Category: columns-outdoors

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In Full Bloom

By Christian Begeman

It’s wildflower season again across the Northern Plains. Lately my photography has taken me down the path of botany. Well, not fully, I guess. I’m mostly interested in flowers and florets as well as some of the myriad of creatures that can be found around or among them. That means wildflowers for sure, but also grasses, butterflies and bees, among other things. June and July are prime months to get out and search for these bits of beauty fringing the prairie grass tapestries of our region.

This spring saw good rain for much of our state, and wildflowers follow the rain. When that happens, it is hard not to fall in love all over again with the surprisingly intricate beauty of the open prairie. I was in the Slim Buttes of Harding County and the Grand River National Grasslands in Perkins County in late June. I can’t remember ever seeing more blooms there. Sego lilies, spiderwort, yucca and prickly pear, all came out to enjoy the late spring weather. While looking for pincushion cactus, I came across a new-to-me bloom called clustered broomrape. It does not have any chlorophyll and gets the nutrients it needs from host plant roots, likely sagebrush in this case. I thought plants like these only grew in forests, but the prairie proved me wrong.

Speaking of prickly pear, I don’t usually have many good things to say about that particular plant. I’ve had bad experiences stepping on, falling in or unknowingly putting my hands on this cactus in my formative years. Those are not good memories. I’ve also seen favorite pets suffer tremendously after getting entangled and then feeling awful as one of the folks had to hold it down and pry the quills out. That said, when they bloom all at once on a sunny June day, adding accents of bright colors to the prairies, well I have to say, they grow on you. Such was the sight just south of Shadehill Recreation Area in Perkins County this year.

This is the first year I’ve seen timpsila (prairie turnip) with blooms. This plant was a staple for the Lakota and other regional tribes in an earlier time. Scarlet globemallow (cowboy’s delight) also has an interesting story. In Witness: A Hunkpapa Historian’s Strong-Heart Song of the Lakotas, Josephine Waggoner describes her people rubbing the flower on their hands and arms and then plunging them into boiling water and not getting injured. It was seen as a miracle plant used to alleviate burns, sunburns and even raw skin on a pony’s back.

There is so much to learn and respect about our native prairie habitats. Seeking out and sitting with the wildflowers has taught me much. Hopefully this collection of recent photos will inspire you to take a walk in the high prairie and see what you can learn.

Christian Begeman grew up in Isabel and now lives in Sioux Falls. When he’s not working at Midco he is often on the road photographing South Dakota’s prettiest spots. Follow Begeman on his blog.

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Shortgrass Spring

By Christian Begeman

When was the last time you had lunch with a view? I was never much of a picnic person. Growing up, I was too easily annoyed by gnats, mosquitos, black flies and ants trying to get at my food before I did to really enjoy the picnic experience. And I like my food, mind you. But the first day of June may have changed my view on picnics. It wasn’t really because of the food (I had a ham and cheese sandwich, a bag of cheese flavored snack mix and a cold soda). It wasn’t because of the company since I was alone. It was the view, and everything that came with it.

The location was the northeastern edge of Sheep Mountain Table in Badlands National Park. I parked my vehicle at one of the sidetracks that lead to an overview and found a nice place to hang my legs over the edge and take in the scenery. The sky was that early summer, perfect azure blue graced with white clouds moving swiftly overhead. The breeze was light, stirring just enough to bring the sweet smells of blooming chokecherry blossoms up the slopes to linger over me and my picnic spot. Meadowlark song with an occasional mourning dove coo echoed between the cut banks and ravines that stretched as far as the eye could see. The chalky white badland formations against the late spring grass — a verdant green after abundant rainfall — seemed almost too perfect to be real. But there it was. As real as it gets. I wore a black t-shirt that soaked up the sun and concentrated the warmth on my back. It was one of the first solid warm days I’ve felt this year. It didn’t take long to realize that I had stumbled upon maybe the perfect lunch situation.

Ironically, during this picnic, I didn’t take my camera out of the car. And that was OK. There are some moments in life that are better left un-photographed. Even as I reminisce and try to describe that perfect picnic with a view, I can almost feel the warmth and smell the chokecherry blossoms again. Removing the pressure of”perfectly” capturing the moment with a camera turned out to be a gift that allowed me to capture this memory with more depth and breadth. These are the memories that will keep me coming back to such places for as long as I can.

