She is weary of freezing nights followed by frosty mornings and the ravages winter winds unleash upon her slumbering expanse of red soil and endless grasslands. She thirsts for the gentle caress of morning mists and thunderous torrents of summer rain. She is steadfast in her vigil, yet accepts the fortuitous nature of rain on the Llano Estacado plain. While her existence is on hold, she finds comfort in the withered pulchritude of her glory days.
Cooper and I ease into her dominion near midday. The sun struggles to pierce a murky canopy of clouds. Winds sigh apologies for the fortnight of furies they brought to bear upon her fragile countenance. She holds no grudges.
Cooper disappears in the shaggy carpet of prairie grasses, cactus spikes, and yucca daggers. Primal urges compel the hunt. I engage the prairie on a spiritual and aesthetic level. She speaks in silence and when there are no more words to say her allure holds me spellbound for what seems an eternity.
© Ilija Lukić 2012
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| Withered Pulchritude (senecio ampullaceous) |
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| Baya De La Pradera ("prairie berries" solanum elaeagnifolium) |
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| Amber Cache (yucca campestris) |
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| Nadelkissen ("pincushion" cylindropuntia imbricata) |
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| Rain Vigil (cylindropuntia imbricata) |
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| Буфало Снове ("buffalo dreams" solanum rostratum) |
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| Golden Brooms (gutierrezia sarothrae) |
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| Prairie Skeletons |
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| Blue Grama (bouteloua gracilis) |
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| Après Les Années D'or ("after the golden years" grindelia papposa) |
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| Sunshine On A Cloudy Day (guterriezia sarothrae) |
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