Trying to Keep Up!

"Little Sioux River Valley Sunrise"

photograph - © Bruce A. Morrison

(click on image for a larger view) 

Its been very hard keeping up with everything lately!  Life is more complicated than we give it at face value, isn't it!?  The work in the studio and around the acreage is keeping us on our toes lately...this is always a busy time of year.

 

I've also been trying to keep an eye on our pasture here because I often can use it as a gauge as to when things might be at their best on the prairies nearby.  I had been noticing our Dotted Liatris (Liatris punctata) and Rough Blazing Star (Liatris aspera) beginning to look pretty good, so I thought I'd run off to Waterman Prairie this morning where I know these things are in good number...see if I could catch them before they get past their prime.

 

When I got up everything was really socked in outside; I actually woke a few minutes before the alarm rang - a Coyote out front of our place woke me with its yowling; sounded like it was missing someone or feeling left out!

 

I procrastinated a bit, not sure if the fog would lift enough for some decent images, but eventually talked myself into getting in gear and heading down the road.  I went to the O'Brien No.1 site again; this is where I'd been watching some decent locations for late summer prairie blooms.

 

When I arrived it was so thick I decided to just walk to the ridges above the Little Sioux River, figuring I could scout some along the way.  There's a hanging valley there...I'm sure I've talked of it in the past.  The farmers who access fields down below the prairie there use it as an access road...its actually an ancient river bed left hanging along the edge of the hillside.

 

No sooner had I reached the ridge top the sun popped out of the fog and the curtains down below me were opening to expose the river below.  I scrambled and got a few shots before the river and valley below were gone again...if I'd been a couple minutes or more later I would have simply missed out!  It was truly a "WOW" moment! Serendipity?

 

I walked around checking for late summer liatris but the majority were still in tight bud...some years you get lucky and they all go at once - that would be nice!  But no such luck this morning. 

 

 "O'Brien No. 1 Sunflowers and Big Bluestem"

photograph - © Bruce A. Morrison

(click on image for a larger view)

 

I kind of did a mental inventory of plants as I slowly walked back to the road and did see some surprises; for one there was still Spiked Lobelia (Lobelia spicata) in bloom!  That's nearly always done by early August in my own pasture, and this year I couldn't find it; I suspected because of the drought we'd been experiencing again.

 

The Sunflowers were way ahead of our pasture here as well, but the stand I stopped to photograph is in a low lying wet area so that may be the reason.  I was seeing three varieties, may even have missed one.  there was Maximilian (Helianthus maximiliani), Sawtooth (Helianthus grosseserratus) and Showy Sunflower (Helianthus laetiflorus) in bloom intermixed with some good clumps of Big Bluestem (Andropogon gerardii) also in bloom!

 

A good morning for a wet walk, ya the air was 100% humidity - even my glasses kept fogging over trying to look through the camera's viewfinder.  But a beautiful morning on the prairie!

 

 

Still August...Still Hanging In There!

"Sunrise at O'Brien No.1"

photograph - © Bruce A. Morrison

(click on image for a larger view) 

Its surprising how quickly this summer is flying by...but August has been different in some ways.  Kind of like slow motion, yet at the speed of "life" if-you-will.  We've had events of great joy, some not and some yet to happen, it makes for a suppressed level of creativity...I talked sparingly about this in my last blog.  But I have been tending to business and yesterday morning (Saturday) I kicked myself out of bed early and drove down to a spot I hadn't visited for some time.  The sunrise wasn't overly spectacular but very pleasant; a quiet/still dew laden morning with low lying fog in the valley below.  I have talked about this area on occasion in the past; it is part of the Waterman Prairie complex but I refer to it as O'Brien No.1 because the person who first identified it as a prairie of importance gave it that identification in her report.  

Ada Hayden was the first woman botanist at Iowa State University, she has been credited with publishing the best native flora survey of any part of Iowa. And she campaigned for a system of prairie preserves, two of which were later named the Hayden and the Kalsow prairies.  

"Wild Rose hips from O'Brien No.1"

photograph - © Bruce A. Morrison

(click on image for a larger view)

Hayden received a grant one summer in the early 1940's to travel the state, make a census of remaining tallgrass prairies and make recommendations for preservation.  O'Brien No.1 was her identification for this site and she recommended its preservation to the state.  It took a while but in the mid 1990's the location was finally purchased by the state as part of the Waterman Prairie complex.  Ada is one of my heroes (OK "heroines") of our nearly vanished Tallgrass Prairie...I have several but she is definitely a kindred spirit at the top of the list.

