Time???!

A wet humid morning in the valley here.

 

Time is everyone's biggest nemesis, whether we realize it or not.  It has been going through my fingers like sand this summer...maybe part of that is because of the weather, but then there has been a lot going on in the family as well.

 

Evening Rainbows, showers and lightning out front.

We've had a wet late spring and now summer...just 4" this week alone, and I believe our June had around 9 inches.  That is very wet for us, especially seeing we were in a severe drought here from 2020 through 2023 (4 years)...then after a record flood in early 2024 last June, it stopped raining...for months.  Its really screwed up I'd say!

The weather has been great for a change though, but with it comes more work to keep up with things...Georgie in the gardens, me in the pastures and ditches.  Keeping up with weeds on steroids is something we haven't seen for awhile...at least "some" pull more easily, others still need the fork.

 I haven't gotten off the place in some time; my artwork has taken a hiatus.  Too much to get into here, but actually most summers have too much outside time to get in any amount of "easel" time...that works better in the winter when the snow and ice put an end to outdoor chores (other than shoveling or plowing anyway).  But I love the prairie pasture when it wakes up, and wouldn't have it any other way!

 

Baltimore Oriole at its nest here on the acreage!

And the birds!  My greatest love since childhood!  They have not disappointed either...I think I just opened our 50th 32 ounce jar of grape jelly since spring for the Orioles!  We have lots and they serenade us and flash their exuberance and colors...we have both Baltimores and Orchard Orioles here - multiple pairs.

 

Red-headed Woodpecker adult peeking around the corner at me.

One of the Red-headed Woodpecker juveniles here.

I kind of bombed out trying to find the Red-headed Woodpecker's nest this summer, but they're sharing a lot of viewing time for us while they're out and about...even recently got a photo of one of the juveniles that was reared here this summer!

 

Dawn - early light in SE O'Brien County.

I did get a nice request for another article for the Wildflower Wednesday offering through "Bleeding Heartland".  I finally had an excuse to get off the acreage, probably a good thing since its hard for me to do these past few years...getting old has some side effects I'm afraid. 

 

McCormack Area in SE O'Brien County.

I was asked to do an article on Hairy Four O'Clocks (Mirabilis albida) and needed some more images to write the article so ran down to the McCormack Area south of us, where I photographed some back in 2023.  The morning did not disappoint - it was drop dead gorgeous!

The article for Wildflower Wednesday was published a couple days ago at the following link...be sure and watch the video at the end...take in some sounds and sights of the morning there!

https://www.bleedingheartland.com/2025/07/23/iowa-wildflower-wednesday-hairy-four-oclock/?fbclid=IwY2xjawLwxclleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFwTXVlNEU4U0JJdWJMSG9FAR6Bln-NZ9q3cLLDzQhHdyo4DYooQ2tzfTD4Vfthwec04_dsI6A4WmiZneyvVQ_aem_8fAQUVwRmVQPm0v4CKTZmA 

Time???!  Although the context was a bit different, I do believe that the Rolling Stones got it terribly wrong - "Oh, time, time, time is on my side, yes it is"...I wish it were true for all of us!

Take care out there and please be good to one another - we are all in this together. 

 

A Rant or Hope?

 

Great Blue Herons - Waterman Rookery - 2023

This might be a wordy post...the image is from last year, yet this morning we have 2 Great Blue Herons on the Waterman Creek Great Blue Heron Rookery across the valley this morning.

I'm hopeful, but a backstory follows.

Last year the rookery failed...for the first time since it was colonized back in the 80's and 90's. It failed last year largely (my speculation) because of the drought we've fought since 2020. Their local fishery/food source failed...the Waterman quit flowing in the late summer of 2022. With remaining small stagnant pools freezing to the bottom during the 2022-23 winter, there was a system fish die-off. Although the Waterman began a small flow in 2023, it once again stopped flowing shortly before Labor Day in 2023. Then in October we received an amazing 6.5" 2 day rainfall and the Waterman once again began to flow. The fishery had some months to experience resurgence but just how long will a self sustaining condition actually take?

The rookery "tried" last year...in June it was abandoned...when around 30 pairs of birds give up - something is wrong. That can't be argued.

