Sunday, December 1, 2019

November 2019

A Bighorn Ram on a mission at Badlands National Park
It is hard to believe November is over. Not counting shooting sports, I was only out having fun with my camera a handful of times. Even so, a trip across South Dakota early in the month to Harding County to watch my nephews win a playoff football game made for a great opportunity to travel through some of the most ruggedly beautiful parts of the state. I hit Badlands National Park on both the way out and back and travelled a few back roads in Meade County as well. These excursions yielded encounters with raptors of all sizes including bald eagles. I witnessed excited Bighorn Rams guarding their territory as the rut was on. I also saw (and took portraits of) a prairie rattlesnake that, for some reason, was not yet cozy in its den. I nearly drove over him on a gravel road on a mild and sunny afternoon near the Belle Fourche River. Afterwards, I took in one of the best South Dakota Sunsets at Badlands National Park that I've seen for some time. All in all, it was a good November for photography despite the end of the warm season and the oncoming of winter.  Click on an image for a larger file to view and thanks for checking in.

Juvenile Bald Eagle in flight

Prairie Rattlesnake potrait

Badlands National Park from the Conata Basin Road

Moonrise over Badlands National Park

Golden hour light at Badlands National Park

The last of the sunlight at Badlands National Park

Sunset over Badlands National Park

Sunset over Badlands National Park

Sunset over Badlands National Park

Northern Cardinal at the Big Sioux Recreation Area near Brandon

A lone tree on the prairie north of Miller, SD on my way home from Thanksgiving break.