It is a cool prairie morning. The sun still clings to the eastern horizon. Cooper and I step into the light and feel its warm embrace. The sensation lingers, etched onto my heart for eternity.
Affectionate beams of sunshine glimmer on countless pearls of dew. Curls of mud glisten in futile attempts to keep the lingering drought at bay. Two silhouettes chase one another across red dirt playing fields and briefly surrender to the promises of joy the light reveals. I marvel at the fleeting moments of pristine beauty.
Elated we press onward. Three to four paces ahead, a Big Robber flies touch-and-go, search-and-devour hunting patterns. Clusters of broomweed flash first sprays of golden blooms. Boneset prepares buds. Encouraged by recent rains, mallow, zinnia, prairie berries, and asters thrive, albeit in diminutive versions. These forbs will soon define the color palette of the autumn prairie. On a distant yucca skeleton a meadow lark performs a solo ode to joy. Ubiquitous hordes of harvester ants wrestle with oversized loads of prairie treasures. Swallows make farewell passes and ready for migration to warmer climes. A hawk punctuates the serenity of the scene with majestic loops against an azure sky.
© Ilija Lukić 2011
Affectionate beams of sunshine glimmer on countless pearls of dew. Curls of mud glisten in futile attempts to keep the lingering drought at bay. Two silhouettes chase one another across red dirt playing fields and briefly surrender to the promises of joy the light reveals. I marvel at the fleeting moments of pristine beauty.
Elated we press onward. Three to four paces ahead, a Big Robber flies touch-and-go, search-and-devour hunting patterns. Clusters of broomweed flash first sprays of golden blooms. Boneset prepares buds. Encouraged by recent rains, mallow, zinnia, prairie berries, and asters thrive, albeit in diminutive versions. These forbs will soon define the color palette of the autumn prairie. On a distant yucca skeleton a meadow lark performs a solo ode to joy. Ubiquitous hordes of harvester ants wrestle with oversized loads of prairie treasures. Swallows make farewell passes and ready for migration to warmer climes. A hawk punctuates the serenity of the scene with majestic loops against an azure sky.
© Ilija Lukić 2011
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| Promises Of Joy (El Llanero and Cooper) |
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| Field Bindweed |
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| First Spray Of Golden Blooms |
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| Embraced By Light (Cooper) |
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| Common Purslane |
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| Slender Snake Cotton |
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| Curls Of Mud |
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| Jardín De Flores Portulaca Pilosa |
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| Flor De Verdolaga |
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| High Plains Garden Of Eden |
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| Earth Mover |
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| Pink Purslane Magic |
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| Ranch Road Brownies |
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| Prairie Gold |
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