Wildflower Wednesday! A forest of orangish yellow flowers reach for the sun. The beautiful colors of a group of Hoary Puccoon on the Dakota prairie. www.prairiewanderlust.etsy.com #photography #nature #wildflowers #prairie #northdakota #grasslands #wandering

Wildflower Wednesday! Flowers are so beautiful & amazing! How they are built, their appearance, & their colors. No exception is the beautiful Blue-eyed Grass. www.prairiewanderlust.etsy.com #photography #nature #wildflowers #northdakota #prairie #grasslands #wandering

Wildflower Wednesday! A side not always seen. The underside of a Blanket Flower as it is backlit by the morning sun. www.prairiewanderlust.etsy.com #photography #nature #wildflowers #prairie #grasslands #northdakota #wandering

It is Two’fer Tuesday! So here’s your “Two’fer”. A pair of Late Spring/Early Summer Prairie Wildflowers. Blanket Flower & Prairie Smoke. Plus some Porcupine Grass. www.prairiewanderlust.etsy.com #photography #nature #wildflowers #prairie #northdakota #wandering

The morning sky… #weather #clouds #storms #northdakota

Tortoise Tracks Tuesday! A Mojave Desert Tortoise leaves its tracks in the desert sand as it slowly makes its getaway but then it kicks it in high gear. www.prairiewanderlust.etsy.com #photography #nature #tortoise #desert #wandering #desertsolitaire

Marbled Monday! A solid blue sky is the backdrop as a Marbled Godwit takes flight on sun reflected golden wings. www.prairiewanderlust.etsy.com #photography #nature #shorebirds #birds #prairie #grasslands

A special visitor came for a visit. I luv the prehistoric, almost alien look of them. Their large, thick scales, the long grizzly like claws, & that mud & algae covered armored shell. A visiting Alligator Snapping Turtle is your Prairie or “Patio” Zen. Enjoy! #prairiezen #turtle #nature

It is Sharp-tailed Saturday! A male Sharp-tailed Grouse knows Spring is coming to an end so he’s doing his best dancing to attract a mate as the morning sun shines directly on him. www.prairiewanderlust.etsy.com #photography #nature #grouse #birds #northdakota #prairie

A male Dickcissel stands large on an old wooden post marked with a National Grassland boundary sign out on the Dakota prairie. He is singing like no one is watching, until he realizes that someone is watching… www.prairiewanderlust.etsy.com #photography #nature #grasslandbirds #birds #northdakota

Prairie is so much more than just “grass”. Sit & spend some time with a bright yellow Blanket Flower, some white & pinkish Downy Paintbrushes, brilliant purple Vetches, & the long & very sharp Porcupine Grass. Your Friday Prairie Zen. Enjoy! #prairiezen #wildflowers #prairie

Flower Friday continues! The beautifully red prairie wildflower, Prairie Smoke, caught in the glow of the morning light. www.prairiewanderlust.etsy.com #photography #nature #wildflowers #northdakota #prairie #wandering

(Wild)flower Friday! The softness of a newly blooming Blanket Flower. The bright yellows, oranges, & reds. The long, red veins running inside each orange to yellow petal. www.prairiewanderlust.etsy.com #photography #nature #wildflowers #northdakota #wandering

A lone male Sharp-tailed Grouse pauses his Spring dance to greet the morning sun as it crosses over the Dakota prairie horizon. www.prairiewanderlust.etsy.com #photography #nature #grouse #birds #northdakota #prairie

Here’s a couple of Lady’s Slipper Orchids for you. Getting close & personal with a Yellow Lady’s Slipper & hybrid Yellow X Small White Lady’s Slipper. The details are truly beautiful. www.prairiewanderlust.etsy.com #photography #nature #wildflowers #northdakota #orchids #wandering

A Desert Spiny Lizard peaks itself out from the shade to warm itself in the Utah desert’s morning sun. I am amazed by their colors & textures. www.prairiewanderlust.etsy.com #photography #nature #lizards #utah #desert

Waterfowl Wednesday! A pair of Redheads & a pair of Canvasbacks. They are more different than they are similar but they both need the smaller, vegetative wetlands of the Dakota prairie. www.prairiewanderlust.etsy.com #photography #nature #birds #ducks #northdakota #prairie #wetlands