That said, I was not without my camera gear on this latest week in West River. This collection of 18 photos shows the other reasons I take such trips. Driving, hiking and simply experiencing the landscape after it has thoroughly woken up from a long winter’s nap breathes life back into me just as it does the wide windswept landscapes of western South Dakota.

Christian Begeman grew up in Isabel and now lives in Sioux Falls. When he’s not working at Midco he is often on the road photographing South Dakota’s prettiest spots. Follow Begeman on his blog.

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Keeping Track of Light and Life

By Christian Begeman

This year’s spring journal marks a decade of keeping track of light and life returning to South Dakota as winter transitions out. Ironically, that first journal entry talked about one of the earliest spring arrivals I could remember at the time. This year, spring was delayed for as long as any I can remember. It wasn’t that we had a hard winter, but cool and downright cold temperatures coupled with the windiest April on record kept spring at bay in 2022. Even as I write this on the evening of May 10, most trees are just beginning to bud, plum brush is just starting to flower and there are no blooming lilacs yet. But those things will all come in time. They always do. I like to reflect on an apostle John quote in this season of light returning to our hemisphere:”The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” Spring has arrived at last on the Northern Plains, and I couldn’t be happier!

April 2

The same evening I found the first pasqueflowers of the year in bloom (shown in last month’s column), I saw a migrating golden-crowned kinglet flitting through the underbrush near Lake Hanson just south of Alexandria.

April 9

I saw three Trumpeter swans west of Lake Hendricks in Brookings County as well as a few meadowlarks singing their hearts out.

April 15

The evening of Good Friday was clear and crisp, so I travelled to Highland Lutheran north of Garretson to line up the steeple with the setting sun.

April 17

On my return trip from visiting family for Easter, I took back roads through Hamlin and Clark counties and photographed a beautiful American Kestrel and what looked like an Ent waiving at me at sunset, but in reality was two cottonwoods close together, creating an interesting optical illusion.

April 23

Bloodroot wildflowers were just beginning to bloom at Union Grove State Park.

April 26

I drove to one of my latest”favorite locations” in eastern South Dakota, Jacobson Fen of rural Deuel County, and found pasqueflowers in bloom.

April 27

I stopped to see my niece Sadie’s favorite newborn, a week-old kitten.

April 30

After much-needed rain fell across the area, I found a newly emerged pasqueflower covered in raindrops in rural Brookings County.

May 2

The first cherry blossoms began to pop along the trail at Big Sioux Recreation Area near Brandon.

May 3

Dutchman’s breeches were blooming at Union Grove State Park.

May 5

On a cool, gray day, I looked for birds at Terrace Park in Sioux Falls. A female Northern cardinal posed on a magnolia tree just beginning to flower.

May 6

The first of the plum brush at Union Grove State Park was attracting pollinators like this Western honeybee. Also, the trout lily wildflower had just started opening along the hillside.

May 8

Carolina anemones were beginning to bloom along the Dells of the Big Sioux just outside Dell Rapids.

May 9

The warbler migration kicks in as an overnight storm caused what birders call”fallout,” which simply means the weather forced the migrators down to cover. Because of this I found my first ever Canada Warbler at Big Sioux Recreation Area. These birds winter in South America and breed in Canada. Quite the travelers!

May 10

I hiked Palisades State Park looking for migratory birds and was serenaded by this rose-breasted grosbeak. The waxing moon had risen and was directly behind the happy singer, so I readjusted the focus and captured that as well. Happy Spring to everyone!

Christian Begeman grew up in Isabel and now lives in Sioux Falls. When he’s not working at Midco he is often on the road photographing South Dakota’s prettiest spots. Follow Begeman on his blog.

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First Flowers

By Christian Begeman

The wind is whistling as I sit down to type. It is April 12 and there are tornado warnings south and east of Sioux Falls. Friends in northwest South Dakota are battling blizzard conditions in the midst of calving season. So it goes in April on the northern plains. Over the last decade, I’ve kept track of my first flower sightings. The first wildflowers, that is. The average is April 11. But what the weather does (or doesn’t do) has caused first sightings as early as mid-March and as late as the first week of May.

This year we haven’t had a lot of moisture, nor have we had many extended warm periods in early spring. But we’ve had wind. You have to expect wind in the early spring in the 605, but this year the gales have been strong and long lingering. Even so, I’ve been more eager to find the first signs of spring than any other year, likely because it was an extremely busy winter with little free time to get out into nature. By April 2, I couldn’t wait anymore. It was a sunny Saturday afternoon and my cabin fever combined with early season wanderlust led me to Hanson County to explore early blooming pasqueflowers. I was rewarded with a handful of fresh blooms. I like photographing our state flower as early in the season as possible; the pink and purple are more saturated, and the wind and frost have yet to take their toll on the petals.

