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Starts and Stops

By Christian Begeman

Spring is once again in full swing. The season arrived a bit differently this year. The winter of 2023-24 was very mild with only about two weeks of extreme cold. February was mild and the unseasonably warm temperatures lasted until late March, when the wind and cold slowed things down a bit. Many early bloomers were just getting started when that cold blast returned. It wasn’t until nearly the end of April until things felt”on-time” again. As I write this, the lilacs are in bloom and the spring warbler migration is about to hit full speed. Even with the starts and stops, I’ve noticed the vivid colors more than ever this spring as life is renewed. My goal with this version of my annual spring photo journal is to highlight the beautiful hues of new life returning to our part of the world.

February 13

Unseasonably warm temperatures had melted most of our snow, and warm hued sunsets, like this one over Trinity Lutheran a few miles west of Sioux Falls, ignited spring fever.

February 21

With evening temps in the 50s, I experimented with long exposures on Phillips Avenue in downtown Sioux Falls.

March 15

I found my first wildflowers of spring (snow trillium and pasqueflower) at Newton Hills State Park and Hanson County, respectively.

March 30

Easter weekend was cold and blustery. While traveling to see family in rural McPherson County, I got a nice portrait of a red fox near its den entrance.

April 14

Bloodroot flowers were in bloom at Union Grove State Park, as was the very first plum brush. A large bumblebee was busy taking advantage.

April 21

I took a Sunday afternoon trip that started at Palisades State Park and then up to the prairie hills of Deuel County. A mother raccoon nursing her young, a pheasant, pasqueflowers and the song of the meadowlark were pleasant discoveries along the way.

April 28

The next Sunday was cold and blustery with periods of rain. The pasqueflowers of Deuel County were leaning and covered with raindrops. Prairie smoke was just beginning to emerge.

April 30

A dashing palm warbler stopped at Palisades State Park during its migration journey to Canada.

May 4

A yellow-rumped warbler at Palisades State Park posed nicely among new leaf growth.

May 5

I discovered a wild violet and new leaves along the Trail of Giants at Big Sioux Recreation Area near Brandon.

May 7

I went birding at Palisades State Park and had good luck finding and photographing the colorful yellow warbler and male and female Baltimore orioles. To top off the day, an exquisite sunset sky graced Falls Park in Sioux Falls.

May 10

A major geomagnetic storm caused bright and colorful Northern lights across most of North America. I traveled to one of my favorite structures in the state — the remains of Concordia Pioneer Lutheran Church northeast of Sisseton — to capture the event.

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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When Seasons Collide

By Christian Begeman

October on the Northern Plains can be fickle. One day might bring perfect autumn hues and warm sunsets, and the next may bring bone chilling wind that carries the autumn leaves to parts unknown, replacing them with snowflakes and frost. Every so often, the seasons combine without the soul sucking wind and a brief period of visual magic descends on our landscapes. That’s exactly what happened this fall in southeastern South Dakota.

On October 21, I broke away from the usual and took a drive. Yankton County was my eventual endpoint, but I didn’t really know that when I left. As many of you know, country churches are a favorite subject of mine. With one of those nearly perfect fall evenings developing, I headed toward a cluster of churches, hoping to find some autumn magic. St. Columba, Faith United and historic Vangen churches made their way into my viewfinder. The late afternoon and early evening light accentuated the fall colors, and all was well with the world.

The winds held back for another week, so when the first snow of the season arrived, the color of autumn and white crispness of winter merged. I noticed a couple of birds hanging out in the trees of our courtyard, staying out of the snow presumably. One was a robin, which is part of the robin family that nests in said courtyard, but the other was a rare-to-me fox sparrow. This bird has pronounced rusty tones and is one of the prettier sparrow species.

After photographing the birds, I decided to see what else was happening around Sioux Falls as the snow fell. Sherman Park had many trees still in full autumn splendor, and I discovered large flocks of winter birds and migrating sparrows there, as well. Dark-eyed juncos and Harris’s sparrows were the most abundant.