Wildflower Wednesday! The small, delicate, & brilliantly purple Blue-eyed Grass. While it may look like a grass, it is actually a small iris. www.prairiewanderlust.etsy.com #photography #nature #wildflowers #northdakota #prairie #wandering

Wood Duck Wednesday! A male Wood Duck swims around showing off its amazing colors & patterns. www.prairiewanderlust.etsy.com #photography #nature #birds #ducks #woodducks #iowa #waterfowl

Your last 2’fer Tuesday (from me anyways…). A pair of male Sharp-tailed Grouse having a ‘Dance Off’ out on the Dakota prairie. www.prairiewanderlust.etsy.com #photography #nature #grouse #birds #northdakota #prairie

Two’fer Tuesday! Two beautiful & near perfect flowers of Hoary Puccoon. Possibly the first color of yellow that blooms on the Dakota prairie. www.prairiewanderlust.etsy.com #photography #nature #wildflowers #northdakota #prairie #wandering

Two’fer Tuesday! A pair of male Wood Ducks show off their beautiful colors in the morning sun. www.prairiewanderlust.etsy.com #photography #nature #birds #ducks #woodducks #iowa #waterfowl

Guess what else today is? Marbled Monday! A beautiful Marbled Godwit stands on a weathered wood post surveying its territory for any intruders. www.prairiewanderlust.etsy.com #photography #nature #shorebirds #birds #northdakota #prairie #grasslands

It is also Monarch Monday! A Monarch butterfly transverses the Dakota prairie in search of food & finds the blooming Wallflowers an acceptable place to stop. www.prairiewanderlust.etsy.com #photography #nature #butterflies #monarch #northdakota #wildflowers #prairie #pollinators

Meadowlark Monday! A bright yellow Western Meadowlark stands on an old wooden fence post to belt out its familiar song out on the Dakota prairie. www.prairiewanderlust.etsy.com #photography #nature #birds #grasslands #northdakota #prairie

It is also Slipper Sunday! A few more photos of what I believe is the hybrid Lady’s Slipper (yellow X small white). The colors of this plant are incredible! www.prairiewanderlust.etsy.com #photography #nature #wildflowers #northdakota #orchids #wandering

The morning dew still clings to the prairie grasses as the rising sun casts a soft glow & highlights a male Sharp-tailed Grouse in its beautiful spring colors, dancing & singing on the Dakota prairie. www.prairiewanderlust.etsy.com #photography #nature #grouse #birds #northdakota #prairie

The once brown & silent sleeping prairie is becoming green with splashes of white, purples, yellows & oranges as well as no longer being silent. Blanket Flower blooming on a Minnesota prairie, your Sunday morning Prairie Zen. Enjoy! #prairiezen #wildflowers #Minnesota #prairie #wandering

It’s been a while since we’ve had a Saturday Selfie, so here ya go! Wandering a Minnesota prairie with Paintbrush, Blanket Flower, Prairie Smoke, & others. My happy place…😊 www.prairiewanderlust.etsy.com #photography #nature #wildflowers #minnesota #prairie #wandering

Sharp-tailed Saturday! A male Sharp-tailed Grouse spreads its wings, clicks its tail feathers, & stomps its feet on the prairie grass while the morning sun casts a magical glow. www.prairiewanderlust.etsy.com #photography #nature #grouse #birds #northdakota #prairie

Wandering the Utah desert & you see a Mojave Desert Tortoise also wandering the desert. Then you see it notices you & has decided that there is only room for 1 wanderer here. Being charged by a tortoise. Your Friday Prairie Zen. Enjoy! www.prairiewanderlust.etsy.com #prairiezen #tortoise #utah

Flower Friday! The beautiful lines & brilliant white, contrasting greens, & bright yellows of Field Chickweed out on the Dakota prairie. www.prairiewanderlust.etsy.com #photography #nature #wildflowers #northdakota #prairie

Flower Friday! The beautiful little “plumes of smoke” of Prairie Smoke going to seed. Is it just me or do you see the Prairie Smoke Person happy that it is Friday?! www.prairiewanderlust.etsy.com #photography #nature #wildflowers #northdakota #prairie

This female Sharp-tailed Grouse seems to be giving the look of death to the other female, seemingly to be telling her, ‘Get over here & save me from these male dancing freaks!’ Or maybe she was giving the cameraman the look?!😳 www.prairiewanderlust.etsy.com #photography #nature #birds #northdakota