The next day, I headed into the forest. Newton Hills State Park has patches of wild snow trillium that emerge at roughly the same time as the pasqueflower if conditions are right. When I arrived, I only spotted a few green leaves about to unfurl. A little disappointed, I continued to the very edge of the patch and discovered a few blooms that were out where the leaf cover was not as thick, and the warming sun had caused early growth. While belly down on the earth eyeballing these little white treasures, I noticed quite a collection of land snail shells scattered in the dirt. Their spiral artwork is mesmerizing and made for another subject for my macro lens to explore.

A week passed and another relatively sunny Saturday arrived. I knew stormy weather was coming in a few days, so I headed north to check some prairie hills I know in Deuel and Brookings counties. I was too early for any wildflowers. There was still snow in the ditches and frost in the ground. While hiking I did see remnants of last year’s wildflower season. Brilliant red rosehips from a former prairie rose blossom sparkled in the late afternoon sun and I was shocked to find the husk of a favorite September wildflower, the downy gentian, still standing. After a full winter of cold and wind, this plant still exuded beauty, albeit without the deep blue petals and lush green leaves that adorn it in September.

On Sunday, I returned to the pasque patch in Hanson County. More buds had arrived, but very few had grown much higher than a couple inches. Like me, they are probably waiting for some more moisture, a little more sun and then springtime to settle in for good.

Christian Begeman grew up in Isabel and now lives in Sioux Falls. When he’s not working at Midco he is often on the road photographing South Dakota’s prettiest spots. Follow Begeman on his blog.

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Finding White in a Brown Winter

By Christian Begeman

Winter has been mild in southeastern South Dakota. There hasn’t been much snow and temperatures have been above normal. I seem to remember far more brown winters happening when I lived West River than in the Sioux Falls area. Even though no snow means fewer travel headaches, I do miss the snow. As a photographer, the way the light can strike fresh snow early or late in the day is breathtaking. That is, if the subzero wind doesn’t take away your breath first.

The paragraph above is a poor attempt at complaining about how I haven’t felt motivated to get outside the last month to make photographs. Realizing this is a”me problem” and not the weatherman’s doing, I decided to do something about it. Where can you find snow, frost and ice even during a”brown” winter? Around here, it is our parks and public land along the Big Sioux River. So, I made it a point to get off my warm couch and get out there.

On three different occasions, I found myself wandering along the banks of the Big Sioux and seeing things that made the bundled-up journey worth the energy and effort. It was a gray day with occasional light flurries on my first trip to the hiking trails of the Big Sioux Recreation Area near Brandon. I saw a red fox scoot along the river bottom for a brief second but could not locate it again. A few woodpeckers and nuthatches entertained me for a bit after that. Once I started looking at the little things, however, things got fun. The light flurries left lone snowflakes on leaves, bark and my favorite … resting on the trail’s wooden bridges. I spent half an hour with my macro lens attempting to find the perfect snowflake.

My next excursion found me along the river near Newton Hills State Park. There is a bend that rarely freezes because of shallow rapids. I’ve seen bald eagles there, so I decided to walk down the edge of the bank and settle in to see if any birds or other wildlife would appear. On the way to my perch, I became distracted by large pieces of ice on the river’s edge that were showing due to recently dropping river levels. Then I got the scare of the afternoon as I stumbled on a well-hidden Canada goose slumbering against an old cottonwood stump. No eagles ever landed after all the ruckus, but I saw nearly a half dozen fly overhead. They likely spotted me far sooner than I saw them. Regardless, it was a nice hour spent along the river taking it all in.

Speaking of birds, winter offers all sorts of opportunities to see and photograph birds along the river. Eagles and owls as well as chickadees and finches can be spotted (or heard) quite regularly. A favorite find recently along the Dells of the Big Sioux near Dell Rapids was a pair of uniquely raspberry colored purple finches. On Super Bowl Sunday, I also spotted a Barred Owl at the Big Sioux Recreation Area, which allowed me to post a Superb Owl photo that day as well. (Groan. I know, I know, but I didn’t make that up. It is a real thing, and I will admit, I was happy to participate in the Superb Owl fun.)