I finished the afternoon taking a walk along Split Rock Creek in the upper portion of Palisades State Park. The temperature hovered right around freezing, so the rocks were slick, and the going was slow. Even so, the walk did my soul good, as it usually does in our scenic areas. The drive home, on the other hand, was a bit dangerous. I’ve always noted the signs warning drivers that the stretches of highway atop bridges often freeze first. On this day I witnessed it and saw a couple near accidents happen just in front of me on Interstate 90 between Brandon and Sioux Falls. Winter weather, for all its potential beauty, can still wreak havoc. Sioux Falls received just a skiff of snow, and we have had none since. And that is okay with me.

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 Fall

By Christian Begeman

Fall has arrived in South Dakota, although in some places a few winter blasts have already tried to push autumn out. These same locations that have seen snow are some of my favorite early autumn haunts. The high country of the Black Hills is always a treat in late September. The last week of the month is typically the most colorful time to cruise the backroads and do some leaf peeping.

That said, Badlands National Park lies between my home and the Black Hills, and I cannot resist getting off the interstate to spend time there. This West River spectacle sparkles in early autumn with wildlife active around dawn and dusk. The golden light accentuated by the season’s dry and dusty air makes great photography opportunities.

After staying the night in Wall and driving to Sage Creek Wilderness on a crisp morning with temperatures in the low 40s, a low fog hung in the bottomlands as the first light of day struck the tops of the formations. The resulting scenes were otherworldly. I’m not a morning person, but a view like that will get me up well before sunrise any day.

After saying farewell to the Badlands, I arrived in Custer State Park about four days before the Buffalo Roundup. The trees in the draws were just starting to turn and the mountain bluebirds were flocking along the southern reaches of the park. I spent a good hour watching at least a dozen juveniles and adults prowl a prairie dog town on the hunt for insects. Occasionally two or three would squabble and take flight to show off their airborne acrobatics, the blue wings flashing like azure electricity in the early autumn air. The afternoon was quite warm, which made the insect activity abundant and the small stream where I parked a favorite pit stop.

It was cold again the next morning. Mist and low fog hung over the small lakes. Bismark Lake was particularly beautiful as dawn approached. Just enough frost clung to the small bushes and brush on the back side of the water that each leaf looked sugar coated.

Later in the day, I ventured to the Spearfish Canyon Scenic Byway. It was the middle of the week, but as busy as I’ve ever seen. Wanting a little more solitude, I traveled into the high country to discover some quieter autumn scenes. There is a place where the Tinton Road converges with both Wagon Canyon Road and Schoolhouse Gulch Road that offers an exquisite view of aspen and birch, and I had arrived in peak fall color. Later, as I returned to my cabin near Legion Lake, I saw three white-tailed bucks near the Badger Hole. The largest, a four-by-four, was just starting to gain girth in the shoulders and neck for the upcoming rut. For now, it simply grazed in the tall grass just north of the road and paid me little mind. I wonder if it understands how lucky it is to call this little corner of South Dakota home.

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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Getting Lost in the Woods

By Christian Begeman

There weren’t many trees in the landscapes of my youth. Looking out our living room window, a thin line of cottonwoods and other smaller trees lined the banks of a western arm of Corn Crick. After our family purchased a wood stove when I was quite young, chopping wood became one of those hard, but mostly enjoyable chores. The hard part was stacking wood and not annoying my older brothers while doing so. The fun part was exploring the creek and being under the branches and leaves as opposed to out in the open prairie breeze.

As a youngster, I was fascinated by nature programs and stories of forests and jungles. Being in a place dominated by trees was not normal. Not being able to see a mile away was a bit disconcerting, but also a cause for curiosity and wonder. I remember some of my first trips to see relatives in Sturgis and being in awe of the Black Hills forests. It felt different, it smelled different. It just was different. But in a good way.