 "Early Light on Dog Creek"

photograph - © Bruce A. Morrison

(click on image for a larger view)

Its getting into the later part of August and the landscape and plants are showing the signs...I'm beginning to see swelling flower buds of Liatris aspera, the Solidago sp., and the color of wild rose hips are taking on a bright red hue...the warm season grasses are in flower or finishing up.  There is even a hint of yellow in the Cottonwood leaves along the creeks and streams in the valley.

Here at the studio we are seeing more hummingbirds than just our resident nesting pair, the Red-headed Woodpecker's off-springs are sporting their strange black heads, and we're overrun with the fresh crop of youngster Orchard and Baltimore Orioles.  

The dawn chorus had changed permanently till fall; I do not like that.  I already miss the overlapping cacophony of bird song beginning at predawn.  I still catch the Song Sparrows, Sedge Wrens and Dickcissels in the early morning walks or evening respite, but its a sign of change from a season that is just too short even more so at this age...you youg'uns will understand clearly someday.

The other change I led into in the last blog has not changed.  The transmission line process will be a long one, it will shadow us for at least the next couple years.  I will speak more on it after the required "public meeting" next week.  Until then - savor each moment left of summer!

August in the Valley

"Hidden Pool"

photograph - © Bruce A. Morrison

(click on image for a larger view) 

Its a mystery to me how summer vanishes before our very eyes.   Oh it hasn't yet by any means, but it just began a blink ago; and here it is August in the valley.

This morning the sun found me south of the studio two or three miles, walking the "edges" of the Waterman Creek valley.  I had planned on walking the creek, because it is so low that traversing and wading is not a problem right now...we're having another very dry summer here.  

This section of the Waterman is embraced in what I'd describe as a "bowl" or "basin".  I've walked the creek on this section several times but never explored the edges surrounding it.  It was a pleasant surprise when I came upon this small woodland pool on a ridge above the creek.  Some Wood Ducks , likely in molt, paddled towards the opposite side of the pool, softly expressing their displeasure or concern.  The duckweed gave the pool a soft green blanket; a convenient salad breakfast for the "Woodies".

As I had hoped, the air was still as the sun broke; this always helps with closeup landscape photographs like this...leafy branches hold still for a longer shutter speed.

This image is a bit deceiving, as it is mere feet away from the valley opening below,  and this creates a perfect edge habitat for Orioles, Eastern Bluebirds and Field Sparrows.  The Field Sparrows were doing that wonderful trill; its a beautiful song and I was so happy they were still present with their notes!  Soon many of our birds will be in that transition mode into fall and the familiar favorite songs and calls will be absent until returning next spring.  I always regret seeing this transition come.

There are other transitions coming to us here, I won't get into it too much at this moment as I'm going to hold off until I can gather more information.  But it involves a "possible" change for our valley and for our personal lives here.  A very large (it will be the largest in Iowa) transmission line is applying with the state's utility board to run through our property and across the valley past the Waterman Creek Great Blue Heron rookery.  This is a 600kv(+/-) line system to cross the entire state and into Illinois...it will cross 16 counties "if" it is approved, and it will be carried by 200-240 foot lattice work towers.  

We aren't really the masters of our destiny as we so often find out.  And this isn't written in stone yet.  We have joined forces with an association of landowners to do our best to see that this does not happen, and hopefully 16 counties worth of landowners will find a voice to prevent it...but this will be a shadow for a couple years or more before we know what is happening, or not happening.  This has been a unfortunate interruption to the creative flow of work here at the studio, needless to say.  I am now doing my best to direct research and followup time for this specter, to a smaller part of my day, trying to keep things in perspective. I am hoping to stay out of its shadow and into the sunlight so I can still create and enjoy this beautiful gift we have treasured since coming here 11 years ago.

I will write a little more in depth about this soon...in the meantime it is August - grab summer by the collar before it s gone!

Summer Morning

"Summer Morning" - oil painting (12X24")

© Bruce A. Morrison

(click on image for a larger view)

Yesterday was a typical summer morning.  The low lying mist wasn't as heavy as usual, but the dew point was a tad lower than in recent weeks, and thank goodness it was cool for a change.  One thing hadn't changed - the blackflies were insane (some call them buffalo gnats or biting gnats).  Why is something always there to put a bur in the moment (?) - I don't know, I just try to adapt.  I've taken to wearing bug netting over my head...I don't think I'll post a picture of that, it looks weird and undignified.  But the bugs are the rulers of their kingdom and when you step outside you're fair game!

What was exceptional that morning was the air...still as...well, more than a whisper.  Early light was wonderful, something you carry and remember months later when you're house bound.  I don't know if I came away with anything that memorable "visually speaking", but I still hear the birds singing...a Grasshopper Sparrow stands out, I haven't had the privilege in some time!

