Morning Butterflies

Early rising to film emergence can yield lovely surprises...

Butterfly in the Flint Hills mary todd

Zebra Swallowtail in the Flint Hills mary todd 

Butterfly emergence:
click here  The-butterfly-life-on-prairie--Chrysalis

Spring vultures

Vultures in the Flint Hills mary todd

This job--
to keep things clean and pretty.
Eliminate death and decay.
Eating corruption.
The face
of a vulture is red and seems sad.
I see them near my home, working hard.
What grace must Fill them!
Doing the work that never ends.
 Doing the work no one speaks of
like my beautiful grandmothers.
Like your beautiful grandmothers.
No pretty Golden Beaks, no Snowy White headfeathers.
No eating food Alive.
The sad eyes are not really the eyes.
The humble face on the regal body
humbles me.

Vulture in Light Flint Hills mary todd

Lovely Flint Hills Vulture mtodd

quit complaining oh you thought i'd be pretty if i had head feathers and a yellow beak and ate my food ALIVE? (that's actually kind of cruel, eh?doing the work i was created for. taking care of this task is humbling.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NT6inwCdydI&feature=related

vultures by mary todd

by mary todd

Vulture in the flint hills mtodd

Farms on the Konza: Beautiful Sunrise, Cows Mooing, and Clouds Screaming Color!

Even though my fingers were FREEZING
I left the pile of warm cozy, ran outside and took some videos (posted below) of a typical fabulous Flint Hills Sunrise. I love the Konza Prairie! I love the Great Plains! (is Great Plain an oxymoron?)

Most Photos are untouched but shrunk.

Flint Hills Farm mary todd

Morning Farm in the Flint Hills mary todd

Fine Art in the Flint Hills mary todd

Winter Prairie Farm mary todd

Winter Flint Hills Moon mary todd

 The morning moon seemed wrapped in a grainy fog.

Sunflower Winter Remains mary todd

 Dead Sunflowers Reach for Strange Clouds

Winter Skies on the Prairie mtodd

 Sailfish in the Sky.

Prairie Farm in Winter mary Todd

 Click on pic to view large.

Fine Art in the Flint Hills Treeline on the Farm Mary Todd

 The view north.

I will insert the videos after a couple of whimsy moments:

Plastic Wrapped Winter Sky mary todd

Mary Todd Treeline

and in the daytime:





very Large File: Bare Trees in Morning Moon Light

Bare Trees in Morning Moonlight mary todd

Winds of Spring

...can bring sadness

A truly exquisite robin's hard-made nest...

The winds here are beyond the telling.

This must have fallen not 30 minutes before i arrived.

More later...

Vultures Can Dance in the Konza Winds

The Kansa Wind drove some pioneers batty, I am sure...Now, three days of increasing wind broke last night with thunderstorms. When it is 10-20 mph in town, it is 35-60 sustained in the Flint Hills/Osage Questas. here are some youtubes to see hear for yourself: These were taken over the past 48 hours.

Vultures and a crow eating and dancing with gusto as the wind allows:
In this first link, at 45 seconds the turkey vulture does a little dance. Vulture in Wind: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jy4nPI1Qds

and high winds: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBCUjUJ0D6k
and chowing down- from indoors http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXkkqIbeEk4
(the lack of wind noises is significant)
 and close up turkey vulture: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=veHTbdJhTZo
Grass wind/Trees wind:
kansas wind on grass (39 seconds) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvZFXsMx5aE
on trees: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrN3-u-qto4


These were taken about 4-30-2010

I took some video at the height of wind strength but it was so dark i'll have to change the exposure to see them.

why so sad...

click to enlarge...

Vultures In Perspective

A Vulture Sortie with Crow Escort

Doing God's Work

Vulture in Light

Vulture in Kansas

Turkey Vulture in Kansa Wind

What?!?

Kansas Sky in April

Turkey Vulture Riding Flint Hills Winds

Let's Get Something to Eat

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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