Christian Begeman grew up in Isabel and now lives in Sioux Falls. When he’s not working at Midco he is often on the road photographing South Dakota’s prettiest spots. Follow Begeman on his blog.

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Christmas Traditions

By Christian Begeman

It was Christmas morning of 1995. The folks still lived at the farm place on the line between Dewey and Ziebach counties where I grew up. I was home on college break. Dad had a good stand of winter wheat sprout before the weather turned cold down in our fields along the Moreau River adjacent to Highway 65. My older brother and I learned that pronghorns were seen taking advantage of the wheat sprouts that were still above the snow. So, on that cold Christmas morning, we got up in the dark and drove to the river breaks to take a look. I was just starting my love affair with photography and my brother was engaging his”mighty hunter” passions. We made our way slowly to the hilltops overlooking the river just as the sun began to peek over the horizon. A low fog hung over the valley. It was one of the prettiest winter sights I had ever seen. Lo and behold, just on the edge of the fog we could see pronghorn. A lot of pronghorn. I snapped a few photos and then we started down to see if we could get closer.

We had stumbled upon 100 or so pronghorn that morning. Once we adequately spooked them, they ran to the southwest in a single line. I’ve never seen anything like it. They got bunched up at a fence corner and I snapped a few more photos.

I was reminded of this experience the morning after Christmas this year as I watched my nephew slowly move into position to get a better binocular view of a snowy owl perched on large rocks on the southern edge of Sioux Falls. I wonder if he’ll remember that experience as clearly as I remember that Christmas morning nearly 30 years ago.

Our family has traditionally done some sightseeing and hiking around Christmas time. Many trips and walks through the Moreau River country with my brothers, cousins and uncles took place after Christmas dinner. I miss those times greatly. It could be why I still try to do a winter road trip every year around the holidays. My usual haunts are Badlands National Park followed by Custer State Park and Wind Cave National Park. This year I didn’t get out there until New Year’s weekend, but it didn’t matter. The magic of a winter safari in our West River parks was still strong.

I spent most of my time in the Badlands. A heavy snow turned to flurries in sunshine as the weather system moved east. The large snowflakes blowing in the wind made for interesting visuals, particularly when the sun tried to break through. It didn’t snow in the southern hills, but it was very cold. Did you know that buffalo like to lick the salt and minerals off your car in winter? Knowing this can bring great photo opportunities if you are willing. Parking on the Highland Ridge Road at Wind Cave National Park near a bison herd will usually get them moving in your direction. This offers unique opportunities to get interesting portraits. I like to catch them in the first or last light of the day, and when it is cold, the breath from these behemoths offers added visual drama. I don’t like them licking my car though, so I tend to move on before they get too close. If the good Lord’s willing and the creek don’t rise, I will be back next winter to try again.

Christian Begeman grew up in Isabel and now lives in Sioux Falls. When he’s not working at Midco he is often on the road photographing South Dakota’s prettiest spots. Follow Begeman on his blog.

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Snow Day

By Christian Begeman

On December 10, Sioux Falls received its first major snow of the season. Upwards of 10 inches began falling in the morning and by late afternoon I couldn’t take it anymore. One of my favorite things to do is shoot first snow photos. Some of it has to do with the first snow bringing holiday cheer, but a lot of the joy comes from memories of past snow days as a kid. We didn’t always have snow, or at least much snow out on the prairies of Ziebach and Dewey County, but when it did arrive, we kids took advantage. Sledding into the crick, slipping and sliding on frozen puddles and stock dams were simple pleasures that would fill our non-chore hours. Afterwards, we’d come back to a house warmed with a wood burning stove and Mom’s famous caramel popcorn balls, still warm from the oven.

But I digress. This is supposed to be a column about photography. And more particularly, making images in the snowfall. A few years back, I discovered birds were often easier to photograph in a snowstorm. Like us, they prefer to stay out of the wind and snow. You can often find them with fluffed up feathers on perches inside sheltered tree canopies. With this in mind, I left work early on Friday and headed to Terrace Park next to Covell Lake in northern Sioux Falls, where I can usually spot a Northern Cardinal or two. Sure enough, just as I was about to turn back from a fruitless search, I heard the familiar metallic call and found a half dozen cardinals hunkered down in evergreen branches not far off the walking path.

