there was a time
when this area was covered
with a mixture of coniferous and deciduous trees.
there was a time when the spaces in-between,
where the woodlands hadn't taken hold,
were covered with prairie grass.
great waving meadows of grasses taller than tall.
people are starting to take back
(or is it give back)
portions of their properties
to what used to be.
and so in our backyard,
under the deepest blue of blue skies
the prairie grasses' golden hair
grasps at fronds of cloud
just like it once did.
34 comments:
Hello Steven
just like it once did
just beautifully...
Happy days
"great waving meadows of grasses taller than tall"
And still they wave even in drought. Nature is tireless in its beauty.
Thanks Steven.
You have no idea how precious grasses like these are to me. I've even blogged about them. They make me think of God. What gorgeous photos.
wonderful, steven. the prairie is a beautiful and special place. have you ever read William Least Heat Moon's Prairy Erth? a fascinating study not for all readers, but I'm sure you'd like it.
hi delwyn, south of where i live there is a huge project reclaiming thousands of acre of land with original growth prairie grasses. cottage owners are a part of this project which sees them replacing their green green lawns with grasses like these!!! amazing. have a lovely evening by the river. steven
hello liza, these grasses were bought from a nearby farm that specializes in original growth plants. they withstand all the weather and without the high maintenance that my lawn needs. hmmmm! they're pretty too. have a lovely day. steven
hi nanu - i'll be googling that as soon as i've finished answering the comments here. thanks for the suggestion!!! have a peaceful day. steven
hi kathleen, thankyou for your kind comment. i'd like to expand the area i have given back to the grasses but it has to be done gradually and with consideration for my neighbours who (while really lovely people all 'round) aren't as keen as i am about seven -foot tall grasses waving in the sun. have a lovely monday. steven
Steven, that is just absolutely beautiful.
hello weaver, lovely to see you and thanks for the generous comment!!!! have a lovely day in the dale. steven
Steven: Heart-warming when one hears of people "allowing" the land to do, what it would naturally do. That beauty will far exceed the contrived beauty of our imposed lawns.
I so love grasses for their movements - swaying so gracefully in the breezes. They compell you to look at them and when you do they remind you to look up and reach for the sky.
I felt cheered by your photos!
I grew up in Kansas City, part of the great plains of the U.S. I love the big sky and the waving fields of Kansas.
Beautiful images, Steven!
That lapis blue sky is amazing. Especially in contrast with the golden grass. Loveliness.
I'm sure the birds and other creatures enjoy the return to the original. The gold against the blue sky is just lovely.
Beautiful post, and even more beautiful sentiment, Steven.
The wife of a friend of mine has devoted herself to rescuing indigenous plants in their beautiful and infinite variety. We have many in our backyard.
Can you slip me the name of this place that sells prairie grass? I wrote a book, ages ago, Buffalo and Indians, and in that research on the bison, I discovered Blue Stem, Big Blue Stem and Little Blue Stem and other grasses that reaches higher in places than a rider on horseback. The sight of it waving in the wind was breathtaking according to those who saw it when the first trains went out west and had to deal with bison herds crossing the tracks that lasted for days -- the numbers for huge in the Southern Herd and the Northern Herds.
Anyway, I am slowly getting rid of my grass and have planted a lot of decorative clumps of grass, but nothing like native grasses.
Good luck in your work on your former lawns.
What lovely photographs Steven. I had no idea that native prairie grasses were so beautiful. Something about that soft luminous gold against the deep blue sky is just breathtaking.
We're also putting in native plants in our front yard (sword ferns, salal and oregon grape) but these forest plants don't grow to seven feet.
Steven,
Sharon Butala in Saskatchewan was involved in a Nature Conservancy concerning prairie grass there. The Perfection of the Morning and Wild Stone Heart are two books of hers that I have read. She is a First Nations author and has an interesting perspective on the land, the vegetation and the minerals from the land. Her books read like prose. I love the peacefulness of the grass you have portrayed through your words and photos.
That's fabulous steven. I love that people are trying to re-establish the grasses. There are some ranchers here in Texas that are doing the same thing with great success.
Beautiful images.
hi bonnie - thankyou. i was so amazed when i was standing behind them looking through them at the sky. it was so golden and so blue and then i remembered the day i brough them home - scruffy little things that everyone laughed at as "weeds". not any more!!!! steven
hi reya - it's nice to see you here!!! i worked in kansas on a ranch near mankato. i loved the big meals. the big hearts. the big spaces. have a peaceful dc evening. steven
hi willow - i loved the day - it was that sort of day all 'round. the way summer is in your mind. steven
hello golden west - it's a beginning that is spreading to the front of the house. i'm planning on being grassless - well kentucky bluegrass grassless!!! it does bring birds, insects and people around much more than a beautiful perfectly manicured emerald green lawn ever did! steven
barry - you lucky man!!! i'm looking to add a very long bed next summer that will be nothing but indigenous species. i can hardly wait!!!! have a peaceful evening. steven
hey abe - you'd probably run into problems importing plants from canada 'cross the border so try these guys out: Ohio
Envirotech Consultants, Inc.
5380 Twp Rd 143 NE
Somerset, OH
Contact: Harold Gilbert
Phone#: 740 743 1669
Fax#: 740 743 1644
email: info@envirotechcon.com
website: www.envirotechcon.com
Hours of operation: M-F 8:30-5:00
% Native Plants: 100
We grow over 120 species of prairie, woodland, and wetland plants native to the midwest and easter US.
best of luck!!!! steven
joanna - size doesn't matter - really does it?!!!! it's the deeper act of kindness to the natural world and yourself for putting in something truly special. have a lovely evening. steven
hi linda - thanks for the eye-opener about sharon butala. i'm ordering up "perfection of the morning". i'm so grateful for the excellent suggestions i read from visitors here as it helps me open my eyes even wider when i read the writing of a person who has seen so much more. have a lovely evening. steven
hi ellen - that's interesting to read. planting them is cool from so many perspectives not the least of which is they're pretty!!! have a lovely evening. steven
hi herhimnbryn, thanks very much!!! steven
Wow, how beautiful!
Hubby laughs at me because I hate that wheat has been genetically engineered here to be shorter...better on the plant. Still makes those "golden waves" around the house but the "sea" is shorter.
I love this look..thank you!
Beautiful photos, Steven. And I love your "prairie grasses' golden hair grasping at fronds of clouds:" sublime.
hello margaret,
thankyou very much for this kind comment. i'm glad that you enjoyed the wild grasses photos. steven
Hi Steven,
Came via daughter of the Golden West on your comment on Lychees. If you have a chance, try the smaller longans, they are sweeter.
Cheers,
Ann
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