Fall Sunrise On The Prairie

Eager to pay just one more visit to the Tallgrass National Prairie Preserve near Cottonwood Falls, Kansas before winter sets in, Harland and I set out on a recent Friday night after I got home from work. We stayed that night in Cottonwood Falls, and were up pre-dawn the next morning to walk out onto the prairie and catch the sunrise.

The last wildflowers to bloom there are going to seed now and waiting for the prairie winds to carry their fluff away.

This picture helps to show just how big the prairie is.

That black dot in the upper right hand corner is Harland.

And see that group of black dots on the distant hill?

Look here:

That’s the bison herd. We’ve not seen them since early summer. (Click here to see our last visit with the bison)

Later, we passed the herd on our walk back to the park entrance. They were resting right by the trail, so we got a close look at them. They were taking dust baths, the bulls were shoving each other around, and the calves were playing with each other.

Soon winter will descend over the prairie. We’d love to photograph the bison in the snow.

——–> Next up on the blog, spend a quiet fall morning with the bison herd. 

My how the calves have grown.

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