How about a group of Yellow Lady’s Slipper Orchids in the early morning dew on the Dakota prairie. www.prairiewanderlust.etsy.com #photography #nature #wildflowers #northdakota #orchids #prairie

A pretty neat photo. “PRAIRIE” A colorful grassland bird, the Dickcissel, perched on an old wood post with rusted barbed wire & a Sheyenne National Grasslands boundary sign. facebook.com/usfsdpg www.prairiewanderlust.etsy.com #photography #nature #grasslandbirds #birds #northdakota #prairie

It is also Wood Duck Wednesday! A beautifully colored male Wood Duck perches itself on a tree branch overhanging a wetland to catch the morning light. www.prairiewanderlust.etsy.com #photography #nature #birds #ducks #woodducks #iowa #waterfowl

Wildflower Wednesday! This could be another first for me, if correct. I believe this could be a hybrid Lady’s Slipper Orchid. A cross between a Small White Lady’s Slipper & a Yellow Lady’s Slipper. www.prairiewanderlust.etsy.com #photography #nature #wildflowers #northdakota #orchids

Waterfowl Wednesday! A beautiful male Redhead swims with its reflection on calm Dakota prairie wetland. www.prairiewanderlust.etsy.com #photography #nature #birds #ducks #northdakota #waterfowl

Another Two’fer Tuesday! A pair of Prairie Freaks dancing at Sunrise. Two male Sharp-tailed Grouse perform their annual spring dance on the Dakota prairie. www.prairiewanderlust.etsy.com #photography #nature #grouse #birds #northdakota #prairie

Two’fer Tuesday! It is that time of year for the Lady’s Slipper Orchids to show their beauty on the Dakota prairie. Here is a two’fer of blooming Yellow Lady’s Slipper Orchids. www.prairiewanderlust.etsy.com #photography #nature #wildflowers #orchids #northdakota #prairie

It is also Marbled Monday! A Marbled Godwit practices its yoga moves on a wooden fence post out on the Dakota prairie. www.prairiewanderlust.etsy.com #photography #nature #shorebirds #birds #northdakota #prairie

Monarch Monday! A beautiful male Monarch butterfly searches the Dakota prairie for some early blooming wildflowers. Here it feeds upon Hoary Puccoon flowers. www.prairiewanderlust.etsy.com #photography #nature #butterflies #monarch #northdakota #wildflowers #prairie

An extra Sunday Prairie Zen for you. Sharp-tailed Grouse dancing at sunlight. Many of our Native American ancestors emulate this sacred ritual. www.prairiewanderlust.etsy.com #prairiezen #grouse #birds #northdakota #prairie

Wandering a sea of green, searching for a tiny glimmer of white. Spend some time with a White Lady’s Slipper Orchid. Your Sunday morning Prairie Zen. Volume up & enjoy! www.prairiewanderlust.etsy.com #prairiezen #wildflowers #orchids #northdakota #prairie

First Bumbler of the season! A Common Eastern Bumble Bee feeds upon some flowering Hoary Puccoon out on the Dakota prairie. The weight of the Bumbler causes the Puccoon stems to bend downward. www.prairiewanderlust.etsy.com #photography #nature #bees #wildflowers #northdakota #prairie

Sharp-tailed Saturday! The morning sun sets everything in a fiery glow & the droplets of a heavy dew cling to the blades of prairie grasses as a male Sharp-tailed Grouse curves its wings, stomps its feet, & clicks its tail feathers as it turns around. www.prairiewanderlust.etsy.com #grouse #birds

It is Friday! To help you prepare for the weekend, come spend some time with a few, Prairie Smoke at sunrise on the Dakota prairie. Your Friday Prairie Zen. Volume up & enjoy! www.prairiewanderlust.etsy.com #prairiezen #wildflowers #northdakota #prairie

Frog, or in this case, Toad Friday! A male Dakota Toad inflates its vocal sac as it belts, or croaks out a tune to attract a mate. I like the lines, reflections, & colors. www.prairiewanderlust.etsy.com #photography #nature #toads #frogs #northdakota #wetlands

Thinking about how I should feel about being dissed by Mojave Desert Tortoise?🤔 I do like the “armor” look of its shell. www.prairiewanderlust.etsy.com #photography #nature #tortoise #desert #Utah #wandering #desertsolitaire