As I grew older, I started paying more attention to local geography. The draws of the Moreau River just south of our farm offered a variety of small, wooded coulees and canyons. Some of these our family named, like”Cedar Canyon” where we would hunt for Christmas trees in early December. Sometimes these draws would turn into (relatively) heavily wooded valleys, like the one that you can see from the hilltops of the Little Moreau River State Recreation Area. Church picnics including softball games and hikes through the trees to one of the three dams are all memories of that park.

It wasn’t until a few years ago that I started looking at the wooded areas of the Northern Plains with different intent. Photography has a way of doing that. Newton Hills State Park has an early blooming wildflower called snow trillium that blooms at roughly the same time as our beloved prairie pasqueflower. It is one of only two places I’ve seen them in our state. They are the farthest west population of this otherwise fairly common eastern woodland wildflower. On the other side of the state, places like Botany Canyon and Englewood Springs Botanical Area in the northern Black Hills showcase wild orchids and alpine wildflowers that are rare in South Dakota.

This spring and late summer, I took two trips to Sica Hollow near Sisseton to find other interesting wildflowers along the heavily wooded Trail of the Spirits. I was not disappointed. From unique wild ginger blooms to pale orange jewelweed being visited by migrating hummingbirds, the woodland gems on display were a joy to discover and photograph, especially for a plainsman like me. I now very much look forward to getting lost in the woods.

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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West River Green

By Christian Begeman

The mixed grass prairies of western South Dakota can seldom be described as vibrant. In my experience, the extended verdant green I’ve seen West River this growing season typically only lasts a month. Some years the lush prairie views do not appear at all.

I was between 7 and 8 years old when one of most brutal droughts since the Dirty Thirties took place in Ziebach and Dewey counties. Rain was on everyone’s mind. Prayer meetings at church and conversation at the cafe all centered around the need for moisture. The grasshoppers were so bad they decimated the leaves and bark of our decorative shrubbery in front of the house and caused driving hazards on Highway 65 down by the Moreau River. The old timers commented that at least they didn’t consume the wood fence posts like they’d seen in the 1930s, but that was small consolation to a 7-year-old. At least we didn’t have to push the lawn mower all that much. The only thing that made our lawn green was kosher weed near the water hydrant and garden where the water hose had gone. That was the year I learned how to long for and love rain on the prairie. Thankfully that particular dry stretch did not last long.

In May of 1982, we had nearly two weeks of slow and soaking rains. It was the first time I’d really noticed how green the prairie could get. As I grew older and began to take on more duties, like haying and summer fallowing, rainstorms became double boons. Anything over 10 hundredths would get me out of the field for a brief break and allow for a little goofing off — until Dad realized I could be out fencing instead.

The spring of 2023 has brought good rains to western South Dakota so far. I spent the week after Memorial Day chasing photos in the Badlands and Black Hills as per my usual habit. For four afternoons in a row, rain clouds built in the distance, then burst forth over the Hills, bringing rain, then leaving evening rainbows as a final sign of their passing. From those rain-soaked days in 1982 until now, I’ve always thought the first light after rain on the prairie is the prettiest light on earth. To be able to witness that kind of light on consecutive nights, plus rainbows, was a triple blessing for a wandering photographer on a week-long break from the rat race.

Recently I came across a poem by Badger Clark called”The Rains” that describes the feeling:

But last across the sky-line comes a thing that’s strange and new,

A little cloud of saddle blanket size.

It blackens ‘long the mountains and bulges up the blue

And shuts the weary sun-glare from our eyes.

Then the lightnin’s gash the heavens and the thunder jars the world

And the gray of fallin’ water wraps the plains,

And ‘cross the burnin’ ranges, down the wind, the word is whirled:

“Here’s another year of livin’, and the Rains!”

You’ve seen your fat fields ripplin’ with the treasure that they hoard;

Have you seen a mountain stretch and rub its eyes?

Or bare hills lift their streamin’ faces up and thank the Lord,

Fairly tremblin’ with their gladness and surprise?

