Side Trail at the entrance of Governor Nelson State Park, north of Madison, Wisconsin.

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Bo Mackison is a photographer and the owner of Seeded Earth Studio LLC. Walking is her daily pleasure, her daily meditation. Walking in the tall prairie is a walk for the senses and for the soul.

Exploding Seeds

Macro Milkweed Exploding Seeds

Milkweed Exploding Seeds © 2007

Exploding seed pods
Glimmering silk parachutes
They shoot forth white strands
attached to brown propellers.
Milky seeds shimmer in flight.

The milkweed plant offers a lovely show when it disperses its seeds. The above poem is a tanka; its form is 5-7-5-7-7 syllables.

Photographed at Governor Nelson State Park near Westport, Wisconsin in October, 2007.

To see an earlier set of photos of the life cycle of the milkweed plant – spring, summer and fall – go to http://gardengrow.wordpress.com/2007/09/06/milkweed-life-cycle/