June 2022

Bear Butte after a prairie thunderstorm

West River sunset

Prairiesmoke wildflower

Milky Way over Cave Hills Lutheran Church

Yellow Lady's slipper orchid

Wildflower deluxe

Full rainbow after the storm

Abandoned house with rainbow

Clouds after the storm over Highland Lutheran

Spotted coral root orchid

Prickly Pear Cactus blooms

Sunset clouds over the Falls of the Big Sioux

September 2021

Traffic at dusk on the Spearfish Canyon scenic byway

September is a month of transition here on the northern great plains. Early in the month, the last of the summer wildflowers bloom and by the end of the month the high country is ablaze with Autumn colors. Thankfully I was able to get out and enjoy a little of both flavors this month.  Here are a dozen of my favorites from those excursions. Click on an image for a larger file to view and enjoy!

Northern plains ladies-tresses in bloom

Friday night football with a spectacular sunset in Selby, SD

The nearly full harvest moon rising with mule deer in Perkins County, SD

Sica Hollow State Park canopy in late September

An abandoned house along the base of the Coteau des Prairies of northeastern SoDak

Late summer Milky Way over Pioneer Concordia Lutheran of Roberts County

Headlights and taillights along the Big Foot Pass at Badlands National Park

White-tailed buck at Custer State Park

Autumn in the high country of Lawrence County, SD

Mountain Bluebird standing out against the Autumn-hued background

Little Spearfish Canyon fall colors near Savoy, SD

 

June 2020

A distant rainbow with wind and shadow causing it to seem more like a watercolor painting in the eastern sky

 June in South Dakota offers a color explosion if conditions are right. Rainstorms, wildflowers, breeding birds, butterflies and deep sky objects are most prominent in June. This makes for one fo the best months to be out and about with a camera. It also makes for a wide variety of subjects to attempt to capture. Here are twelve of the most interesting subjects that caught my eye in June 2020. Feel free to click on an image for a larger file to view and thanks for taking a look!

Yellow-headed blackbird backlit by the setting sun

Prairie fameflowers are tiny and only bloom for a couple hours each day

A skipper on a prairie rose

Rainbow after the storm clouds clear and the sun peaks back in

Macro of the inside of a prickly pear flower

Sweet clover and late day sunlight paint the Bad River breaks beautifully southwest of Ft. Pierre

Common Nighthawk

Sunset somewhere between Midland and Phillip, SD

Eleven minutes after midnight in the South Unit of Badlands National Park

Short-eared owl in flight

Juvenile short-eared owl hiding in plain site in tall weeds 

March 2020

Sunset at Buffalo Slough (near Chester, SD)

March of 2020 found the world in unprecedented times. The natural world, however, did not stop or quarantine itself due to the Coronavirus. Spring and the beauty of the new life spring brings started in this part of the world in mid-March and continues to haltingly make it's way towards warmer and greener days. The changing of seasons is one of the reasons I love living here. With that said, here are some postcards of this year's spring start to remind everyone that beauty is out there, no matter what. Click on an image for a larger file to view and thanks for checking in!

A lens ball on the edge of meltwater at Lake Vermillion Recreation Area, McCook County, SD

A lens ball on the edge of meltwater at Lake Vermillion Recreation Area, McCook County, SD

Eastern Bluebird at Lake Alvin Recreation Area

Pheasant near Sand Creek NWR

Red-winged Blackbird near Sand Creek NWR

Western Meadowlark singing in the early morning light

The Milky Way Rising over Badlands National Park

Just over 20 minutes of star trials around the North Star at Badlands National Park

First light on the prairie hills of the Bad River hill country south of Midland, SD

Spring's first wildflower, the pasqueflower, in rural Hanson County, SD

Pasqueflower at sunset

July 2018

Wild wood lily in bloom in rural Deuel County, SD

When looking back at all the photo opportunities I was presented in July, it makes me wonder how it feels like the month was just here and gone.  I guess when you are out enjoying the scenery the days go down faster than the setting sun. I was able to get in a trip to the Coteau Hills in the northeast early in the month, then a West River odyssey in the middle of the month.  The latter half of the month was quite busy at work here in Sioux Falls, so I only got out on weekends and late evenings, but even so, there were wonders to be found, both in the sky and on the ground.  Here are 12 of my favorite photos from July 2018. Click on an image for a larger file to view and thanks for checking in!

A nighthawk lifting off in Sica Hollow State Park

Firefly activity over about 20 minutes of time at Newton Hills State Park

Twin whitetail fawns amongst the wildflowers at Custer State Park

Young burrowing owls waiting to be fed at Badlands National Park

Sion Hanson on a landmark of his family's land in rural Perkins County

Sion

Calvary Lutheran with the Milky Way in Clark County

A classic SoDak sunset above Renner, SD

A distant thunderhead beyond Hartford, SD

Evening light on a Monarch at rest - Dells of the Big Sioux

A full double rainbow after a brief rain shower south of Epiphany, SD