Irrigation Pivots in Winter

Irrigation Pivots in Winter

It was amazingly cold out the other day and the ice fog hanging over the prairie landscape turned everything pure white. These irrigation pivots were beautiful as they loomed over the fields below. I’m always amazed by how the changing seasons completely transform the places around us. Something as simple as a little bit of snow on the ground can make the familiar things look completely foreign, and the mundane things beautiful. It’s worth it to pause every now and then and to take a good look at the things around you. You might be amazed by what you see, and by how little you really remember about what it normally looks like.

My First Snowy Owl of the Season

Perching Snowy Owl

I stopped to make a few images of a really great sunset tonight, with a couple of grain bins in a massive Prairie field. It was very beautiful and I managed to catch the indigo sky rising up out of the horizon while the pink glow remained above it. It was one of those magical skies that you really have to visit the Prairies to see.

While I walked back to my truck when I realized that I had parked underneath a beautiful Snowy Owl perching on a power pole. I’ve spent many hours searching for these elusive birds over the last couple of winters and have only rarely seen them. This one wasn’t very happy to have me there, but it must not have minded too much or it would have flown away when I first arrived. I can’t believe I didn’t see it when I first pulled up, and it’s even more amazing that it just stayed there and ignored me. I got to watch it and make images for several minutes before it got too dark. I’m still excited about it several hours later!

Perching Snowy Owl

Grain Bins at Sunset

Grain Bins at Sunset

Irrigation Pivot at Sunset