A Sky That is Hard to Live Up To

One of the mornings that Carl was working nearby in the field, I walked on the little road out to the center of our square-mile section. High clouds were moving fast from west to east and the sky above them was the summer's blue. I realized that we live between land and sky, on the frontier between two great countries. 

I had forgotten how sky is as much a country to live in as land. From the west were rolling pile after pile of fat, white, complicated clouds, and above the clouds was the clear and uncomplicated blue. I thought of blue, white, and gold rococo ceilings, and I had to look down, away from all that motion and grandeur. 

This sky was hard to live up to. It brought me messages from other times and places and made me lonely. I was as confused on that flat land under all that sky as any stranger would be, and my limbs ached from all this local wanting and getting. Image after image of the clouds as cities, as ceilings, ghosts, pasts, and saints rolled over me, as did the clouds themselves. I had to sit down on the dirt and watch the ants at their mining. 

from Chapter 6 of  A Farm Under a Lake, by Martha Bergland.

Prairie Sunrise for Skywatch Friday

This photo was taken at Oasis State Park near Portales, New Mexico during a camping trip in September 2007. Click on the photo for a larger view.

Be sure to go to the Skywatch Friday website to see photos of skies all over the world.

Things I Didn’t Know about Prairie Dogs

Humans and prairie dogs are, quite simply, in competition for the same land. People want the land for growing crops, grazing cattle, and for new construction, and the prairie dogs get in the way of all of those things. You can read about the history of the relationship between prairie dogs and humans in Becoming a pest: Prairie dog ecology and the human economy in the Euroamerican West, by Susan Jones. Environmental History, Oct. 1999.

Prairie dog colonies used to stretch for miles. Prairie dogs are prairie restorationists, helping undo some of the damage caused by humans. They help conserve water by channeling rainwater back into the water table, and they help improve soil health. By 1960, the population had been reduced by perhaps 98% by disease, poisoning, shooting, and habitat destruction. I see this destruction every day, right down the street from my house, where new houses are being constructed right in the middle of prairie dog towns. I suppose from the contractor’s point of view the prairie dogs are tearing up the next house lot he plans to build on.

The Prairie Dog Coalition is “dedicated to the protection of imperiled prairie dogs and restoration of their ecosystem [by providing] information and advocacy training, [facilitating] communication and planning, and [promotion of] conservation projects.” They explain that prairie dogs are “keystone species,” supporting an entire ecosystem:

Nine species can be considered to be dependent on prairie dogs and their colonies; burrowing owl, black-footed ferret, mountain plover, ferruginous hawk, golden eagle, swift fox, horned lark, deer mouse and grasshopper mouse. Twenty more species benefit from opportunistic use of prairie dog colonies. Species that benefit from prairie dogs and the habitat they create include desert cottontails, lizards, prairie rattlesnakes, badgers, bald eagles, coyotes, vultures, prairie falcons, bison, pronghorn, mule deer, mourning doves, killdeer, barn swallows, red-tailed hawks, and harriers.

The Prairie Dog Coalition web site is loaded with information, resources (including the Prairie Dog Ecosystem Science Library , slide shows, etc.

For another web site with photos and general information: http://www.bobatkins.com/photos/PDZ1.HTM

Oasis State Park

We camped at Oasis State Park last weekend. We didn't really expect much, as the park is just 18 miles away and, for some reason, camping trips are supposed to be much further from home. But Oasis provided a beautiful and restful camping experience. We watched the incredible sunset and the even more breathtaking sunrise. Because I am new to digital photography my photo of the sunrise doesn't even begin to do it justice. That sun was red orange, as it often is at dawn here.

We sat out late, watching the stars and listening to the sounds of the night. In the predawn hours, we heard hunting owls and a pack of coyotes. I also heard the continual lowing of a nearby cow, eventually followed by what sounded like the cries of a newborn calf. We couldn't see far in that direction, because the vegetation was growing so high.

Even though the fishing pond was drained for repairs, we didn't miss it. We took walks, enjoyed the fresh air and the beautiful prairie views and colors. We slowed down enough to look at the small things, watching the mating drama of a pair of large grasshoppers. Then we headed off for home, marveling that such wonderful experiences were available just a half an hour from our door.

A Good Day for Rabbits

Cool damp morning air on sleep-warmed skin. Breeze-blown sprinkler water freckling my cheek. Fiery red orange sun popping loose from the horizon. I use just two speeds on my bike on these early morning prairie rides: "Wind at my back," and "Going the other way."

It's a good day for rabbits; I've seen two already. They are always there, I'm sure, seeing me, but today I have a good eye for them. They start to hop, then freeze when they see me, one eye cautiously looking my way. "I see you, little rabbits" I say softly, and wait for them to move on.

Mary Austin, when writing about the desert in A Land of Little Rain, said this: "Rabbits are a foolish people. They do not fight except with their own kind, nor use their paws except for feet, and appear to have no reason for existence but to furnish meals for meateaters." I think that rabbits dancing in the moonlight might disagree.

Reason for existence? I am glad that I am not judged so harshly. Or am I?