Have you heard the ‘royos singin’ and the new breeze hummin’ gay,

As the greenin’ ranges shed their dusty stains–

Just a whole dead world sprung back to life and laughin’ in a day!

Did you ever see the comin’ of the Rains?

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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Under the Lights

By Christian Begeman

It was March 23, a Thursday. The first game of the NCAA men’s Sweet 16 had tipped. I was coming off a late winter sick spell. I hadn’t been sick at all during the winter, so when this one hit it felt like making up for lost ground. I missed work, and then worked from home for a solid week. This is not normal operating procedure for me. But back to Thursday night.

I’ve developed a habit over the last half dozen years. I check up to three web sites for what is called”space weather” forecasts. These sites try to predict when Aurora Borealis events could take place based on solar activity and Earth’s magnetic shield. It is a relatively new science and like our regular weather prognosticators, the predictions are not always accurate. Even so, when a storm hits, these sites are very good at reporting the activity as well as the intensity. This is why I make it a habit to look at what is going on. I’ve found that nothing brings visual amazement quite like the dancing northern lights on a clear South Dakota night.

One such geomagnetic storm struck on that Thursday night, and it was totally unexpected. About an hour and a half before sunset the storm had kicked in and the prediction centers were saying that it could last through the night. That information was all it took for me to shut off the TV, get my gear and go find an adequate place to capture the northern lights.

I drove to a favorite country church in Miner County called Belleview Lutheran. The steeple stands straight and tall and the building is elegant even though the church is no longer in use. As the sky darkened, I began to make out the pale green arc of light to the north. I set up a camera on a tripod to start taking long exposure photos in a series, hoping to end up with an interesting time lapse. Once set up, I texted my family as well as another space weather fan and was surprised to see that the lights were now bright enough for my smartphone’s camera to capture. This was a good omen.

My next destination was Esmond, a near-ghost town about 20 minutes from Belleview Lutheran in Kingsbury County. Two grain elevators stand on the northeast edge of town. As soon as I arrived and set up my camera, the sky pulsed with some of the best northern lights activity I’ve ever seen. At one point the whole northern sky was alive with faint greens, pinks and purples. Light pillars moved from right to left and the snow on the ground helped reflect the light, so it was easy to see even though the crescent moon had set.

Later, I learned that the geomagnetic storm had reached”severe” levels for a short time. The northern lights were seen as far south as New Mexico. I could have stayed out all night, but I had to work on Friday, so I packed up and headed back to Sioux Falls. It was a night I won’t soon forget.

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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No Hurry

By Christian Begeman

It is nearing mid-January and the heart of winter is upon us. The last of the holiday lights have come down and the joy of the holiday season has shifted to glumly hunkering down to ride out the rest of the cold weather days. So far, snow and wind have been abundant in our part of the northern plains. A large snow event began on January 2 in southeastern South Dakota and would not let up for nearly three days. Since most of the country celebrated New Year’s Day on January 2 this year, I had the day off. The adage that”bad weather makes for great photos” once again ran through my brain, so I donned the cold weather gear and made my way to the Sioux Falls Outdoor Campus to seek out and possibly capture a little winter beauty.

The Outdoor Campus is an old oxbow of the Big Sioux River. An abundance of trees provides ample windbreak, so the snow falls a little straighter on the tall grass plot within. There is a special kind of beauty while standing in such a patch with steady snow falling all around. As I was taking this in, I heard the calls of a small flock of American tree sparrows moving through and feeding on the seeds still in the grass heads. The birds, normally a muted tan and brown, stood out starkly against the cold and snow. I don’t normally think of a sparrow as a pretty bird, but once again I was proven wrong.

