Home From The Heartland

We are home at last.  My hubby decided on Saturday that he wanted to drive straight through from Minnesota to Pennsylvania.  Have you looked at a map lately?  It was a twenty-two hour marathon.  We arrived at our doorstep at 3 a.m. on Sunday.  Needless to say, I slept until noon.  I was so happy to get back to my own computer so I could begin processing the 958 photos I took this week.  Yessiree, I broke in the new camera good!  

 

We had one of the Badlands infamous thunderstorms on Tuesday.  The weather here is amazingly variable and often violent.   At 8 a.m. it looked like this:

 

 

By eleven, it looked like this.

 

 

 

The open prairie is not the place you want to be when you are the highest object out there.

 

 

Before the storm we got out of the car at Cedar Pass and went for a walk.

 

 

 

I heard a loud rustle in the bushes, and then...

 

 

Wild turkeys!

 

 

As we walked, we were treated to beautiful views.

 

 

 

This little guy, a rock wren, was out hunting for his breakfast...a nice juicy slug.  Yum!

 

 

You wouldn't think anything could grow on this rock, but it does.  It was especially green this year, due to the unusually heavy amount of rainfall.

 

 

When walking, it's so important to remember to look down.  There is a wealth of life at your feet.  This tiny creature is a notch-tipped flower longhorn.  It is a member of the beetle family.

 

 

 

 The white flower is bindweed.  It is a member of the morning glory family.

 

 

If you look closely at the upper left, you will see three little beetles munching away on the plants.  The only species I could match the photo to is the asparagus beetle.  They were accidentally introduced from Europe to Maryland in 1881.  Since their habitat is usually vegetable gardens, I can't imagine what they're doing in the Badlands.  They're obviously enjoying the bindweed.

 

 

 

That's all I have for today.  I'll be sharing more with you this week.  Have a wonderful day!

 

Until next time,

 

Comments

[rasz]

Oh my gosh Terri! Your photos are amazing! What a beautiful treat. Thank you for sharing! Your blog is great too!!!!

[Emily]

Your photography is beautiful, and professional. Our country is is glorious and end to end. I look forward to more photos. Glad you had a safe and happy trip.

~Emily
The French Hutch