Pictures From Home

Sunset near Isabel, South Dakota.

I was able to visit my hometown over Easter weekend and wanted share a few pictures from Saturday and Sunday. No real theme in this post other than scenes or animals I thought were interesting. Click on an image for a larger file to view and thanks for dropping by.

Saturday evening after supper I went out in search of a beautiful sunset and saw this young Ferruginous Hawk on an old telephone pole. (At least that is what I think it is as I'm not as good at identifying hawks as I'd like to be.)

I believe this is an American Kestrel... also sometimes called a sparrow hawk.

Prairie grass against a small rain cloud colored by the setting sun.

A view of the great metropolis of Isabel (taken southeast of town and looking northwest.)

I teased my mom that I got a great shot of Isabel's skyline and she said that she would put it in her weekly paper (The Isabel Dakotan)... well here it is and we will see!

A prairie windmill in the waning light of evening.

Star light and the last light from the sun share the sky with the same windmill as above (click on the image to see the stars).

I woke up before the sun on Easter Sunday morning to hike out to a known "Lek." This is a place were male sharp tailed grouse do their mating dance. I did not find any at that particular place but was able to find another lek later in the morning closer to the Moreau River about 10 miles south of Isabel. Unfortunately the birds were skittish and a herd of cows had also frequented the place recently so this is the best shot I could get. (please pardon the cow pies.)

I saw more pheasant back home than any time I can remember. Most roosters were out staking their territory and most ran off when I got close, but a couple (including this one) didn't mind me at all. This guy calmly walked in the ditch as I snapped his portrait.

"I Lead"

South Dakota's State Flower: The Pasque

Earlier this week when it actually felt like spring outside, I went Pasque hunting and was happy to find some. Here are some of the best shots from the evenings of April 11th and 12th. Most of the shots were taken very near Lake Vermillion Recreation Area south of Montrose, SD and the last two were found on Nature Conservancy land near Wall Lake. Click on an image for a larger file to view and thanks for stopping by.

Here is some interesting info on the flower from www.statesymbolsusa.org: "The pasque flower (or pasqueflower) was designated the official state flower of South Dakota in 1903. Also called the May Day flower, prairie crocus, wind flower, Easter flower and meadow anemone, the pasque is one of the first flowers to bloom in the spring (often before the late winter snows have thawed).

Pasque is a tallgrass prairie flower and grows wild throughout South Dakota. The pasque flower is member of the buttercup family and is highly toxic (pasque flowers were used as a medicine by native Americans for centuries)."

Late light in early Spring

Warm, yellow light floods cattails north of Colman, SD in early April.

Here are a few photos of South Dakota sunsets in the month of April so far. Click on the image for a larger file to view and thanks for checking in!

Cottonwood and setting sun, also near Colman, SD.

Near the location above but later in the evening.

Power lines just north of Crooks, SD

A windless evening resulted in nearby farmers burning old grass. The diffused smoke gave the otherwise clear sky an orange-yellow cast south of Montrose, SD on the northern border of Lake Vermillion Recreation Area.

Both of these shots were taken west of Dell Rapids, SD on a colorful April evening.