After walking along a few favorite paths, I headed to Terrace Park alongside Covell Lake in north central Sioux Falls. By now the snow was deeper and getting around the terraced park walkways was becoming quite a workout. Even so, the sweat rolling down my back was worth the trouble. The park has ornamental trees not normally found in the wild, including a magnolia tree with fuzzy buds that hung on to the snowflakes in uniquely beautiful ways. Also, a tree still full of red, medium sized berries caught my eye and camera’s attention for quite some time.

A full five days later, after the weather broke and I was dug out of my place, I was on the road to Aberdeen to attend my nephew’s wedding as a heavy winter fog lifted over the countryside. Jack Frost’s handiwork was evident nearly the whole trip. I took back roads, intending to visit a few grand old country churches along the way and stopping for any other photo opportunity. What is normally a three-hour drive, I did in about five. It is good not to be in a hurry on a winter drive in South Dakota. Hopefully these photos prove that to be true.

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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Nature’s White Quilt

By Christian Begeman

On December 11, the early morning sun broke through low hanging clouds and fog and onto a true winter wonderland in southeastern South Dakota. An early winter system dropping upwards of 10 inches of heavy, wet snow the previous Thursday along with a solid new layer of thick frost from the overnight fog changed the world into an icy work of art. The all-too-brief moment of warm sunshine on a perfectly frosted landscape is one of my favorite bits of winter. The beauty is fleeting; even the slightest breeze combined with the relative warmth of the sun causes the frost to drop to the ground far too soon.

I hadn’t planned on a photo escapade that morning, but after glimpsing the conditions, I quickly decided to get out and enjoy the scenery while the getting was good. Armed with a 100-400mm telephoto lens, a macro lens and long johns, I was heading north along the Big Sioux River faster than you can say”Jack Frost.”

I had a few locations in mind that featured vivid red barns that contrasted with the icy white of winter, but I also made sure to stop and shoot anything else that caught my eye. This included two adult bald eagles on the same tree along the Big Sioux south of Trent. I also took a walk in the tall grass at the Sioux Prairie Preserve near Colman, where my macro lens took over. I discovered unique formations of frost on grass, leaves of ground shrubs and even on a goldenrod gall.

The story of the goldenrod gall fly may not seem like something worth writing about here, but I find it fascinating that inside that very gall, a frosted and frozen larva (nearly frozen solid itself), is simply waiting for spring to emerge, find a mate and start the process all over again. One would think that the larvae is safely tucked away for the winter, but chickadees and downy woodpeckers often seek out the galls, break them open and have a nice meal.

The wonders and intricacies of nature never cease to amaze, even in winter. It makes me think of this quote about wintertime from Lewis Carroll, author of Alice in Wonderland:”I wonder if the snow loves the trees and fields, that it kisses them so gently? And then it covers them up snug, you know, with a white quilt; and perhaps it says, ‘Go to sleep, darlings, till the summer comes again.'”

We Dakotans know that the snow doesn’t always come kissing, but on a sunlit winter’s morn with no wind and frost filled scenery everywhere you look, it isn’t hard to imagine the world sleeping under that white quilt, just waiting for spring’s awakening.

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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Fall’s Final Flourish

By Christian Begeman

The final leaves have fallen. The songbird migration has long ended, and the waterfowl migration is now in full force. The seasons of life have given way to the cold north wind and snowflakes that have danced once or twice across our windshields already. The harvest is wrapped, and our traditional season of thanks is beginning. It is November. And really, the month of November marks the end of autumn in our part of the world rather than the official first day of winter, December 21.

Rather than succumb to the dreary days of lessening light, I think it is a good time to reflect upon nature’s last flourish of color. Late August through mid-October provides vivid colors on the prairie and surrounding hills and this year was no exception. It seems that late summer and early autumn prefer vivid blues when it comes to wildflowers. From bottle gentians to great blue lobelia, the colors of the petals seem to be drawn straight from the hues of an early evening eastern blue sky.

