Konza Prairie Girl Color Pallette

Konza Prairie Girl Color Pallette

Tuesday, August 16, 2016

Honey Bees and Bumble Bees-- Gotta love 'em

There is an award winning book, A Sting in the Tale -- Fabulous! You will never look at bees the same.

But most of us know a bit about Honey Bees.
My own journey to becoming a beekeeper began when a Buffalo Whisperer, George, called and offered some bees to be rescued.
An old farm house, in the process of a major remodel, was housing a large hive in the front porch.



Farmhouse honey bee hive mary todd





Be nice to bees...avoid using poisons!
and, leave your dandelions to bloom.
(You're welcome...)








Monday, May 16, 2016

My Konza Prairie

Love this place

sunrise in the cold fog mary todd photograph

 click to view large
country road at dusk mary todd

nuthatch   mary todd photo

cat on the fence mary todd photo of konza

Friday, May 13, 2016

Little Houses on the Konza Prairie

Beauty is a little house on the Konza Prairie

Fine art in the flint hills Konza Prairie Girl
Prairie House Clouds at Sunset mtodd



Fine art in the flint hills Konza Prairie Girl
Kansas Farm in the Flint Hills mtodd



Fine art in the flint hills Konza Prairie Girl
Little House in a Big Sky mtodd
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Thursday, February 18, 2016

Plateaus in the Flint Hills

Just gazing at Plateaus seem to Lift one high above the prairie.


fine art in the flint hills
Plateau across the Prairie mary todd



Plateau and Clouds mktodd
fine art in the flint hills

Plateaus in the Great Plains mtodd
fine art in the flint hills


Solitude on the Plateau mary todd
fine art in the flint hills


fine art in the flint hills


Tuesday, February 16, 2016

The Commute from the Flint Hills

One who commutes from the Flint Hills into town arrives in a Zen frame of mind.
Thank you, Kind Flint Hills.

Beauty Horses mary todd
The Flint Hills Daily Commute



The daily commute from a prairie,
    through the gentle hills,
           is infused with What Is Important, and a lovely calm bathes the cells.

 fine art in the Flint Hills
morning commute horses on the Flint Hills mtodd

 fine art in the Flint Hills


(Sometimes arriving in town can be jarring; but usually the Centering is strong enough to withstand even election season.)


Country Road at Sunrise mtodd
 fine art in the Flint Hills


A Morning Sky on the Flint Hills Commute

The Eagle tree... more click HERE




One day I got out of the truck to look at a snake in the road:

A snake right in the middle of the road... mtodd


In fact, i have to leave for town early, because it is almost impossible not to stop and take a picture or ten...



If you go to your internet search bar 
and type in 
The Daily commute... hit  images ... 
you will feel oppressed just looking. 

Instead, here is what you will find 'round here:


Foggy Morning Sunflowers mtodd
 fine art in the Flint Hills

 Morning Foggy Sunflowers DETAIL mtodd
 fine art in the Flint Hills
 Morning Flint Hills Commute Sky on Fire mtodd
 fine art in the Flint Hills




 Sunrise in the Flint Hills Poster mktodd
 fine art in the Flint Hills

 fine art in the Flint Hills


One little concentrated area of flint hills-- in a half mile of the Daily Commute-- seems to cause confusion: the radio waves are scrambled, and birds are rattled in some way. I have rescued several large raptors in the area, and small birds also seem to fly in a less safe manner than usual. Here are some pictures of an owl stunned in the middle of the road--in the wee morning hours it would have shortly been hit by a vehicle, but i scooped it up, said a prayer, and drove to the university vet school with a giant owl on my lap! Story HERE.
Owl Rescue mtodd
The Daily Commute from the Flint Hills

 fine art in the Flint Hills
Beautiful Owl at the Vet after road hit


How is your commute?


 Foggy Morning Sunflower Poster mary todd
 fine art in the Flint Hills


 Cow Poster mary todd
 fine art in the Flint Hills


The White Star Club in the Morning
 fine art in the Flint Hills


Good Morning Everyone!
 fine art in the Flint Hills

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Monday, February 15, 2016

Amazing Horizons

Every season brings beauty in these Flint Hills. The sometimes stark horizons lack no excitement; the colors and textures of the simple layers are like new paintings every morning, every night...



The clouds in the Kansa sky are strange and impossible. But-- here is the photographic proof! no retouching is needed. --although, when one looks at the collection of pictures and paintings from the Flint Hills, the colors may seem impossible...they are not...

Fine Art in the Flint Hills


 Konza Moon...mkTodd
Fine Art in the Flint Hills

 Fine Art in the Flint Hills

Strange Sun in Sky poster mktodd


 Glorious, Untouched Skies...
Fine Art in the Flint Hills

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lovely young hawk mtodd


It is cold here...

Here's a nice little snow drifting...

Fine Art in the Flint Hills


Birds of The Flint Hills (two)

So many birds find a wonderful habitat in the Flint Hills.

I know that many people think of Kansas as barren, but they are quite surprised when they experience the richness of plant and animal life here.

Birds of the Flint Hills (part one) click HERE

Meadowlark state bird of kansas Mary todd
The hills do provide some hiding places in the winter,
and there is a bit less encroachment on the land here in flyover country...

Many crows seem to arrive in winter, although there are some crows year round.

fine art in the flint hills
Crow in the Snow m.k.todd
 fine art in the flint hills
A Robin Takes a Bath mktodd
 fine art in the flint hills
Crow


 A beautiful Northern Flicker.
fine art in the flint hills

 Note the camouflage of the Western Meadowlark, the state bird.


fine art in the flint hills

 fine art in the flint hills
Happy Meadowlark



 Flicker in wind
fine art in the flint hills

 One can see lots of Red-bellied Woodpeckers in the flint hills.

fine art in the flint hills

The Tallgrass Prairie, 
as wonderful as it is, is almost gone.

 Only 5% of this original area is left.
Original Tallgrass Area Map

We are the last remaining bit of the vast grasslands of the Tallgrass Prairie, once stretching the length of the continent.
(Grasslands are the source of all life, really...)

Here is a great quote and map from
the following site:  beyond-the-commonplace-tallgrass-prairie-national-preserve-flint-hills-kansas

"...Our continent's most endangered ecosystem,
 the tallgrass prairie (America's grassland) has 
shriveled to only 5% of its former glory 
(the map image at left is from Last Stand of the Tallgrass Prairie). It is as if a horde of invaders slowly consumed the former empire, devouring its majestic sprawl, one paved asphalt assault at a time. I once wrote about this conflicted aspect of conurbation, my struggle with progress versus preservation and the need for protecting nature from our own relentless consumption. I don't think I am alone in the dichotomous feelings one has, benefiting from the amplitude of the 21st century at the expense of our consumptive ways..."

Tallgrass Prairie Endangered ecosystem
ONLY 5% remaining...




All that we can do to help preserve this wonderful ecosystem is important.
Visit the Flint Hills Discovery Center: (it will make a difference in your thinking.)




Some of the lovely, intelligent crows i love to photograph:

Birds in the flint hills

Birds in the flint hills
Cold Crow by Mary Todd



Neon Blizzard Crow mktodd
Birds in the flint hills


Crow in Light by Mary Todd

Birds in the flint hills


Birds in the flint hills
Crow Walkers mtodd


Poser Crow by Mary Todd
Birds in the flint hills

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 Crow Shadow by Mary Todd
Birds in the flint hills