Water is much too taken for granted in Iowa. A fairly significant stream stops flowing two years in a row, yet no one seems to notice? Well maybe nitpickers like myself...

In December of 2022 the Des Moines Register ran an article on the Ocheyedan River...a 2 mile stretch of the river ran dry for the first time in recorded history. This event was apparently man made and technically illegal. But who noticed? Apparently someone needs to notice for any story to surface. Thankfully someone did notice and it was reported. But has the situation changed? Maybe, or its going to be glossed over and forgotten because yesterday it started raining - Finally.

https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/2022/12/21/section-of-iowa-river-goes-dry-as-water-pumped-to-minnesota-customers/69745918007/

"IF" things return to a "historic norm", maybe we won't see degenerative siphoning of our stream's water tables. But our resources are not finite...hear how much the proposed Carbon Pipelines will require to take from our water tables and aquifers? It is staggering!

The Waterman never had the type of struggle it now has with water usage from it's existing water table. When the upstream Ethanol plant was built back around 16-17 years ago, not a noticeable "visible" change in the creek was apparent. But the Geological Survey no longer measured stream flow of the Waterman, so who would notice?

Once the drought began in 2020 here, things started slowly changing...by 2022 it was obvious the Waterman system was in trouble. When a stream - for the first time in memory - quits flowing...it's mouth at the Little Sioux completely bone dry; there is a problem.

Could a new drain on a water resource, like the Valero plant in Hartley exacerbate the issue? The Valero web site states it produces 140 million gallon of ethanol per year, and it takes 3 gallons of water to make 1 gallon of ethanol. 420 million gallons of water per year from the water table along Waterman Creek. How much of an impact on a drought stricken stream and it's ecosystem would taking away 450 million gallons a year make??? I'm not a hydrologist nor a scientist but when a stream goes dry like this, all stresses have to have a cumulative causal affect.

While the Ocheyedan River drying up in that localized section of it's stream was attributed to the siphoning off "for sale" to another state, it may not have been noticed had the drought not have happened.

But the drought did happen and while we are "Maybe" climbing out of that drought - that doesn't mean we can just go back to business as usual and not protect our natural water resources. It has proven to us to not be finite!

So much of our natural heritage is hidden from view...what is in that stream? We see water and assume all is well with the world. But we are being assaulted by nitrogen and herbicide runoff, the loss of invertebrates and viable fisheries, as well as amphibians and turtles - so its very likely "all isn't as it seems".

Case-in-point - the 50 mile fish kill in the East Nishnabotna River south of Red Oak just last week, due to a huge fertilizer spill, apparently an untended valve just gave it all to the river......all man made destruction.

https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/tech/science/environment/2024/03/18/iowa-fertilizer-spill-results-in-miles-long-fish-kill-east-nishnabotna-river-red-oak/72995246007/ 

Everything in nature is connected...how many times has that got to be said? Are we all so far removed from the natural world now that we don't give it a passing thought any more???

If there are no longer invertebrates, micro-organisms, fish, amphibians, OR WATER in the streams - then we lose everything else above ground and the Waterman Rookery is now serving it's own sad purpose as being the proverbial "Canary in the Mine".

Two Great Blue Herons showed up this morning...they were sitting together on one of the few abandoned nests from last year.

I have hope. Is there still time for them? It all starts somewhere. There has to be some skin in the game or we are all going to lose something, piece by piece...

(Great Blue Heron and Nest photograph - ©Bruce A. Morrison)

 

2012 A.R.T. at the Studio this Weekend!!!

Fall colors this morning at the studio at Prairie Hill Farm!

(click on image for a larger view)

The 2012 Artisans Road Trip is finally here this weekend!!!  This is the 9th year of this NW Iowa "Studio Tour", and as far as the autumn color is concerned here - one of the prettiest I can remember!

It sounds like fall weather is actually going to be here on Saturday and Sunday, so wear your sweater and enjoy the crisp air!  The studio is heated so that's no problem :)  I don't know if anyone remembers the 2005 A.R.T. event, but we used to hold our exhibit out in the corn crib/grainery (before the studio was built) and it was 22 degrees Fahrenheit inside the crib until after noon!!!  Brrrr!  But that hasn't been an issue the past 5 years with the new studio/gallery :)  Besides, we have hot cider and so many of Georgie's specialties to enjoy!  Why do I always gain weight this weekend???!

