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...)

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

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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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

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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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