Butterfly season is also on full display. Monarchs from South Dakota and points north gather and then fly south to Mexico. Other beautiful species are easily spotted if you have patience. I’m a fan of the regal fritillary that rivals the monarch in vivid orange and black beauty. The regal is a tall grass specialist so keeping our remnant tall grass prairie intact and healthy is key to keeping this butterfly around. A favorite place to spot them is the Nature Conservancy’s Aurora Prairie east of Brookings.

After the late summer blues diminish, brilliant oranges, reds and yellow begin to paint the landscape. The color usually begins to turn in the higher elevations first, and then it makes its way down to the valleys and towns. These colors of autumn grace the Black Hills and Badlands in late September and can go well into October along the Missouri River hills and eastward. Besides the well-known autumn vistas of Spearfish Canyon or Sica Hollow, Palisades State Park near Garretson is a favorite place to visit. The drama of Sioux quartzite rock and canyons are beautifully accentuated by autumn hues, particularly in the late afternoon light.

November marks the end to most of nature’s colorful beauty described above, but I also find that fall sunsets seem to be the most exquisite of the year. So, I can’t really say the season of color has left us for good. It can still be found way out there on the horizon, somewhere just beyond our reach, like the promise of new life coming next spring. The cycles of the seasons are felt maybe more acutely on the Northern Plains than anywhere else on the continent, but I wouldn’t trade that for anything. Winter has subtle and harsh beauties of its own, but more importantly, the cold reminds me not to take for granted the loveliness of the seasons of warmth and life.

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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Discoveries at Englewood Springs

By Christian Begeman

South Dakota is a special place, partly because of its sheer variety. Everyone has heard or shared a joke about the constant change of weather, but I wonder how often people stop to think about the ecological variety that exists within our borders? Last year, I was tasked with finding and photographing a”green orchid” in the Coteau des Prairies of northeastern South Dakota. Before that request, I was unaware that orchids even grew in our region. I was quite wrong, and thankfully so. Depending on who is counting, there are up to two dozen different orchid species found in South Dakota. What does knowledge like this do to a photographer who loves a macro lens and beautifully colored wildflowers? It starts a self-motivated project that if not careful, borders on obsession.

While researching local orchids, I”discovered” Englewood Springs Botanical Area near Lead. It’s been a place of botanical interest since the late 1960s, but I first read about this little corner of the Black Hills in a 2011 National Forest Management Strategy document found online. I had learned about the fairy slipper orchid from David J. Ode’s Dakota Flora: A Seasonal Sampler, and while using the internet to learn where these amazing plants can be found, I noticed the above-mentioned report and learned the fairy slipper had been documented at Englewood Springs along with at least a dozen other orchids. That was all it took to ensure I visited with camera in hand.

My first trip there was in late June of 2021. I battled a downed white spruce, steep hillsides and shortness of breath being the flatlander that I am. I was also unable to find a fairy slipper. Most likely I was too late in the season, but I did see three”new to me” orchids as well as a variety of other amazing flowers I had never photographed before. Along the way, I suffered a torn pair of jeans thanks to an unseen branch on a downed log. Even so, the excursion was well worth it.

This spring, I was determined to go earlier to find the elusive fairy slipper. However, spring was late this time around and my first trip, over Memorial Day weekend, found Englewood Springs just waking up from winter and not many new buds could be seen. Even so, new to me flowers included bearberry blooms and drops of gold.

Undaunted, I came back a mere two weeks later. Again, I was stymied in the fairy slipper search, but I did photograph my first alpine milkvetch, as well as the uniquely diminutive wister coralroot orchid. My searching was cut short on that trip after a log unexpectedly gave way, resulting in an awkward lurch into thick mud and one of the worst hamstring pulls I’ve ever experienced. Chalk another one up to Englewood Springs.

I was back a few weeks later, only to discover that I was again too late to find a fairy slipper, but just in time to find a rare broad-lipped twayblade orchid. I also saw and photographed an orchid not on the Englewood Springs list, a frog orchid. So, I’ll take that as a win and will visit again next spring in search of that yet unseen, but very well named, fairly slipper orchid.

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.