After taking a few portraits of a male and female cardinal, I headed downtown. I was thinking Phillips Avenue with its decorations and busy-ness would make for interesting imagery. I wasn’t disappointed. However, I almost got snowplowed in while parking near the KELO Radio building. Tis one of the hazards of being out and about in the snow. The other is keeping your gear dry. I always try to keep a bath towel with me while shooting in the snow. I keep it over the camera and lens when not shooting and then use it to dry the lens and body after composing and taking a shot.

I had never been to Falls Park during a heavy snow in December. I believe I was one of maybe five souls tramping around the park at dusk. Three of those were city workers busily cleaning the sidewalks. The heavy snowfall was likely in the eighth or ninth inch by then, so cleaning the sidewalks was not particularly easy. The mood and ambiance of the park, however, was wonderful as music played and lights twinkled through the snowfall.

Saturday dawned clear and the blue skies and prairies blanketed with freshly fallen snow beckoned. I heard there was a snowy owl sighting near Volga, so I headed that way. I did not find said owl, but I did see myriad raptors and stopped for a small hike at Oakwood Lakes State Park. As evening fell, clouds appeared in the southwest and soon the setting sun painted them in exquisite tones. All these scenes helped to bring me a little closer to finding that holiday spirit. To all reading here, please have a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Christian Begeman grew up in Isabel and now lives in Sioux Falls. When he’s not working at Midco he is often on the road photographing South Dakota’s prettiest spots. Follow Begeman on his blog.

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Embracing Darkness

By Christian Begeman

The days of darkness are here. No, that is not an ancient prophecy now come true. Nor is it some scare tactic about the state of the world. It is simply the time of the year when I leave for work in the gloaming and return in the dark. As we head into winter once again and the daylight shortens, one may think that finding good photo opportunities diminishes with the light, but that is not entirely true.

I first notice the shortened days in early autumn. My custom is to take a fall colors trip West River and I’m always a bit surprised how soon the sun sets in the first days of October compared to the usual long days of summer when I typically visit places like Custer State Park and the Badlands. This year I wasn’t ready to quit making photographs when the sun set, so I set out to try something new. I tried to find interesting roads with curves in the respective parks and then set up my tripod for long exposures and waited for the day to dim.

My interest in night photography has always been strong. The problem is that as I get older, the more I loathe giving up sleep. Last summer, something happened in the northern sky that renewed my willingness to overcome the loss of sleep and make images in the small hours of the night. Comet NeoWise graced the sky for a few short weeks in July. With that celestial object, my night photography interest was renewed. Fast forward to late February 2021 and you would have found me taking long exposure sequences of Sioux Falls city scenes to make short time-lapse videos for Midco Sports coverage of the NSIC and Summit League basketball tournaments. A long exposure (anything longer than a couple seconds) at night allows you to capture moving cars with the headlights as streaks of light.

I wanted to try this same concept in the parks this fall. The goal was to find interesting stretches of road with passing cars and shoot them at dusk to create unique images. It was a learning experience, as I discovered that a strong night breeze plays havoc with a long lens even when it is on a tripod. If you look closely at the image of the Big Foot Pass road at Badlands National Park, you’ll notice the taillight lines are not smooth. Wind on my lens caused this, not crazy driving. I also tried this technique along Needles Highway and Spearfish Canyon National Byway. My favorite image is from the canyon. A small white tour bus came by, and with its lights positioned higher, gave an added vertical element to the streaks.

One last note about shooting night scenes in winter. With the air turning colder, the normal humidity and dust particles in the air are reduced, so the stars are seen more clearly. Add in the fact that the solar cycle is turning active again and there are new possibilities for glimpsing (and photographing) the elusive northern lights while gazing out and up into the night.

Christian Begeman grew up in Isabel and now lives in Sioux Falls. When he’s not working at Midco he is often on the road photographing South Dakota’s prettiest spots. Follow Begeman on his blog.

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Autumn in the High Country

By Christian Begeman

Autumn always comes early to the high country. While late summer lingers across the rest of the land, the high coulees and upper draws seem to consistently show the first real signs of the season. The last week of September is normally the peak of fall color in places like Spearfish Canyon, the Slim Buttes and even Sica Hollow in the northeast corner of the state. For this reason, I regularly find myself wandering the back roads and trails of the high country every year about this time. It’s not that I welcome the end of summer, but it’s hard not to love autumn around here.

The beauty is fleeting, admittedly. When the weather patterns switch in this season of change, it brings strong winds that rob the trees of their dying leaves. That’s a lesson unto itself. There is beauty in endings. Sad though it is, it helps that there is promise of new life returning after the long winter.