I try and keep these moments in a place for future keeping and the oil painting above is one example.  It still sits drying on the easel here a few feet away, and I can yet see that morning and hear the birds.  

"Summer Morning" - oil pastel "study" (6X12")

© Bruce A. Morrison
(Sold)

(click on image for a larger view)

I had wanted to attempt this piece for some time, waiting for other committed work to be completed.  I finally did a smaller (6X12") oil pastel 2-3 months back; I treat smaller studies like you would test the water with a toe or hand before jumping in.  It seemed right and now the experience is behind me and I'm looking forward to another! 

This morning the wind whips across the valley...it'd be a decent day to work through more commitments here in the studio; nothing is more distracting than a summer gale on the prairie!  I might just reflect back on more past walks down the valley...step down to the creek and test the water...

Close to Home

"Waterman Morning"

photograph © Bruce A. Morrison

(click on image for a larger view) 

Its interesting how we often over look things that are closer to home. I know, as a kid I always thought things were much cooler out down the railroad tracks a few miles west of town.  I'd go down that path every chance I had; I eventually found out I'd been walking right past all sorts of hidden treasure and adventure...some even in my own backyard!

Nothing has changed, but I do consider my own backyard as something of a larger scale than when I was a young person.  I generally don't tend to wander that far on a daily basis because I'm constantly finding things in my own "back yard" that are stirring and new. 

A couple mornings back I found This wonderful landscape in the early morning light, just a hop, skip and a jump from my very back door.  This is Waterman Creek of course and it never ceases to amaze me how beautiful it is close up...and even closer to home!

 

Father's Day Morning

Father's Day Sunrise

photograph © Bruce A. Morrison

(click on image for a larger view)

What a drop dead Father's Day morning it was!  Really beginning to actually feel like June now...about time - the month's half over!  

I originally went out to photograph the Little Sioux River Valley in the fog that lays over the river like a thick blanket this time of the year, but it stayed socked-in for a good 2 hours as the sun rose and I could not find openings for shooting.

After photographing the sun breaking through the horizon (image above), I walked over to the hilltop at the Prairie Heritage Center and checked out the small Bison herd there to see if there were any photo opportunities there.  The Bison were pretty obscured too but I kept waiting to see if they'd ever emerge.  

Breaking Sky On The Tallgrass

photograph © Bruce A. Morrison

(click on image for a larger view)

Eventually the sky did open above the Bison, and even though there was a patchy haze over the ground, I decided to give it a try and made  a series of images that worked fairly well...the Bison were still a bit hazed over but the feel of the ground and background fog with the great swirling sky cloud pattern had a nice feel to it.  I think the only thing that'd make this a "dream" image would have been about 50-60 more Bison!

A nicer day couldn't have been asked for...well, the mosquitoes were rather ravenous but nothing good bug netting and gloves and hooded sweatshirt couldn't cure :)   OK, things could always be better but I'm not complaining, looking back on the morning.

Hope your day was good...here's to our Fathers...still with us and departed.  God Bless 'em! 

Late Spring

 "Rose-breasted Grosbeak (male)" - photograph © Bruce A. Morrison

Spring is nearing its end and the work is mounting here! I am always pulled in many directions at this time of the year; need to get out and photograph the landscape, need to stay in and finish artwork on the easel, need to pick up work from a closing exhibit and take work to a new one, need to get work framed for customers, get new prints processed and hung in the studio...even finish patching the barn roof! The list goes on; like all of us - too much to do after that long winter and wet/cold spring!
 

The photograph above is part of another exhibit I'm participating in at the moment. This new art exhibit is at the Witter Gallery in Storm Lake, Iowa and runs through most of the month of June.
 

This exhibit is the first Artisans Road Trip showing for the 2013 season - the tenth year of the Artisans Road Trip in NW Iowa! You may recognize the A.R.T. open studio tour held each fall during the first weekend in October; the Artisans Road Trip also puts on exhibits during the year with current artist members and the Witter Gallery showing is the first of the 2013 A.R.T. season!

I have 4 pieces in the exhibit - 3 photographs and 1 oil pastel. But there is so much more to see as well. There will be an artist's reception Thursday - June 13th, from 5 - 7p.m. Hope to see you there!

"June Morning Music" - Nature Audio - © Bruce A. Morrison

Here's a playful respite for all of you out there under the pressure of work that is never quite finished or caught up. The Image above is from the house here and our kitchen home entry and garden...it is from a color pencil drawing done a year or so ago. I have used it here as artwork to go with some of nature's music here on the acreage.
 

I do occasional video and audio work for my own use and for some natural resources client projects on contract. This short "get away" is just for myself and my friends. Just click HERE or on the image above and listen to late spring out on the prairie. Enjoy!  

Hope you enjoy the rest of spring!