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| Mating Monarch butterfly wings |
July of 2021 was hot, smoky and relatively dry. Getting out into nature was also tough for yours truly with a very busy regular work schedule. Typically I chase rainbows and storm clouds on weekends and evenings in July, but storms and rain were few and far between this year. Even so, there was enough rain on the eastern side of SD and southwestern MN, that wildflowers were still found and enjoyed. I also looked for the federally endangered Western Prairie Fringed Orchid over a couple weekends in Rock County, MN to no avail. Then a friend told me where I could find this elusive (but quite showy and lovely) wildflower up in southeastern ND at the Sheyenne National Grasslands. So I spent a long Saturday on the road to find and photograph the wildflower with a couple stops at a few favorite places in northeastern SD on the way back. Here are the photos from all these July forays for you. Click on an image for a larger file to view and thanks for checking in.
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| Prairie larkspur in the evening light |
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| Wood Lily |
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| Northern green bog orchid |
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| Pale-spike lobelia |
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| Western Fringed Prairie Orchid |
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| Western Fringed Prairie Orchid |
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| Smooth Oxeye |
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| Storm clouds over Esmond, SD |
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| Kalm's lobelia |
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| The underside of a new Great Blue Lobelia bloom |
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| Prairie blazing stars |
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