The native prairie pasture here even looks like autumn in full glory!

(click on image for a larger view) 

The weekend Artisans Road Trip Hours are - Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday afternoon - Noon to 5:00 p.m.  

Need to get out and get some fresh air this weekend? Come to the valley here and enjoy the view inside and out!  If you like paintings, drawings and photography that is "about" the area in which we live...that is from "real" places - locations in our beautiful corner of the county, then we've got 'em!  Did you know we have the largest offering of art and photo greeting and note cards depicting NW Iowa in the region?!!!

Hope to see you this weekend!

 

Still...

Prairie Autumn Stream No.27X14" Prismacolor (color pencil drawing)

I finally finished another autumn color pencil piece I started way back before Christmas. I'm glad it's over; it wrestled me most of the way. I will offer this piece for sale as all originals I do...just have to set up a page on my business website for it first...in the meantime, if you are interested just email me and I can give you the particulars.

As in my mid November post, this image also came from the same trip Georgie and I made down into Sac County, Iowa while working on the Watchable Wildlife project. The day was horribly windy and very little came out of the trip as publishable photographs but it was beautiful and I used the image files to draw from to try and recapture that valley along the Raccoon River.

Back lit scenes are a favorite of mine, but I'm going to take a rest from them for a bit and try to get onto some other images burned into some lost corner of my brain.

This is what it currently looks like in the back grove today, we're in a blizzard warning and all county plows have been pulled off the roads till later tonight. We can't even see the mail box down the hill as I write.


So, this is where I'm staying at the time being...where I should be I guess! Looking for warm weather images to conjure up!

Stay safe...stay inside!!!

Back At It...

Sand Bar Slough - July Skies
Oil on mounted canvas - 12X16
SOLD

Finally...back to the easel! I firmly believe that - yes, once you learn to ride a bike you can always get back on and do it after years have passed. BUT - I also believe you'd do fairly poorly if you don't get in any practice!

This is true of anything of course...musicians need to practice or they'll get rusty; doctors need to practice or they may do more harm than good; artists need to work or they'll find they have a lot of "brushing" up to do!

So I'm back at it once more...not because I "have" to, but because I want to...I need to; it's definitely a need and I get cranky the longer I can't get back to it!

I wasn't able to swing a plein air piece yesterday but took some reference material from a trip up to the lakes with some of the grand kids in July. Love summer skies up around the marshes and prairie potholes! The painting is of Sand Bar Slough, just off the NE tip of Spirit Lake in Dickinson County, here in NW Iowa. I believe Sand Bar Slough is privately owned but is just off the east grade of the highway and there is a little spot on the grade you can pull over on in a small vehicle. I'm not sure one could get away with doing a plein air piece there since you're not likely parked legally and I'd certainly be there a while if I tried!

I'm lucky the opportunity arose to get some time in the "other side" of the studio!

I'm also very lucky to be celebrating a great day with my great lady Georgie today, it's our 39th anniversary today! What a girl! I love her more than I can express!

Do something with someone you love this weekend!

Break...

("Soo Landing in Early Spring" 6X8" plein air oil painting)

We've been getting some very cool damp days lately. Seemed to slow things down as far as the spring wildflowers and flowering trees. Our Wild Plums outside the studio have been swollen and waiting for a warm cue the past few days...now I think we have a break coming!

I decided to take advantage of this break in the scheme of things to get in some short painting practice. I feel very bad to let so much time pass in between paintings, but I need to take care of living issues like most everyone else. I have a couple big jobs taking all my efforts at the moment but decided I needed to be true to myself and scratch that itch today.

I drive by this location several times a year and on driving by last week, I thought this would be a nice location for plein air painting. The trees are still trying to shed the sheaths of their buds and some are just breaking into leaf...just starting to green up the river valley. This is the Little Sioux River a few miles south of here and what is called "Soo Landing". The river wasn't high like it should be this time of year but we're a little short on rain so far this spring.

The landing isn't in the best of shape but affords a nice river bend view to the northeast...you wouldn't even have to get out of your vehicle...which would be my preference come Black fly season! (This is a great river for them.)

Well...back to work I guess...nice to take a break though!