This year I started around Sica Hollow during the golden hour on September 26. I was a bit early for fall color peak, but the color that was showing in the late afternoon and evening light seemed to accent the autumn beginnings quite wonderfully. A couple of days later I hit Badlands National Park, where the upper draws of Sage Creek were brilliant. One thing I learned is that yellow-leaved trees make for interesting visuals in a black and white image. They look nearly white.

After spending a day and half wandering around the Badlands, I made my way for Custer State Park. Needles Highway offers unique autumn color combined with winding roads and sweeping vistas. The fall foliage along the park’s creeks also offers colorful hues. From Custer State Park, I headed to the high country of Lawrence County by way of the Mystic and Rochford roads, finally ending up in Spearfish Canyon by late afternoon. This scenic byway is a must-drive in autumn. One extra perk this year was a small herd of mountain goats grazing near Bridal Veil Falls.

I finished up my tour of the high country in the first days of October by traveling north to the Slim Buttes and Cave Hills of Harding County. These areas are part of the Custer National Forest primarily for their stands of evergreens atop the buttes and hills, but they both offer great stands of deciduous trees along the draws and valleys. These places have become an autumn favorite for me. This year I missed the peak at the Slim Buttes as the color was nearly gone when I passed through, but the Cave Hills were nearly perfect. It goes to show just how fleeting fall’s beauty can be here on the high plains, even within a single county. Even so, the drive and views were worth every minute. The good news is that now the rest of the lower country as well as city and towns should be starting their autumn transformations. So, if you couldn’t make it to the high country, you still have a chance to get out and enjoy the rest of the season.

Christian Begeman grew up in Isabel and now lives in Sioux Falls. When he’s not working at Midco he is often on the road photographing South Dakota’s prettiest spots. Follow Begeman on his blog.

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Mysteries Revealed

By Christian Begeman

In the July/August 2021 issue of South Dakota Magazine, John Andrews and I collaborated on an article about the unique fens of the Glacial Lakes. This photo essay was a highlight for me, as I helped pitch it as well as provided the photographs. The last few years I have found myself drawn more and more to botany photography, primarily because of the wildflowers, but I’ve also learned how long, slow walks in the tall grass can be good for the soul. And not just walks in the tall grass, either. I’ve found amazing blooms in hillside springs of the Northern Black Hills as well as the warm waters of Cascade Creek in Fall River County. But the fens continue to be a favorite place to take my macro and telephoto lenses on a walk.

The article mentioned a”fen walk” organized by The Nature Conservancy in late August. I marked that weekend on my calendar as a great opportunity to learn more about these areas from folks who’ve studied and/or managed them over the years. I figured the tour would also make for a great follow-up column here, as well.

It was a foggy morning when just over a dozen fen walkers met at Jacobson Fen Preserve in rural Deuel County. The weather seemed fitting since many of my notions and ideas about fens came from English literature that often describe fens as foggy, misty and mysterious. Before the morning was over, there would be wind gusts, mist and then sunshine. The inconsistent weather did not stop us, however. Soon we were striding through cattails and bull rushes well over 6 feet tall into the heart of a calcareous fen and all its treasures just below one of the northern slopes of the preserve. Blooms of note included lesser-fringed gentian, Kalm’s lobelia and American Grass of Parnassus.

Just below the fen, Owen McElroy, who accompanied from the Game, Fish and Parks Department, discovered what was likely the find of the day. From a muddy side bank, he pulled out a bison horn. It has been more than 150 years since the last wild bison roamed the area. Other finds of interest included Riddell’s Goldenrod, arrow grass, jewelweed and tiny fringed willowherb blooms that I’d never noticed before. And that is the beauty of taking the time to do such walks — meeting and learning from like-minded folks as well as spending time in a small piece of wild nature, right here in our own backyard.

Once the sun emerged, I left the group to return to the Grass of Parnassus blooms to get macro photos in good light. From there I wandered south to 7-Mile Fen, nearly due east of Clear Lake. Just beginning to bloom were wild orchids that I’d never seen in my life before the previous summer. Great Plains lady’s tresses were waving in the breeze, just beginning to show their lovely white blooms. It was a wonderful way to end my time in fen country, and great motivation to come back.

Christian Begeman grew up in Isabel and now lives in Sioux Falls. When he’s not working at Midco he is often on the road photographing South Dakota’s prettiest spots. Follow Begeman on his blog.