The Power of Prairie

Perennials are magic. I'm learning that more and more. I read about how they are 'built to last'. For this particular region, I see the phrase, 'drought-tolerant' over and over in the descriptions of prairie flora. We have years of wonderful rain and always have our sunshine year round. However, the last two years have definitely been drought years. It is evident by the way the elm trees are overproducing seeds. That yard at the cabin has a couple inches of caked elm seed layered over it.

The prairie grasses in mid July here are not green. They are crunchy and yellow when you walk through it. It LOOKS just like late September. Doesn't it?

July 2023

The grasses are fine. They aren't near-death like a lawn. They have massive root systems below that are alive and well, living all winter long. I assume, like the Elm, the plants are over-producing as well? It sure looks abundant, even though it is not green.

Will you look at this! In this drought, there is colour! Perennial flora xo

Dotted Blazing Star. They were EVERYWHERE.

Dry July, Blazing Stars don't mind.

And the bees were happy.

Next, we (my boy Florian and me) spied red. Once you spot red, you see it everywhere. It was like a spray of bright beads across a long dip in the land.  WOW - it was ripe wild Raspberries!

Wild Raspberries, low to the ground. Ripe!

As dry as it was, there were loads of berries on hundreds and hundreds of foot high bushes like this, but only in the low lying parts. Perhaps that's how they get their moisture, even from morning dew. There was so much fruit, it was unbelievable. The wildlife must love it. (I picked one for my son to taste. He's my wildlife.) xo

Harebells in the breeze

Skeleton Weed in the Wolf Willow

The Wild Roses have been absolutely prolific this year. This isn't a representational picture. We had a very hard downpour lastnight with thunder and lightning (finally!!) and so most of the big beautiful petals were likely pulled off by the raindrops.

More buds blooming in a moment of sun.

There are still so many young plants out on the prairie, just full of little rose buds. We'll have many more coming.

New growth during a drought.

And at the same time, the ones that have already bloomed this year have transformed into beautiful, big fruits!! Look at this!

Rosehips in hand, Licorice in back.

There were so many more flowers: Alfalfa, Blue Lettuce, Goldenrod, and blues and yellows that I can't identify yet. And then we waited for this little dude to land for a photo op.

? Male Celastrina ?

So there you go. This was a good Field Work day. If you were to drive down the grid road, and had glanced to the side and this is what you saw...

... you wouldn't know if was full of all sorts of flowers, raspberries, butterflies, roses and bumblebees. 

 The Prairie is not empty. She is abundant.

 The Prairie is beautiful. If not, then you likely haven't seen her. Like my mom used to say, "If you can't see the beauty, then you're not looking."

 The Prairie is alive. She's thriving. She is perennial.

 The Prairie is vital. She is essential to life on this planet. (This last point is all new to me. I'm learning.)

~Monika

additional point - hey, this is an early morning blog post. It reads like my private journal to myself and if it comes across as preachy, that's not my intention. It's my private poetry at the end, like a heartsong that is sacred to me, and not meant for any other purpose. I am by no means a perfect steward of this planet. Far from it! As a woman, I find parallels. As an artist, I can share portraits of the Prairie's beauty.